high stakes testing and disabilities

["Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>]

SAAS Preliminary FindingsFrom Monty: I am forwarding this without the attachments. The essential findings -- see esp point two -- are noted in the text below. The summary and the full preliminary report are at the website noted below. On point two: I hope this group has an initial database that will enable them to track whether NCLB causes the same negative consequences as do high stakes for individual students. 


Dear policymakers, practitioners, and parents:


We are distributing this e-mail in order to discuss the findings of our OSEP-funded research project, State Accountability for All Students.  We are studying the issues surrounding participation in and passage of state assessments for students with disabilities, including the unintended consequences of high stakes policies.  Our preliminary findings include:


     Discipline.  States with more students with disabilities in regular class more of the time tend to have lower discipline rates.
     LRE.  States with graduation tests and/or other high stakes policies tend to place students with disabilities in more restrictive settings.
     Participation.  States with more unrestricted accommodations tend to have higher participation rates of students with disabilities on regular state tests.


Please view the attached Executive Summary, which has been sent to you in Word and PDF formats.  If you would like to view the full version of the findings or learn more about our project, please visit our web site at www.ssco.org/saas/.


We ask that you share our findings with anyone you know who is interested in the topics we are studying.


Project Background


The University of Dayton is conducting an OSEP Directed Research three year national study, State Accountability for All Students (Project SAAS).  Project SAAS is studying the connections between state policy (rewards, sanctions, accommodations, assessments, accountability, reporting, etc.) and the participation/passage rates of students with disabilities taking the regular state assessments.  SAAS is also looking for unintended consequences of students with disabilities participating in high stakes testing programs.


SAAS's purpose is to share findings with policymakers and other interested parties to assist them in developing policies which support the meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities in state accountability systems.


Questions?  Please call or Email.


THANKS,


-- 
John Herner, Director
Project SAAS
University of Dayton
4807 Evanswood Drive,Suite 300
Columbus, OH 43229
(614) 785-1163
Fax (614) 785-0513
eMail  jherner@ssco.org
web site  www.ssco.org/saas/