Maine students with the most significant cognitive disabilities may take an alternate assessment, known as the Personalized Alternate Assessment Portfolio (PAAP), based on alternate academic achievement standards. Those standards must be aligned with the State’s academic content standards, promote access to the general curriculum and reflect professional judgment of the highest achievement standards possible (see 34 C.F.R. § 200.1, July 2013).
Under federal regulations, for accountability purposes, only 1 percent of students in a state or school administrative unit (SAU) who score “proficient” or “advanced” on an alternate assessment may be counted as proficient for purposes of the SAU’s and the State’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) accountability calculations (see 34 C.F.R. § 200.13, July, 2013). The 1 percent rule does not cap the number of students who may be assessed with the alternate assessment; rather, it only caps the percentage of students who may be counted for ESEA accountability purposes.
More information
- Peg Armstrong
PAAP Coordinator
207-624-6774
peg.armstrong@maine.gov