How ILSSA came about
ILSSA began in August, 1998 in response to states' and local school systems' need to respond to the assessment and other requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-'97) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. As part of a federally funded Systems-Change grant, staff at the University of Kentucky worked with the Kentucky Department of Education throughout the 1990's to develop and implement the first inclusive assessment in the country. Its intent was to determine what students with significant cognitive disabilities learn and know. This was an important priority as Kentucky students with disabilities were being included with greater regularity in general education classrooms. With the reauthorization of special and general education legislation near the end of the 90's emphasizing access to general curriculum and accountability this decade-long experience was sought by other states. To date ILSSA has been involved in facilitating inclusive assessment practices in over twenty-five states and territories. This work has involved creation of a philosophical foundation for inclusive practices, development and refinement of participation guidelines, selection and refinement of alternate assessment strategies, training and implementation of assessment systems.
Why the funny name?
In August, 1998 staff who had worked to develop accountability and assessment systems for students with significant cognitive disabilities in Kentucky formally adopted the working name of The Inclusive Large Scale Standards and Assessment group, or ILSSA for short. The group was formed with the mission of working with states to reach their goals for including all students in assessment and accountability systems. Over the years, ILSSA has added new staff and expertise. Because of this expansion, ILSSA decided to maintain the acronym ILSSA because it was so widely recognized, but to stop using the full name for the group because it no longer reflected our broader mission and direction.
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