Another View: Districts don't pick kids to take alternative test
Lee Funk is director of the special education department for School Innovations and Advocacy, a consulting firm with offices in Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Pasadena and Texas. He is responding to an Oct. 2 news story, "New test inflates school scores."
There are some pressing public policy concerns surrounding the use of the California Modified Assessment, but they are not the ones raised by The Bee in its Oct. 2 story.
According to the article, an increase in the number of students taking the CMA has led to an artificial rise in proficiency rates as determined by state measures.
The story's focus on pumped up test scores is misleading and overlooks far more important issues facing decision-makers when it comes to accountability and special education.
For one, there was a misunderstanding about which students should be considered eligible to take
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/23/3998063/districts-dont-pick-kids-to-take.html#ixzz1bhoBTwSZ