South Dakota’s Special Education Programs is moving forward with several projects related to modified assessments. Districts also will notice a change in the timing of the “1% Exception Application.” Read on to learn more about these initiatives.

1% Exception Application moved to spring
The application process for the “1% Exception” related to the Dakota STEP-A has been moved to spring. Previously, districts filled out this form in the fall. The change should result in a more accurate count of students who participated in the alternate assessment.

Under No Child Left Behind, districts are allowed to use 1 percent of proficient scores on the Dakota STEP-A towards the calculation of adequate yearly progress. The “1% Exception Application” gives districts the opportunity to ask to use more than 1 percent of their proficient scores in this manner.

Watch for the application to be mailed in late February. It will be due at the end of the alternate assessment testing window.

Examining the need for a modified assessment
South Dakota will partner with four other states and the National Center on Educational Outcomes to determine the need and criteria for a modified state assessment.

Currently, South Dakota has the Dakota STEP-A, an alternate assessment taken by students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. A modified assessment is not required under No Child Left Behind; however, it would offer an option for students who are not eligible to take the Dakota STEP-A but for whom the Dakota STEP may not be the best fit.

Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, NCEO will help each of the partner states to analyze their student data to identify the population eligible to take a modified assessment and to determine the criteria for eligibility for this test.

Grant allows states to create modified science test
As part of a federal grant, South Dakota will work with South Carolina and Wyoming to develop and field test a modified assessment for high school-level science. The final product will represent the standards of all three states. While the assessment is not required under No Child Left Behind, the grant will allow partner states to develop a basic test product without spending state dollars.