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This manual offers states a tool to assist in the development or enhancement of guidelines for access assistants. Whether a state already has guidelines or is just in the process of establishing them, this manual will provide structure to the process and many examples of criteria already included by states. This manual was developed to accompany "Access Assistants for State Assessments: A Study of State Guidelines for Scribes, Readers, and Sign Language Interpreters" (Clapper, Morse, Thompson, & Thurlow, 2005) [ED495887]. The study found 22 states with policies, guidelines, or training materials for one or more types of access assistants and 11 states with policies, guidelines, or training materials describing the qualifications or characteristics of scribes, readers, or sign language interpreters. This manual contains definitions of terms related to access assistants, a description of key features of the design process, worksheets to use, and several examples from states. The following are appended: (1) Chart to Use to Form an Action Team and a Review Team; (2) Statement of Purpose; (3) Compilation of Existing Policies, Guidelines, and Training Materials that Apply to Access Assistants; (4) Ideas for Qualifications and Instructions for Access Assistants: Scribes, Readers, and Sign Language Interpreters; (5) Draft Guidelines; and (6) Questions to Guide Evaluation of Access Assistant Procedures. (Contains 5 tables.)

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) has been tracking and analyzing state policies on assessment participation and accommodations since 1992. The purpose of the current analysis is to update information on these policies that was last reported by NCEO in 2002 (based on 2001 data). The current analysis of states' 2003 participation and accommodation policies found that state policies on participation and accommodation continue to evolve, and that they have become more detailed and specific than in previous years. Key findings from this analysis include: (1) Clarifications and specifications attached to specific accommodations in state policies--especially those with implications for resulting scores--are increasing; (2) States are providing guidance to readers, scribes, and sign language interpreters--as well as direction for IEP teams--on the process for using accommodations that are not on an approved list; (3) The number of states permitting the use of accommodations for all students is increasing; and (4) The most controversial accommodations continue to be read aloud (questions), calculator, spellchecker, and proctor/scribe.