The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997 clarified that special education was to fully participate in educational accountability systems related to standards-based reform. Special education students could participate in the general assessment, with or without accommodations, or in an alternate assessment. IDEA did not specify the content or form of alternate assessment, but required that a system for alternate assessment be in place by July 2000 and that results of alternate assessments be reported with the same frequency and in the same detail as general assessment results. Inclusion of special education students in statewide testing ensures that they remain visible in subsequent decision making about policy and resource allocation. This paper discusses issues in the development of alternate assessments: (1) its purpose as an evaluation of the educational system's performance with regard to students with severe disabilities; (2) the need for states to have broad-based, inclusive academic standards that can be linked to the functional curricula of special education; (3) eligibility criteria based on disability classification or curricular focus; (4) forms of alternate assessment (portfolio assessment, checklists or rating scales of functional skills, IEP analysis); (5) who scores alternate assessments; and (6) methods of reporting results. (Contains 15 references.) (SV)