Reaching
the Promise of No Child Left Behind
The promise
of No Child Left Behind for students with disabilities is that they indeed will not
be left behind. Instead, the promise for all students with disabilities is that they will
be held to high standards that will help prepare them successfully to leave school ready
to attend a postsecondary institution or be employed. This is what schools should be
doing. Thus, it is important to support schools in making this promise a reality. For
students with disabilities, there are three critical elements to realizing the promise of No
Child Left Behind: (1) good IEP team decisions about assessment participation, (2)
appropriate assessments via accommodations or alternate assessments, and (3) realistic
views of other assessment approaches.
Each of these
elements is related to assessment. Of course, there are a host of critical instructional
elements that must be in place to ensure success for all students. The intent of the
assessment is to make sure that the critical needed instruction occurs effectively.
Assessment
Participation Decisions. For each
student with a disability, the decision about how that student will participate in the
state assessment system is made by the student’s Individualized Educational Program
(IEP) team. This team should not be deciding whether the student participates at all, but
instead should be making decisions about how the student participates.
Appropriate
Assessments via Accommodations and Alternate Assessments. Students with disabilities
may participate in state assessments in the same way as other students or with
accommodations or by participating in alternate assessments measured against the same
academic achievement standards as all students. Currently, the U.S. Department of
Education is considering a federal regulation that would permit States to establish
alternate achievement standards against which to measure the achievement of students with
the most significant cognitive disabilities. The NPRM proposed to limit, for calculating
adequate yearly progress (AYP), the percent of students who could be considered proficient
as measured against alternate achievement standards to 1.0 percent of a district or
State’s school-age population in the grades tested in order to ensure that only truly
significantly cognitively impaired students were held to different standards. This would
only be a limit for purposes of calculating AYP, and not a limit on how many students
could be tested with an alternate assessment.
Each IEP team
member must take this decision about how the student participates in the assessment very
seriously, because the decision is likely to have an effect on school accountability. The
goal for IEP teams is to make sure that each and every student with a disability
participates in a way that accurately portrays that student’s achievement of
knowledge and skills so as to hold accountable the educational system responsible for the
student’s learning.
Other
Assessment Approaches. There are a
number of approaches to assessment that may not be the best practice for accountability.
For example, it is not the best practice for the IEP team to decide that a student should
take an easier test if the school should be teaching the student grade-level skills, but
has not.
Steps to Take. Although there are many complex issues surrounding good IEP team decisions about test participation, there are also some simple guidelines. First, strive for every possible student to be included in the general assessment – allowing for approved accommodations as needed. Second, make accommodation decisions very carefully. Finally, insist that assessments are the best measures that they can be for all students – including students with disabilities. Ask for assessments that have universal design features – assessments that have been designed from the beginning to be appropriate for the widest range of students.
There are resources that help parents and educators learn more about making good decisions about assessment participation for students with disabilities. Although this document has provided some important guidelines, it is worthwhile to also look at other resources for information. Several good resources for further information are provided following the next set of Questions and Answers on the topics of assessments, accommodations, and alternate assessments for students with disabilities.
Questions and Answers Question: What do IEP teams need to consider in making
participation decisions? Answer: In keeping with the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), IEP
teams need to make individualized decisions. Yet, as they do so, they can keep in mind
some general principles. The goal of accountability systems is to hold schools accountable
for the educational results of students. Therefore, it is important to have accurate
measure of what each student knows and can do. The job of the IEP team is to determine how
best to measure what the student knows and can do.
The
first decision for the IEP team to make is whether the student participates in the same
assessment as most students or in an alternate assessment. In most states, the only
students who participate in alternate assessments are those with significant cognitive
disabilities who have instructional goals that are different from the goals of most
students.
For
those students who are participating in the regular assessment, the next decision is about
accommodations that might be needed to demonstrate knowledge and skills. Many states have
guidelines that help in making these decisions. The guidelines focus on what the
assessment requires the student to do and what instructional accommodations the student
generally receives. Question: What should the IEP team do if the child needs a
“modification” or “nonallowed accommodation” to participate in an
assessment? Answer: Some accommodations may invalidate a test. For example, reading a test to the student may invalidate a reading test. Many states have terms for such problematic test changes, such as “modification,” “inappropriate accommodation,” or “nonallowed accommodation,” and may have policies limiting the use of the scores produced. Federal policy under IDEA allows States to give the IEP team full authority to select accommodations needed for the child to participate in an assessment, even if the accommodation invalidates the test, or, States may instruct IEP teams to only select accommodations and modifications in the administration of an assessment that the State has determined will not invalidate the results of a particular test or portion of a test. In this later case, if an IEP team were to determine that an accommodation or modification in administration needed by a child would invalidate the test results, the IEP team should determine how the child could appropriately be assessed, such as through an alternate assessment. Results from invalid tests may not count as proficient when determining whether a school has met its proficiency target. Clearly, school personnel must be aware of the policy options in their State, and IEP teams must be aware of the consequences of accommodation decisions for students with disabilities and need to ensure that parents understand the consequences. Question:
Do
No Child Left Behind decisions affect graduation requirements? |
Resources
for More Information
There are many
valuable resources to help you as an educator, a parent, or a student to better understand
assessments and accountability as reflected in the No Child Left Behind Act. The
resources listed in this section are a beginning point. There will certainly be an
explosion of information as states and districts begin to look at their disaggregated
assessment results for students with disabilities and as these students begin to have an
influence on accountability results.
Web site of
the
This
Web site provides a wealth of information about the participation of students with
disabilities in assessment and accountability systems, with brief discussions of a variety
of related topics, questions and answers for each topic, and lists of online and other
resources.
Web
site of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE
This Web site gives the user access to the No Child Left Behind Act, cross-cutting information on standards,
assessment, and accountability, related regulations and guidance, as well as numerous
forms of technical assistance and other resources.
Web
site of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP): http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP
This
Web site provides information on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and numerous technical assistance
centers and other resources to help bridge the connection between the No Child Left
Behind Act and IDEA.