Must All Children with Disabilities Participate in State Assessments?
Source: Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Topics: Testing and Standards Under NCLB, Special Education Testing
Yes. Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), for the first time ever states and local schools are held accountable for ensuring all children—including children with disabilities—are learning. Children with disabilities must be included in the assessment system required under the No Child Left Behind Act and schools must report their results through NCLB's adequate yearly progress structure. IDEA requires that the IEP Team determine how the child with a disability is assessed, not whether the child is assessed. IDEA recognizes that children learn in different ways, with different methods of instruction and assessment. The IEP Team is required to determine which accommodations are necessary, how to instruct the child, and how to assess the child.
The IEP Team can have a child with a disability take the regular state assessment; the regular state assessment with appropriate accommodations such as Braille, additional time, or having the instructions read to the child multiple times; an alternate assessment aligned to grade level standards; or an alternate assessment aligned to alternate achievement standards. This array of assessment opportunities ensures that all students with disabilities can be assessed appropriately for individual and systemic accountability efforts.
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© 2006, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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