On May 10, 2007, The California Board of Education voted to ask the State Legislature to require all students with disabilities to pass the CAHSEE to receive a diploma. Under the plan, students with IEPs or Section 504 plans would be allowed to receive the modifications that have been listed on their plans. Because of its precedent, educators, and parents are closely watching California prompting student advocates to propose increased preparation for special needs students taking exit exams.
States’ demands to improve graduation rates for students with disabilities are increasing. At the same time, preserving the standards that employers and colleges expect a high school diploma to signify becomes more difficult.
According to a high stakes testing research study by Martha Thurlow and David Johnson of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (2003), the following summarizes intended consequences of having students with disabilities pass exit exams:
- More students with disabilities will participate in the general education curriculum and achieve results.
- Higher academic expectations will improve students’ access to postsecondary education and employment.
- The differences between general education and special education students are reduced.
- Exit exams signify a minimum standard for all students to achieve—holding all students to these standards gives clearer meaning and value to diplomas earned.
- Educators will use differentiated instructional strategies, including the use of accommodations, to assist students in meeting higher academic standards and passing exit exams.
Based on Thurlow and Johnson’s study, the following summarizes unintended consequences of having students with disabilities pass exit exams:
- Some students with disabilities will fail to receive standard diplomas.
- Higher dropout rates may result as students’ frustrations rise amid difficulties in passing exit exams.
- Student self-esteem is lowered by repeated failures on exit exams. · Dissatisfaction and conflicts with parents may sometimes result; possibilities for lawsuits may also occur.
- Some students may need to remain in school longer to meet the requirements of standard diplomas.
- States and Local Education Authorities may be forced to create alternative diplomas and pathways to ensure that students exit with some form of high school exit credential.
The long-term consequences of test modifications are not certain, but increasingly evident is the escalating pressure to prepare special needs students thoroughly for high stakes testing. Use the following recommendations in your quest to help special needs students prepare for exit exams.
What can Administrators Do to Help Teachers Facilitate Mastery of Skills?
Stay on Task. Principals can make timelines of important deadlines and tasks during the year, and share them with teachers to keep them current in the classroom. Additionally, administrators should remind teachers to inform parents about avoiding the summer slide. During the summer months, special needs students tend to forget skills learned during the year; therefore, enrolling in high-quality learning programs during the summer would be beneficial to maintain standards. Principals should provide teachers with information about online test-taking programs, test-taking software geared toward special needs students and unique after school programs.
What Can Teachers Do to Facilitate Mastery of Skills?
Review. Review. Review. Organization and remediation are key factors in making sure students learn and retain the skills they need. With only five opportunities from sophomore to senior year to take the CAHSEE in California, Ron Wenkart, General Council for the Orange County Department of Education advises, “Provide as much remediation and additional help as possible, and document the help that is provided to each student.” IEP teams can provide extra remediation, practice tests and online tutoring. For legal and professional purposes, use portfolios to assist in documenting remedial exercises and skill competencies mastered by the students.
What Can Education Authorities Do to Help Students with Disabilities?
Be Clear and Concise. The specifics of modifications on the CAHSEE will be examined for years as exploratory committees research the consequences of exit exams on students with disabilities. Carlo Rossi, an attorney with The Disability Rights Association in Oakland, California believes the issue of accountability is significantly important but isn’t sure the impact of an exit exam on students with IEP's has been carefully considered. All eyes will be on California as twenty-five other states have exit exam requirements. The states may want to look to Johnson and Thurlow (2003) who suggest that states: (a) have fair graduation requirements while remaining accountable for all students; (b) clarify state graduation requirements; (c) ensure that students with disabilities have an opportunity to learn the test material; (d) make high school graduation decisions based on multiple indicators of students’ learning and skills; and (e) conduct ongoing research on the consequences of state graduation requirements.
