The Kentucky Alternate Assessment Project (KAAP) is a result of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 and is designed to include students with significant cognitive disabilities in the statewide school accountability system. Kentucky was the first state to offer an inclusive educational assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Since the first assessment, KAAP has spearheaded national efforts for inclusive assessment accountability. Project staff provide leadership on national and state projects and through congressional testimony.
The KY Alternate Assessment Project is composed of four measures, two academic and two career or technical. The two academic components are Attainment Tasks which assess the content areas of reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, and science and the Transition Attainment Record (TAR) which is the alternate assessment for the college preparatory tests (e.g., SAT, ACT).
The two career components are the Employability Skills Attainment Record (ESAR) which indicates how well students are prepared to complete specific job skills as they relate to the Kentucky Occupational Skill Standards Assessment and the Career Work Experience Certification (CWEC) which indicates completion of a series of preparatory courses equivalent to Career and Technical Education End of Program Assessment.
The four components measure demonstrated student performance on the various academic and/or technical components, allowing for student participation in annual accountability. High quality accessible alternate assessments promote the use of research-based, effective practice and instructional strategies, in inclusive classrooms.
The KAAP staff housed at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute provide regular communications, resources, and technical support to teachers across the state. Jaci Norman is the Project Director of the KAAP staff which includes Jacqui Kearns (Principal Investigator), Cory Cameron and Daniel Lee (Illustrators), Maurice Dawson, Darrell Mattingly, Aaron Piercefield (Technical and Logistical support), and Tina Buster and Karen Guettler (Program Operations). Contact Jacqueline.Norman@uky.edu for more information.