This time…it’s personal
Dear Melody Musgrove,
I’ve read with alarm plans to have the OSEP change their approach to compliance with IDEA to emphasize test score monitoring, and cutting back on state compliance officers. As the parent of a child with an IEP, I have many concerns about this approach, and feel it would not meet my child’s needs and therefore would violate his rights.
My child is more than a test score, and his IEP is about more than test scores. You see, my son has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He is of normal intelligence, and does pretty good on standardized test. If test scores were the only criteria looked at for his “success” he would leave school with some serious deficits. Autism treatment has made great strides in recent decades because of a concentrated focus on developing social and executive function skills. Those are not skills that show up on a standardized test.
“Anything has to be better than this…”
I’ve read with alarm plans to have the OSEP change their approach to compliance with IDEA to emphasize test score monitoring, and cutting back on state compliance officers. As the parent of a child with an IEP, I have many concerns about this approach, and feel it would not meet my child’s needs and therefore would violate his rights.
My child is more than a test score, and his IEP is about more than test scores. You see, my son has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He is of normal intelligence, and does pretty good on standardized test. If test scores were the only criteria looked at for his “success” he would leave school with some serious deficits. Autism treatment has made great strides in recent decades because of a concentrated focus on developing social and executive function skills. Those are not skills that show up on a standardized test.
“Anything has to be better than this…”
From the discussion on Diane Ravtich’s blog on “reforms” to special education compliance…
putkidzfirstThis is why most teachers in a given district/state/country go along with education reform. They don’t like present conditions, and think that anything would be better, when it really just makes it worse, either in the same way or in a new and really awful way. I’ll share a story I heard about why there is compliance with Arne
Diane, I’m a sped teacher who believes the focus on compliance is insane. I spend my days doing paperwork to meet compliance mandates while my paraprofessional works with kids in small groups. At least once a week, I’m at school for 2 hours after dismissal completing paperwork. Our IEPs are 17 pages long – for EACH student. I want to teach. I’m sick of sitting at a computer all day long.
I agree that monitoring achievement data for sped kids is crazy and can see how that will just lead to even more paperwork. But if it means no more 17 page IEPs, I’d be happy.