The purposes of the Hawaii State Alternate Assessment are to (1) meet or exceed the requirements of NCLB (2001), Chapter 302A of the Hawaii Revised Statues, and Hawaii Board of Education Policy 2520-Statewide Assessment Program, (2) promote, improve access to, and measure the attainment of the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (HCPS) in reading, mathematics, and science by setting high expectations for students with significant cognitive disabilities, (3) provide information to stakeholders about the achievement of students, schools, complex areas and the state relative to challenging alternate academic achievement standards, and (4) support instructional program improvement efforts.

HSAA Testing Window

The HSAA is administered using teacher observations and evidence of student performance gathered during classroom instruction and is administered during a period of several months. During the 2009-10 school year, the HSAA will be administered February 1 - May 7, 2010.


Student Participation in the HSAA

Students with significant cognitive disabilities are individuals who display limited cognitive abilities that may be combined with physical limitations or behavioral limitations, or both; and who require highly specialized educational programs. Students with significant cognitive disabilities may have inconsistent or rudimentary basic skills in reading and math. They may be gaining word or number awareness while using symbols to fill in reports and other student assignments, or they may be able to understand a concept in a content text if the text is not only simplified and made accessible with technology or a human reader, but also supplemented with extensive picture or auditory cues. Students with significant cognitive disabilities may also use minimal sight word vocabulary to glean meaning from phrases, headlines, and other signs.

The IEP team must balance the needs of the student in learning both the skill and the content. When determining student participation in the HSAA the IEP team must ensure that the student meets ALL four criteria for participation in the alternate assessment.