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by Catherine D. Clarke
ASHA recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on its proposed rules for modified achievement standards for students with disabilities that according to ED offers greater flexibility in meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
ASHA expressed concerns about issues including:
- the requirement that the modified achievement standards be aligned with grade-level content but adjusted to reflect reduced breadth or depth of grade-level content. ASHA is concerned about this implementation in classrooms, with students with disabilities being held accountable for only a portion of material being taught
- the proposed regulations that would establish conditions under which a state or local education agency may never exceed the 1% or 2% caps (ASHA is suggesting the option for states to provide a rationale for exceeding the cap under certain circumstances, so that students who qualify for alternate or modified assessments will not be denied these options and thus penalized.)
- the requirement that reports must include only the number of children provided accommodations that did not invalidate the score of assessments (ASHA pointed out that all accommodations that are listed on the student's IEP should not invalidate assessment scores.)
- the omission of related services among other providers listed to obtain training on how to administer assessments and the appropriate use of accommodations
The comments also stressed that Individualized Education Program team members, including families, should receive needed training to identify children in this 2% subgroup and choose appropriate assessments.
The proposed regulations are designed to provide states with additional flexibility regarding accountability for the achievement of a group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress, but may not reach grade-level achievement standards within the same time frame as other students, even after receiving the instructional interventions.
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