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Specialized Education and Testing: Exceptions Allowed?

10/30/2013

Many consider special education a social service, and exercise ample caution when gauging the academic potential of learning-disabled students. However, many states have adopted formative and summative testing of special education students, arguing that a predominant focus around functional skills deprive learning-disabled students of wider life opportunities. Many of these specialized tests have been aligned to the Common Core in order to map learning towards ambitious goals. YEP-DC approached a range of stakeholders to ask the question:

Should students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) — learning disabled as well as those with more severe disabilities — be included in testing, why or why not, and to what extent would testing be a benefit or obstacle to the child's learning and development?

Below are the responses from a parent, advocate, teacher, and a school administrator, in that order.

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Does the United States Need a Malala?

10/23/2013

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Courtesy of Charlotte Grant

The Obamas had tea with her, and Jon Stewart asked to adopt her. Malala Yousafzai, the charismatic 16-year-old shot by the Taliban on a school bus, was in Washington, D.C., this month continuing her campaign for girls’ education. When Malala was 12, girls in her region, the Swat Valley in Pakistan, were threatened with violence by the Taliban if they went to class. Children in the United States are privileged to have free access to a public education. However, evidence is coming to light that for some young Americans, access to school is under threat.

For minority students, the punishments they receive from their teachers are consistently more severe than those used against their white peers. Astonishingly, African-American students are three times as likely to be suspended from school as their white peers for minor infractions including tardiness and talking. The result of this discipline gap is that black and Latino boys spend more time out of school through multiple suspensions, something that is also known as the “school pushout.” Since school suspension is closely linked to dropout rates, it is no surprise that only 52 percent of black teenage boys and 58 percent of Latinos graduate from high school, compared to 78 percent of their white peers. These boys desperately need a Malala-style advocate of their own. And if they get one, it’s not only these boys who will benefit, but everyone else too.

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Is Reform Really an Enemy of Creativity?

10/21/2013

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Once, while teaching in Spain, I asked my students if their behavior was the same in every class. In the haphazard unison of middle-schoolers, they shouted back a definitive “no.” They didn’t talk about the freedom teachers gave them, how much they liked the teacher, or the difficulty of their classes. Instead, they explained, they behaved well for the teachers they respected the most -- not the “fun” teachers or the “nice” ones, but the teachers who controlled the classroom.

And they aren’t the only ones.

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The 'Write' Way to Get Ahead

10/14/2013

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Photo courtesy of Chad Aldeman

These days, internships and mentors are as ubiquitous among college and graduate students as research papers and final exams. Such experiences are expected and collected, but many students are unaware of how to take full advantage of them to advance their careers. Not Chad Aldeman. This “proud Iowan” leveraged his mentors’ knowledge and networks, as well as his internship experiences, to create a launching pad for his career in education policy analysis and writing that led him to the U.S. Department of Education. Now an associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners and popular blogger for Education Sector, Aldeman shares his best advice for young professionals looking to do the same.

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What We Can Learn from U.S. Students in 'Smarter' Classrooms Overseas

10/7/2013

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Photo courtesy of Jeremy Meredith

Every year, 30,000 high school students around the world leave home to study abroad.

Amanda Ripley, a journalist, followed three – to Finland, South Korea, and Poland – for a year in an attempt to determine why other countries consistently outperform the United States in reading, math, and science. What she found informed her first book on education and included much of what we already know: Teacher quality and preparation standards are higher in foreign countries, student assessments more rigorous. But some of what she learned surprised her, too. And that’s what she shared during a talk with YEP-DC’ers Sept. 24.

During her talk, Ripley said the idea for her book, The Smartest Kids in the World — And How They Got That Way, stemmed from frustration over the constant lamenting of the sad state of education in the United States and the pedestal-like nature afforded to top PISA-scorers like Finland. “How do these countries get so smart? And what can we learn from them?” she asked. While Ripley studied data and interviewed experts, she really wanted to hear from students. “You have to talk to kids. They can fill in the holes,” she told the packed room of educators, academics, and advocates at the Hill Center. “They can unravel an entire story in three minutes.”

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Living and Learning Positively: HIV in D.C.

10/1/2013

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In 2010 I had my first run-in with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS. I was teaching in Lesotho, where 25 percent of the population had HIV and the average age of sexual activity began at 12 years. I desperately wanted to discuss HIV transmission and sexual health with my students, but I was told that I would lose my job if I did. So I upheld the social norms and kept quiet, but ever since, I’ve wrestled with the implications of my inaction.

School officials in Arkansas also found themselves face-to-face with HIV, though they were anything but inactive. Pea Ridge Public Schools banned three siblings because they’re believed to be HIV positive. The reason, they say, is to prevent other students from contracting the virus. What they don’t know is that banning HIV-positive students from school does not make their peers any less vulnerable to contracting the virus. Unlike a cough or a cold, HIV cannot be transmitted through the air, by touching a door handle, or even by sharing a glass. HIV is transmitted through very specific activities including unprotected sex and intravenous drug use. No one ever contracted HIV by sharing a ruler in math class. If Pea Ridge officials want to guard against the spread of HIV, they should teach students to practice safe sex.

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about

YEP-DC is a nonpartisan group of education professionals who work in research, policy, and practice – and even outside of education. The views expressed here are only those of the attributed author, not YEP-DC. This blog aims to provide a forum for our group’s varied opinions. It also serves as an opportunity for many more professionals in DC and beyond to participate in the ongoing education conversation. We hope you chime in, but we ask that you do so in a considerate, respectful manner. We reserve the right to modify or delete any content or comments. For any more information or for an opportunity to blog, contact us via one of the methods below.

Bloggers

MONICA GRAY is co-founder & president of DreamWakers, an edtech nonprofit. She writes on education innovation and poverty.

LYDIA HALL is a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she works on education, civil rights, and other issues. Lydia is interested in helping to bridge the gap between Capitol Hill and the classroom.

MOSES PALACIOS is an advocate for student rights and works as a Research Manager for the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) - a coalition of urban school districts across the nation. He writes on issues regarding the children of immigrants and students learning English as a second language. His views are his own and not representative of CGCS.

PATRICIA RUANE is a
research associate at an education nonprofit. She is an editor of Recess.

LESLIE WELSH is a high school social studies teacher in DC. She is an editor of Recess.

Specialized Education and Testing: Exceptions Allowed?

Does the United States Need a Malala?

Is Reform Really an Enemy of Creativity?

The 'Write' Way to Get Ahead

What We Can Learn from U.S. Students in 'Smarter' Classrooms Overseas

Living and Learning Positively: HIV in D.C.

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