Fed rule changes for testing disabled children start Sept. 21
Thanks to conversations with Dr. Gary Thompson, a noted Utah child psychologist who has spoken out against the Common Core, we have learned that new federal regulations go into effect on September 21, 2015, barring states from using alternative assessments for special education students, with the exception of a very restricted number of students they label “severely cognitively impaired.”
Dr. Thompson has shared his concerns about this change, which he says is based on “fraudulent and unethical use of psychology research.” He has written a powerful, detailed critique of the U.S. Department of Education’s rationale for this rule change, the “new research” that supposedly supports the idea that students with disabilities can perform at the same grade level as traditional students, and can be tested fairly on the same test used by traditional students, especially if his or her teacher is doing a good job and the tests used are from the “next generation” of tests (i.e. PARCC and SBACC). USDE states:
- See more at: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/rule-testing-disabled-children-start-sept-21/#sthash.8aS9BOVG.dpufNearly all States have developed and are administering new high-quality general assessments that are valid and reliable and measure students with disabilities’ knowledge and skills against college- and career-ready standards….we believe that alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards are no longer needed and, with high-quality instruction and appropriate accommodations, students with disabilities who took an alternate assessment based