The Education Wars: Alternate Testing

Virginia wants to crack down on wrongful use and misuse of alternate testing for special education students.

It's pretty clearly spelled out in NCLB that only the students who are the most cognitively disabled take the tests. The tests aren't supposed to be used to inflate overall school test scores.

It is administrators, like the asshole I worked for at a middle school in Washoe County School District, who pressure teachers to cheat with this testing in order to inflate test scores. In my case, I adamantly refused, and ultimately paid for this with my career:

The effort by state lawmakers and education officials targets "portfolio" tests, which have helped increase passing rates at many schools by allowing students to avoid the multiple choice tests in favor of more flexible, individually tailored assessments. Critics have said that the alternative tests undermine Virginia's widely praised accountability system and overstate the progress districts are making in closing achievement gaps between racial groups.

State leaders say they are worried that portfolios, intended to help a select group of special education students who are learning grade-level material but cannot demonstrate what they know on a multiple choice test, are being overused.

"When you look at the growing numbers across the state, it appears there really is a problem here," said Del. John M. O'Bannon III (R-Henrico).

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