Ysseldyke, J.,Thurlow, M.,Erickson, R.,Gabrys, R.,Haigh, J.,Trimble, S.,Gong, B.(1996). A Comparison of State Assessment Systems in Kentucky and Maryland with a Focus on the Participation of Students with Disabilities. State Assessment Series: Maryland/Kentucky Report 1.Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore;National Center on Educational Outcomes, Minneapolis, MN.Retrived December, 19,2006 from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/24/21/89.pdf.

Abstrat: States currently are struggling with the development of assessment and accountability systems that are for all students. Two states, Maryland and Kentucky, have made major advances toward fully inclusive assessment systems. We describe and compare the systems used in the two states with a focus on components, scoring methods, reporting practices, data use, participation of students with disabilities, testing accommodations, and implementation considerations. Maryland and Kentucky practices are then contrasted to those used in the other states.

Nearly every state department of education is engaged in the specification of standards and the development of systems of assessment to use in making judgments about the extent to which students and schools are meeting high standards (AFT, 1996; Bond & Roeber, 1995). Major reform legislation (Goals 2000, School-to-Work, Improving America's Schools Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) includes wording indicating that high standards and accompanying assessments are for all students. Two states, Maryland and Kentucky, have made major advances in the development of fully inclusive assessment and accountability systems. Maryland has about 99% of its students participating in the assessments, and Kentucky has 100%. In this paper, we describe and compare the assessment systems and practices in the two states. The purpose in documenting what is happening in these two states is both to clarify the systems and to provide models for other states.