New Special Education Testing in Texas
State Modifies the TAKS Test after No Child Left Behind Act
Jan 11, 2009
The teacher chooses her words carefully as she administers the test, hoping he will understand. “OK, if we have your mom’s age, your dad’s age and your age all on this graph here, and you’re 16 and your dad’s 35, will you ever be the same age as your dad?” The student shakes his head. No. He can’t speak and he can’t write, but he grasps the concept. She smiles and places a check next to the words: demonstrates an understanding of linear functions.
Three New Tests
The state of Texas developed three new versions of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test to be implemented in 2008 for special education students: TAKS-Accommodated, TAKS-Modified (TAKS-M) and TAKS-Alternate (TAKS-Alt). In previous years, the State Developed Alternative Assessment II (SDAA II), which tested on the basis of skill level rather than grade level, was used to evaluate the progress of special education students. Now, like general education students, they will be tested on the grade-level Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), with the purpose of ensuring equal access to general curriculum, said Paula Walker, the executive director of special education for the Lewisville Independent School District (LISD).
“These tests have created higher expectations and are encouraging teachers to teach in a different way,” Walker said in an interview with the author. “Instead of starting where the students are and trying to get them to the level their classmates have already passed, teachers will be taking the grade level content and bringing it down to them. Logically the tests make sense, but practically, I’m not so sure. Just because we present the material to a student, doesn’t mean he has the ability to get there. High expectations won’t make him perform at grade level.”
How the Tests Work
Each of the new tests is designed for a different level of disability and the appropriate version for each student will be decided by his Admission Review and Dismissal (ARD) Committee, which is composed of an administrator, special education teacher, regular education teacher, the student’s parents and the student himself. While all four versions of the TAKS cover the same general content, the new versions have some significant differences Walker said.
The TAKS-Accommodated contains the same question items as the TAKS but with no embedded field-test items, and it allows for accommodations such as larger font, smaller testing groups and Braille tests. TAKS-M, which will be taken by two percent of Texas students, is similar to TAKS-Accommodated, but is modified in format and design with, for example, fewer answer choices, simpler vocabulary and no open-ended questions. TAKS-Alt, which evaluates students with significant cognitive disabilities and will be taken by one percent of Texas students, is administered individually by a teacher who observes the student’s completion of teacher-designed activities that link to grade-level curriculum.
The tests require adjustments for teachers and administration, but Walker said she believes the results will be positive.
