I reviewed an IEP for a seventh grade girl. I will refer to my student as "Marissa." "Marissa" definitely has needs beyond the regular division classroom. The IEP for my student I feel is very well written. Her IEP was written in March of 2001 while she was a sixth grader in another building, because our district has divided the grades K-3, 4-6, and 7-8.  It was signed by her teacher, the Learning Consultant, her parent, and her.

    "Marissa's"  reading as scored by the S.T.A.R. Diagnostic Reading Test was 4.2. She also tested out at a 4.7 g.e. on the math screening test.  The IEP goes on to say "Even though 'Marissa' is reading 3rd grade material, she is not reading it fluently and with great accuracy. Accuracy at 65%."  A short term objective was to read grade 3 material aloud with fluency and accuracy.  My question is why is she testing 4.2 and reading in class at grade 3. I would suspect lower expectations were set, so she could master them.  I don't feel that is the intent of the law. The law is to help students be taught at their level and help them stretch to reach the next level even though it is difficult for them.  A belief statement of the Alternate Assessment Task Force is " Illinois Learning Standards (ILS) set high expectations for all students.  High educator expectations are linked clearly to student achievement."

     "Marissa" did achieve growth in plot and main idea from 11/6/00 to 02/23/01 by five percent accuracy and in using context clues by twenty-five percent during the same time period.  I see little growth, however, in the other areas of her reading plan, such as fluency, answering questions about a story, and making predictions. The IEP reads, "The student will demonstrate comprehension skills by orally summarizing a given story.  The student will be able to answer 8 out of 10 written questions about a given story. A possible change might include specific strategies to help her achieve the higher goals: Student will read at 4.5 grade level. She will be given high interest level books to read to increase fluency and answering questions about the story. Practice will be afforded through the reading of computer articles on the fourth grade level to increase her ability to answer questions about the story. In math she mastered two areas, add and subtract four digit numbers with regrouping and add and subtract fractions with common denominators. The other four she is currently working on with no indication of results. She has not mastered story problems the IEP says, "due to her reading difficulties. My suggestion for this would be restate the goal to say the computer will accomodate her by reading the problem to her, and then she will set up the solution for it.  The purpose is not to test reading, but the practical application for the problem. There are many good software programs that can accommodate learning disabilities. They not only read to them, but graphically help them visualize the computation for problems.

     Assessment is an area that was addressed in the "Accomodations for Students with Disabilities."  The IEP states that "Marissa" is to participate in all State assessments for the appropriate grade level.  However, she is to have accommodations required for State assessment. The IEP reads, "Student may use calculator. Test may be taken in small group setting. The student may write directly on the test. Read selected tests. Allow extra time. Allow Student to print." "Marissa" needs all of these accomodations. I would even add only giving part of the test to her at a time.  For instance I would give five problems at a time, because she needs time to process slowly. Testing is so much work for her that she needs to rest between sections.  It will be overwhelming even if given extra time to complete.  In class we always keep her assignments short, so she can complete them before she tires.  Local assessments have the accommodation of "Allow extra time for completion. Give at a different grade level. Provide a small group or individual setting.  Read selected tests. Use calculator." I think this most appropriately matches testing for "Marissa" if we really want to see what she has achieved of her goals.  

      Students with learning disabilities now have a chance to achieve up to their potential. Teachers aren't allowed to let them slide through the system. When we raise their bar, they rise to master getting over it. This is the best motivator for any student and truly increases their self esteem.  These reforms helped to achieve this for the students who learn differently.