Report Finds Students with Disabilities Making Some Progress; But Achievement Gap and Inconsistent Policies Complicate Results

Last week, the Center for Education Policy released Has Progress Been Made for Raising the Achievement of Students with Disabilities?, which found that while students with disabilities have made progress on fourth grade reading and math assessments between 2005-06 and 2007-2008 school years, there is still a large achievement gap between students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers. The report also concluded that state policies and the implementation of federal policies regarding the assessment of students with disabilities vary widely and complicate data collection and analysis. 

The report found that more states demonstrated gains for students with disabilities on fourth grade reading and math assessments at all three achievement levels: basic, proficient, and advanced, than states that showed declines in the three levels.  It is important to note that only proficiency and advanced can be counted as meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The report indicates that analyzing data at the national and state levels is complicated for many reasons including: changing state and federal policies relating to the assessment of students with disabilities; students with disabilities may take a variety of assessments (i.e. alternate assessments based on alternate or modified achievement standards); and changes in the number of test-takers with disabilities that may impact the comparability of test results in the same states.

CEC believes that this report correctly indicates that students with disabilities can excel academically when provided the proper resources, supports and accommodations.  However, because states vary in their approach towards identifying, assessing, and accommodating students with disabilities, CEC hopes this report and recent CEC recommendations made to the U.S. Department of Education and Congress will prompt further consideration of these issues at the Federal level. 

Read CEP’s Report on the Performance of Students with Disabilities.

Comments

[Miranda Rawls]

I believe that all students if provided with the resources needed will make adequate progress needed to be successful. Most of my special education students do better on standardized tests than their non disabled peers in my school.

[Shelly Harris]

I think it is important to provide our students with disabilities the resources and supports they need to be successful. What ideas do they have about closing the acheivement gap?

[Tiffany Clayton]

This article was very enlightening and showed great depth of scores for special needs students in comparison to that of general education students. It is good to see that the gap is closing and that we are providing our special needs students with challenges that will hold them more accountable.