About the Assessment: Inclusion Rates

NAEP has always endeavored to assess all students selected as a part of its sampling process, including students who are classified by their schools as students with disabilities (SD) and/or as English language learners (ELL). The decision to exclude any of these students is made by school personnel. School personnel are encouraged to use inclusion criteria provided by NAEP and may discuss their inclusion decisions with NAEP field staff. Some students participate with testing accommodations. Read more about the NAEP inclusion policy, including exclusion rates from current and previous assessments in all subject areas.

The tables below show the percentage of students identified as SD and/or ELL, and provide the rate of students excluded and accommodated in two ways: as a percentage of all students in the NAEP sample, or as a percentage of students identified as SD and/or ELL. Tables that provide percentages of SD students include those identified under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Title 29 U.S.C. 794 Section 504), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicap in federally assisted programs and activities. In addition, the percentages are further disaggregated in the SD tables by showing those who were identified as having an Individualized Education Program (IEP) .

Grade 4 SD/ELL

Percentage of all students

Percentage of identified students

Percentage of fourth-grade students identified as students with disabilities (SD), excluded, and assessed in NAEP science, as a percentage of identified SD students, by state/jurisdiction: 2009
	Percentage of identified SD students
State/jurisdiction	Excluded	Assessed	Assessed without accommodations	Assessed with accommodations
Nation	12	88	23	64
Nation (public)	13	87	23	64
Alabama	9	91	56	36
Alaska	—	—	—	—
Arizona	12	88	34	54
Arkansas	10	90	16	73
California	23	77	32	46
Colorado	11	89	15	74
Connecticut	14	86	11	75
Delaware	10	90	11	78
Florida	8	92	19	73
Georgia	7	93	31	62
Hawaii	7	93	16	76
Idaho	14	86	27	59
Illinois	7	93	23	69
Indiana	11	89	31	58
Iowa	10	90	15	74
Kansas	—	—	—	—
Kentucky	12	88	30	58
Louisiana	7	93	18	75
Maine	8	92	18	74
Maryland	17	83	14	69
Massachusetts	17	83	13	70
Michigan	15	85	28	57
Minnesota	14	86	34	52
Mississippi	8	92	33	59
Missouri	12	88	30	57
Montana	13	87	23	65
Nebraska	—	—	—	—
Nevada	17	83	28	55
New Hampshire	9	91	17	74
New Jersey	8	92	12	80
New Mexico	14	86	21	66
New York	5	95	7	88
North Carolina	12	88	26	62
North Dakota	17	83	22	61
Ohio	13	87	17	70
Oklahoma	21	79	22	58
Oregon	17	83	29	54
Pennsylvania	8	92	23	69
Rhode Island	10	90	16	74
South Carolina	8	92	39	53
South Dakota	12	88	40	49
Tennessee	12	88	22	66
Texas	24	76	22	54
Utah	15	85	29	57
Vermont	—	—	—	—
Virginia	10	90	22	68
Washington	14	86	27	58
West Virginia	9	91	39	52
Wisconsin	12	88	14	74
Wyoming	9	91	22	70
Other jurisdictions
District of Columbia	—	—	—	—
DoDEA¹	9	91	25	67
— Not available. ¹ Department of Defense Education Activity (overseas and domestic schools). NOTE: SD includes those identified under section 504. In NAEP, students who have an IEP or a 504 plan are classified as students with disabilities. The national results include both public and nonpublic school students. The national (public) and state/jurisdiction results include public school students only. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Science Assessment.