What really works in alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards? Every state is working to know the answer--both to comply with federal requirements for evaluating students with severe cognitive disabilities, and to ensure that all students reach their full potential. This comprehensive book is the first to gather today's best knowledge about alternate assessments so professionals can act quickly to shape the future of this rapidly developing field. An urgently needed resource for assessment developers, researchers, policy makers, special education directors, and students in graduate-level courses in both special education and assessment, this book is a rigorous investigation of the challenges, recent successes, and key components of assessing alternate achievement standards. Following About the Editors, About the Contributors, a Foreword: (Martha L. Thurlow), and a Preface, this book is divided into three sections. Section I, Conceptualizing Alternate Assessment, presents: (1) Who Are the Children Who Take Alternate Achievement Standards Assessments? (Jacqueline F. Kearns, Elizabeth Towles-Reeves, Harold L. Kleinert, & Jane Kleinert); (2) Understanding the Construct to Be Assessed (Stephen N. Elliott); (3) Sampling the Domain for Evidence of Achievement (Gerald Tindal); (4) Public Policy and the Development of Alternate Assessments for Students with Cognitive Disabilities (Susan L. Rigney); (5) Alignment of Alternate Assessments with State Standards (Diane M. Browder, Shawnee Wakeman, & Claudia Flowers); (6) Conceptualizing and Setting Performance Standards for Alternate Assessments (Steve Ferrara, Suzanne Swaffield, & Lorin Mueller); (7) An Introduction to Validity Arguments for Alternate Assessments (Scott F. Marion & Marianne Perie); and (8) The Long and Winding Road of Alternate Assessments: Where We Started, Where We Are Now, and the Road Ahead (Rachel F. Quenemoen). Section II, Alternate Assessment in Action, continues with: (9) Assessing All Students in Connecticut (Peter Behuniak & Joseph Amenta); (10) Georgia Alternate Assessment: A Portfolio Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (Melissa Fincher & Claudia Flowers); (11) The Alternate Maryland School Assessment (Sharon E. Hall, Martin D. Kehe, & William D. Schafer); (12) Alternate Assessment in Massachusetts: Approaches and Validity (Daniel J. Wiener & Charles A. DePascale); (13) The Mississippi Alternate Assessment of Extended Curriculum Frameworks: Purpose, Procedures, and Validity Evidence Summary (Stephen N. Elliott, Andrew T. Roach, Kristopher J. Kaase, & Ryan J. Kettler); (14) Test Design and Validation of Inferences for the Oregon Alternate Assessment (Dianna Carrizales & Gerald Tindal); and (15) The South Carolina Alternate Assessment (Lorin Mueller, Steve Ferrara, Suzanne Swaffield, & Douglas G. Alexander). Section III, The Future of Alternate Assessment, contains: (16) Considering the Consequences of Alternative Assessments (Peter Behuniak); (17) Which Came First--The Curriculum or the Assessment? (Diane M. Browder, Shawnee Wakeman, & Claudia Flowers); (18) Key Issues in the Use of Alternate Assessments: Closing Comments to Open More Discussion and Exploration of Solutions (Stephen N. Elliott); (19) Psychometric Rigor for Alternate Assessments: For the Sake of Interpretation, Not Rigor (Steve Ferrara); (20) Does the Emperor Have New Clothes? (Claudia Flowers); (21) Some Key Considerations for Test Evaluators and Developers (Scott F. Marion); (22) Toward a Straighter Road (Rachel F. Quenemoen); (23) How Should States Move Forward? (Susan L. Rigney); (24) Principles Unique to Alternate Assessments (William D. Schafer); (25) Reflections on the Alternate Assessment in Oregon (Gerald Tindal); and (26) Essential Truths About Alternate Assessments (Daniel J. Wiener). An index is also included.