x-sender: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com x-receiver: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com Received: from mail pickup service by IQ12 with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Tue, 17 Mar 2015 23:22:29 -0400 thread-index: AdBhKsO3jJYap3iWSxGlRkYry2IQBg== Thread-Topic: Concerns with testing for students with special needs From: To: Subject: Concerns with testing for students with special needs Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2015 23:22:29 -0400 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000 Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message Importance: normal Priority: normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7601.17609 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 18 Mar 2015 03:22:29.0590 (UTC) FILETIME=[C3D6CF60:01D0612A] CUSTOM Mrs. Shelley knowlton Floyd floyd Parent/teacher 5032 old manning rd new zion SC 29111 shelley.floyd@Yahoo.com 8436598308 8436598308 EDUC Concerns with testing for students with special needs I am writing to express great concern with our current testing system. As an educator, I understand the vital role that assessments play in both guiding instruction and measuring growth. With that being said, as the parent of a child with special needs, I am greatly concerned with the lack of reliability and effectiveness that standardized tests have for students with special needs. My daughter is 17 years old. She has been diagnosed with both cerebral palsy and autism. She is completely nonverbal and has an expressive vocabulary of less than 15 signs. She has poor fine motor skills, poor gross motor skills, and tremendous academic delays. These issues hinder her from independently demonstrating basic skills such as brushing her own hair, brushing her own teeth, bathing independently, dressing independently, preparing her own food, putting on her own shoes, holding a pencil correctly, reading, writing, etc. In addition, she has scoliosis and hip dysplasia. Due these conditions, sitting still for extended periods of time is very uncomfortable for her; because of the lack of communication skills, this discomfort tends to lead to meltdowns and lashing out at others around her. Having said this, there are a few points that I'd like for you to consider. First, following her last psychological evaluation (performed by the school psychologist) it was estimated that she had the mental capacity of a child around 3-4 years old. Considering this I feel that there are so many issues that are so much more important than whether or not she can plot a line graph, solve mathematical equations, describe the mood of a passage, produce a written response (keep in mind she cannot write or speak to even dictate but will still be required to take the written portion of the test), or analyze the craft and structure of a written piece. For a child with severe mental delays, who struggles to follow two step directions, who is completely overwhelmed by various sounds and motions that others tune out, who has difficulty tending to their own daily needs, and who struggles to make sense of basic information that comes so naturally to others, the skills that are being tested are meaningless. It is patronizing to require a child to endure testing on skills that are so far out of reach that they could not possibly succeed. Due to her disabilities she is given the alternate test. Even this test is completely impractical for her. Our tests in no way measure her growth. Instead, they are full of questions that anyone who knew her for five minutes would know that she is incapable of answering accurately. Because of this, her results cannot be a valid measure of growth. Instead, they are a yearly reminder of what she is still unable to do. Frankly, I (as well as her teachers, therapists, administrators, family members, and all who know her) am already painfully aware of the huge gap between her abilities and those of her typically developing peers. This reminder is unnecessary, painful, and useless. Secondly, she deals with behavior issues related to her disabilities. Much of the negative behavior that she demonstrates seems to come from frustration and a lack of proper communication skills. This has been an issue that we have worked on for years. The requirement to endure lengthy testing, on skills that are completely irrelevant to her, tends to lead to behavioral outbursts. In years past, she has spent much of the test time crying uncontrollably, kicking, biting teachers and herself, and falling out of her chair repeatedly. The fact that she feels no other option but to respond this way is very bothersome to me. I feel like this test places her under undue stress and anxiety. It would be bad enough if she could express herself appropriately, but she can't. Putting a child in this position is demeaning and offensive. It sets her up for unavoidable failure. Lastly, she is not alone. Every public school in this state has students like my daughter, boys and girls who cannot speak up for themselves, who have to endure this process although it holds absolutely no value for them, their teachers, their schools, or even our state. Again, I understand that assessment is important, but I also know that invalid assessments are worth less than the paper they are printed on; they are a waste of both valuable classroom time and taxpayers money. Effective assessments should consider students' beginning points and be able to accurately identify, track, and measure growth over time. Because I do recognize the value of effective assessment, I understand that this method is not. Please consider the need for reform in regards to the ways that we assess our students with special needs. They need and deserve accurate and meaningful assessments as much as our typically developing students. The only way to ensure that we are helping them reach their maximum potential is to accurately assess their growth, and use these assessments to drive future instruction. I am asking you, as both a teacher and a parent, to please take these concerns into account. I encourage you to talk to special education teachers, visit special education classrooms, familiarize yourself with students like my daughter and then consider the imbalance between the benefits and costs of our testing system for our most at risk and helpless students. There has to be a better, more effective way. Sincerely, Shelley Floyd