Problem Statement/Research Questions /Free Appropriate Public Education

CASE 2.2

Sonya Major issue: State assessment Secondary issue: Free appropriate public education (FAPE)Character Sonya Brown, high school special education teacher Sonya Brown: I’m a little confused about who is supposed to take the state test. Last year, our district administrator decided that all 100 students in special education would take the state test. This year, he decided that 70 of the100 students in special education would take the alternate state test, which is a portfolio. In our state, there must be at least 40 students in special education taking the state test to count the scores as a subgroup. In our case, there will no longer be a subgroup for special education and their scores won’t be summarized and count as a subgroup. This probably will help the school meet adequate yearly progress (AYP). If just one sub-group does not meet AYP, the entire school is sanctioned.30The state test results for students in special education were the reason my school did not meet AYP. I have been here 15 years as a special education math teacher and this is the most pressure I have ever felt. When our principal, Mr. Wheeler, called the faculty together to review the state test results 2 weeks ago, I think we were somewhat surprised at the results. At the faculty meeting, we reviewed our school report card and the summary table was quite clear. By the end of our meeting, other faculty members were very upset with the results and even made remarks to the special education teachers that we must make changes or the whole school would suffer. As I said, I have been a special education teacher for 15 years and I really believe that we can raise test scores. For example, I teach special education math. My classes mostly consist of students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and mild mental retardation. Many of our 100 students in special education take the special education math class. In fact, most of our students with disabilities take the majority of their classes in the special education program. I teach the same content as the regular education teacher in math and we use the same textbook. However, by November or December of each year, I find that my students are simply unable to understand the content. So I deviate from ISBN 1-269-38918-1From Weishaar, Case Studies in Special Education Law: No Child Left Behind Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, First Edition, pp. 30--32. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Sonya31the general education curriculum to teach math that is more functional, or I take longer to present the same concept. I try to help the students make progress toward their IEP goals and the general education curriculum goals. One of the problems is that the IEP goals and general education curriculum goals aren’t always the same. This is because the students in special education function at a much lower level than students in regular education. One of my colleagues teaches a second section of math in the special education classroom. He doesn’t use the general education textbook at all. He creates the curriculum depending upon who is in his classroom. In fact, he told me that students receive “packets” of worksheets that are on various levels and he tells students how many worksheets they must complete for the day. Students then work at their own pace to complete the day’s work and ask questions when they don’t understand something. Some students are working on basic computation, others are working on prealgebra, and others are working on geometry. I think this works for the other teacher. I don really see a problem with this method as long as the students are progressing. We don’t have to use the same texts or methods. Our students are in special education, aren’t they? We are supposed to individualize programs, aren’t we? I try to maintain the connection to the general education curriculum in math as long as possible each year and the other special education teacher doesn’t—so what? Wow! It was just a matter of time before our entire school faced serious sanctions because I seriously doubt that students in special education can Percent Percent Meeting/ Percent Meeting/Tested on Percent Tested Exceeding Exceeding State Test: on State Test: Standards: Standards: Graduation Reading Mathematics Reading Mathematics Rate State AYP 95.0% 95.0% 40.0% 40.0% 66.0%minimumtargetAll students99.0% 99.0% 50.7% 41.2% 100.0%(Yes)* (Yes)* (Yes)* (Yes)* (Yes)*Disabled100.0% 100.0% 10.5% 1.8% 100.0%(Yes)* (Yes)* (No)* (No)* (Yes)*Economic 98.0% 98.0% 37.5% 37.0% 100.0%disadvantaged(Yes)* (Yes)* (Yes)* (Yes)* (Yes)*Note: To meet AYP in this state, these conditions are required: (1) At least 95% tested for reading and mathematics and for all groups and subgroups; (2) At least 40% meet/exceed standards for all groups and at least 37% for all subgroups to compensate for error in measurement for smaller subgroup sizes or meet Safe Harbor requirements. Safe Harbor: Subgroups with fewer than 40 students are not reported. Safe Harbor only applies to sub-groups. In order for Safe Harbor to apply, a subgroup must decrease by 10% the percentage of scores that did not meet standards from the previous year plus meet the graduation rate for the subgroup. Safe Harbor allows the school an alternate method to meet subgroup minimum targets on achievement.*Did group/subgroup meet AYP?ISBN 1-269-38918-1From Weishaar, Case Studies in Special Education Law: No Child Left Behind Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, First Edition, pp. 30--32. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. ever meet or exceed state standards. The students in special education just function at a lower level. Maybe the administrator is thinking is that we will have a better chance of meeting AYP if our students take the alternate assessment. However, I wonder about the students’ IEPs. We already conducted annual reviews and indicated for each student his or her participation in the state testing system. If the district administrator follows through on the decision to have most students take the alternate assessment and most IEPs indicate that the students will take the state test, are we really following the IEPs? What will happen? Legal Issues1. Interpret the state test results for students with and without disabilities in this case. Also, describe Safe Harbor and how it applies to this case.2. What are the possible consequences of the administrator’s decision to require that the majority of students in special education take an alternate test rather than the regular state test? Consider both ideas and NCLB. Other Issues1. Why do you think the district administrator decided that the majority of students with disabilities would take the alternate state test(i.e., portfolio)?2. Who is accountable for the progress of the students in special education discussed in this case? Activity Why are students in special education unable to meet state standards in this case? List some possible reasons and discuss what a school could do to help students in special education meet state standards.