The relationship between grade level and performance of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities as measured with ISTAR (Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting): Implications for *policy decisions

Legislation and practice regarding accountability, high stakes tests and grade level cut scores were considered in the context of calculating performance expectations for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. An analysis of variance indicated a relationship between the grade level of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in grades three through ten and authentic ratings in language arts and mathematics through the Indiana alternate assessment, ISTAR (Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting). However, subsequent post hoc analyses revealed that the mean scores at any given grade level did not consistently differ from the mean scores of the adjacent grade levels. In all areas of language arts and mathematics, the overall difference in the mean from grades 3 through 10 totaled less than two years of development at levels that approached first grade academic standards. Regression analyses provided evidence that the cognitive deviation and the severity of disability were significant predictors of ISTAR language arts and math scores. Findings of this study challenge the current political assumption that the quality of a school program can be gauged through applying grade level cut scores on status measures of students with extreme differences. For the purpose of school accountability, this study supports a need to develop and permit in policy more advanced metrics for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.