From the Providence Journal:

The North Providence school district has been placed on “intervention” status by the state Department of Education after students in special education programs failed to meet academic targets for the second year in a row. Insufficient performance by students with disabilities was found both at the high school and elementary school levels.

Among recommendations by state investigators: moving students with disabilities out of segregated classrooms and placing them in classes with typical students. Local educators say the recommended changes are in process.

From the Detroit News:

After receiving a tip from a Michigan mother, federal authorities have ordered the state to ensure its teachers are properly certified.

The problem: Michigan had been allowing high school special education teachers to be designated as “highly qualified” by using an elementary education exam. Federal rules require that anyone teaching in high school be specifically certified to do so.

If the state does not resolve the problem, it could face sanctions including the loss of some federal aid.

Say the editors:

Teacher quality is strongly linked to student achievement, a growing body of research is finding. Proper certification is one important way to ensure students are being taught by qualified teachers.

State education officials need to provide rigorous accountability at every level, including the certification process. It shouldn’t take a scolding from the feds for them to do the obvious.

Seattle Times editorial columnist Kate Riley reverses her earlier opinion, and assails her state’s testing standards after her son passes with flying colors.

Here’s the punchline to my son’s letter. He is autistic in a self-contained special-education classroom with limited mainstreaming, can read some words, can add a little and can barely draw a straight line.

She says her son’s portfolio showed progress, but in no way demonstrated mastery of the fourth grade curriculum. The state assessments are designed to implement the No Child Left Behind law.

OK. Let’s get this straight. This stupid assessment doesn’t change the worth of my kid, or any kid. He’s still the nicest, most fun member of the family to be around and he’s got great taste in music.

But what these tests should tell us honestly is whether a student meets one reasonable minimum standard of academic achievement — for all kids. (more…)

From the Baltimore Sun, an editorial favoring a proposal by Maryland schools superintendent Nancy Grasmick that would allow students who have repeatedly failed exit exams to graduate if they complete a senior project instead.

While testing students to determine how much they have mastered important subjects is worthwhile, all students must be given adequate preparation to pass the tests and — particularly for special-education students — sufficient options to meet graduation requirements.

… More flexibility is rightly at the heart of Ms. Grasmick’s proposal … All students should be given every chance to show that they have mastered their subjects and that they deserve a diploma.

From the Chicago Tribune:

The failures amounted to 30 percent more than missed the mark the previous year.

Schools had the most trouble getting special-education students on track. Nearly a third of all failing schools — 297 — did so only because of the performance of special-education students.

By law, all but the most disabled students must take the state math and reading exam at their grade level.

… Advocates for disabled students have praised the law for holding schools more accountable for the performance of special-education students, which they charge have long been ignored. On the other hand, they have seen educators blame their schools’ low performance on special-education students.

Congress should revise the No Child Left Behind Act to allow for the individual progress of students with disabilities, writes Linda Perlstein in the Washington Post. She says NCLB sets unreasonable standards for students with developmental disabilities, and that preparing for standardized tests amounts to a waste of time for such students.

… as long as students are judged only on grade-level tests, no matter their needs, and as long as the education they get the rest of the year hews to that goal, they will lose out.

‘New test for special education students is making schools nervous:
Teachers still don’t know what will be on tests or how they’ll affect accountability ratings’

From the Austin American-Statesman: Schools across Texas are bracing for a change that will force some students in special education to take tougher tests than have been required for them in years past. Some school officials worry that the change could hurt their federal accountability ratings.

The exam will be given for the first time next spring, and some special education students will have to be tested at their grade levels instead of their actual learning levels.

… State officials have been scrambling to compile the test since April, when new and controversial federal regulations mandated that states either develop grade-level tests for some special education students or require that those students take a regular state accountability test, a move that probably would be brutal for most school ratings.