Jessica Sellitto

April 12, 2016

High-Stakes Testing and Its Impact On Special Education Students
Introduction
IntheUnitedStates,standardizedtestingthatassessesstudentaptitudeandachievementhas
playedasignificantroleinshapingeducationalthinking.Sincethe1980s,inordertoensurethat
Americanstudentsarecompetitivewiththeircounterpartsinothercountries,U.S.policymakers
havetriedcountlessmeasurestoimprovethepublicschoolsystem.1Recentreformshaveledtothe
currenthighstakestestingmovement,whichmeasuresstudentachievementandschool
effectivenessmainlythroughtheanalysisofstandardizedtestscores.2Theresultingpolicieshave
putanemphasisonusingtestresultstomakeimportantdecisionsaboutstudents,teachers,and
administratorsinelementaryandsecondaryschoolsaroundthecountry.Allstudents,evenones
withspecialneeds,havetopassthesetestsandmeetstringentgraduationrequirementsinorderto
begrantedahighschooldiploma.
SpecialeducationstudentsintheUnitedStatesmakeup13percentofpublicschool
enrollment.3SomeofthelearningchallengesthatthesestudentsfaceincludeDownSyndrome,
dyslexia,autism,dyscalculia,andADHD.Thesedisabilitieshaveasignificantimpactonlearning
basicskillssuchasreading,writingandmath.Theycanalsointerferewithhigherlevelskillssuch
asorganization,abstractreasoning,memoryandattention.4Manyofthesestudentscanmeetthe
sameachievementstandardsasotherstudentsiftheyaregivenaccesstothesamecontentastheir
peersandareprovidedspeciallydesignedinstruction,supports,andaccommodationswhenneeded.
Studentswithlearningdisabilitieshavegainedaccesstospecificaccommodationssuchasalternate
1

locations,adaptedquestions,andassistantstoreadtestquestionsoutloudtothem.5Infact,priorto
thehighstakestestingmovement,manystates,inresponsetotheunreasonabletestinginflicted
uponspecialneedsstudents,modifiedtheirstateassessmentsatthelocallevel.Withtheimposition
ofhighstakestesting,however,localdistrictsareprohibitedbystatemandatesfrommodifyingthe
testsbutstillexpectspecialeducationstudentstopassthem.6Specialeducationstudentsonlyget
theiraccommodationsormodificationslistedintheirIndividualizedEducationalPrograms.7
Participationpolicieshavevariedacrossstates,andspecialeducationstudentsneedsfor
assessmentaccommodationshaventalwaysbeenmet.

NCLBandAssessments
MostwouldagreethatthemovementtowardhighstakestestingwasanextensionoftheNo
ChildLeftBehindAct.TheNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB)wassignedintolawin2002andits
provisionsincludetestinggrades38annuallyinreadingandmath.8NCLBprovidedthatthe
NationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)shouldbetheprimarymeansforevaluating
thesuccessofNCLB.Studentswithlearningdisabilitiesareincludedintheaccountabilitysystem
ofNCLBsincetheactrequiresallschoolstotestallstudents,includingthosewithIndividualized
EducationPrograms(IEPs)and504plans.9Ifachildreceivesspecialeducationservices,itispart
ofthelawthattheymusthaveanIEP.AnIEPisanimportantlegaldocumentthatindicatesa
childslearningneeds,theservicestheschoolwillprovideandhowprogresswillbemeasured.10
SimilartoanIEP,a504plancanhelpstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesasitoutlineshowachilds
specificneedsaremetwithaccommodations,modificationsandotherservices.11Astudentwitha
504plan,however,usuallyspendstheentireschooldayinageneraleducationclassroomand
typically,childrenwhoneedmodificationswouldhaveanIEP,nota504plan.12Clearly,thegoalof
NCLBwastoincreasestudentsachievementandaccesstolearning.Withagrowingfocuson
2

Figure1:PSSAtestscoredecline
statewide,201114

standardizedtestingandaddedpressureonboth
facultyandstudents,however,testscoreshave
actuallydeclined.Forexample,accordingtofigure1,
testscoresforaPennsylvaniaSchoolAssessment
declinedoverathreeyearperiod,withthespecial
educationpopulationdecliningthemost.13

RisksandIssuesWithTesting:WhatDo
Source:ReprintedFrom:http://www.post
gazette.com/news/education/2014/11/21/State
studentscoresdeclinedwithreducedfunding
testresultsshow/stories/201411240030

TheseTestMeasure?
Anothermajorproblemwithstandardized

testingisinrelationtowhatitactuallymeasures.Thedataisusedtodetermineifaschool,district,
orstateismakingprogressinstudentachievementintheareasofreadingandmath.Schoolsthat
failtoachievecertainstandardsforthestudentsineachgradeassessed,eachareaassessed,andin
eachsubgrouparesubjecttoaseriesofsanctions.Therefore,theperformanceofstudentswith
disabilitiescanhaveasubstantialimpactontheoverallperformanceoftheschool.Itisentirely
possibleforaschoolthatachievesadequateyearlyprogressforthetotalschoolpopulation,aswell
asallbutonesubgroup,suchasthesubgroupofstudentswithdisabilities,toberatedasneeding
improvementunderNCLB.14Thislevelofaccountabilityputspressureonteachersandparentsof
studentswithdisabilities.Whyshouldstudentsfromanysubgroupwholearninauniqueand
individualmannerdefinetheprogressoftheschool?Studentswithdisabilitieshaveindividualized
plansforareason,butthenareseenasnodifferentthanastudentwithoutalearningdisability.This
notonlyignoresthestudentsneedsbutalsohasanegativeimpactontheteacherandtheschool.It
isnecessarythatstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesneedsareacknowledged,accommodatedand

realistictotheireducationplans.
Sincethesetestsrepresenthighstakesforindividualstudents,suchasgradepromotionor
evenastandardschooldiploma,highstakestestingisdesignedtoholdindividualstudents
accountablefortheirowntestperformance,unlikesystemaccountability,whichisaimedatthe
providersofeducation,suchasstates,schooldistricts,andschools.15Highstakesandstandardized
testingposeextremerisksforstudentswithlearningdisabilities,however.Whilestudentswith
learningdisabilitiescouldbenefitfromincreasedfocusonstudentachievement,highstakes
standardizedtestingcanalsopresentseriousobstaclesandconsequences.

TestingAccommodationsandOptingOut
Oneofthemajorrisksforthespecialeducationpopulationisthataccommodationsarenot
alwaysprovidedandthereforeparentsareincreasinglydecidingtooptoutoftests.
AccommodationsmustbedeterminedbythestudentsIEPteamorSection504team,includingthe
parentandtheyshouldbebasedonthestudentsindividualneedsandshouldbesimilartothose
providedtothestudentduringclassroomassessment.16Decisionsaboutassessment
accommodationsarenottobemadeonthebasisofdisabilitycategory;therefore,schoolsareunable
todevelopapredeterminedlistofaccommodationsspecificallyforthosestudentswithlearning
disabilities.17Ithasbecomeincreasinglydifficultforparentstofindperfectaccommodationsfor
theirchildandasaresult,thestressandpressuresurroundingthesetestshavebeguntooutweigh
anybenefitofhavingastandardizedtestingsystem.
Becauseoftheproblemswithaccommodations,someparentshavechosentohavetheir
childoptoutoftakingstandardizedtests.Itissometimesdifficult,however,forparentstofind
waystooptoutofthesetests.Forexample,IEPteamsmaynotexemptstudentsfromparticipating
inastatesassessmentsystem.TheIEPor504teamdetermineshowastudentwillparticipate,not
4

whetherastudentwillparticipate.Thereforethestudentdoesnotalwayshavetheoptiontooptout,
basedonstatepolicies.18Andasaresult,manyparentschoosetokeeptheirchildrenhomefrom
schoolondesignatedtestdays..Onesizefitsalltestspunishanddiscouragestudentswhoare
alreadyvulnerable,includingchildrenwithspecialneeds,thuscreatingthedesireforparents
choosingtooptoutofhighstakestests.19Optingoutshouldnotbeviewedasacopoutto
preventfailureinanywaybutratherisawaytotakecontrolbackofschoolsandeducation.

HowStandardizedTestsAffecttheStudent,theTeacherandtheCommunity
Standardizedtestinghasnegativelyimpactedstudents,teachersandclassroomsina
multitudeofways.Themostsignificantisobviouslyhowifaffectsthestudentsthemselves.Quite
often,standardizedtestsdonotaccuratelymeasuretheprogressofstudentswithspecialneeds
becausethesestudentsarenotalwaysperformingatgradelevelorhavedisabilitiesthatinhibittheir
abilitytocompletestandardizedassessmentsinthesamemannerastheirnondisabledpeople.20
Standardizedtestscauseseverestressandanxietyinallstudents,sowhenstudentswithlearning
disabilitiesareforcedtotakethesetests,theimpactcouldbeevengreaterintermsofanxietyand
pressure.Thesetestshaveaparticularlyharmfulimpactonthefrustrationlevelandemotionalstate
ofstudentswithspecialneeds,whichcanresultinnegativeviewsofschoolandlearningfor
studentswhoarealreadystruggling.21Ifastudentisnotinanenvironmentinwhichheorshecan
focusandthrive,itiscounterproductivefortheminanywaytotaketheseexams.Thesittingtimes
ofthesetestsarelongandcreateexhaustionandfrustrationforstudentswithspecialneeds.For
example,ifstudentsmissclassbecauseofanextendedtimeaccommodationfortesting,theywill
fallbehindalltheotherstudentsandthereforetheirinclassperformancewouldsuffer.Inaddition,
themajorityofstudentswithspecialneedsrequireextratimetocompleteassessments.Therefore,
pullingthemfromtheclassroominordertobetestedandreducestheamountofinstructionaltime
studentsreceiveduringtheyear.Withthesetworealitiesinmind,therearelittletonopositive
5

effectsofthesetestsoverallonstudentlearningandeducationalprogress.AccordingtoaGallup
Survey,asshowninFigure2,parentsarebeginningandcontinuingtoworryabouttheimpactthat
highstakestestshaveontheirchildren.22Onlyfourteenpercentofparentsseetestingaseffectivein
measuringschooleffectivenessinthissurvey,andthatnumberissomethingthatshouldbe
recognizedbystateeducationdepartments.23
Studentsarenttheonlyonestobeconcernedabouttherealitiesofhighstakestesting.
Educatorshavegrownfrustratedwiththecurrentsysteminplace.Highstakestestingundermines
teachercollaboration.Forexample,sinceteachersareevaluatedbasedontheperformanceoftheir
classes,theyarediscouragedfromhelpingstudentsinanotherteachersclass.Itbecomesa
competitionandtakesthefocusawayfromlearningandenjoymentintheclassroom.Italsomakes
theirworkenvironmentmorehostileandintense.Further,teachingtothetest"isreplacinggood
teachingpracticeswith"drillandkill"rotelearning.AfiveyearUniversityofMarylandstudy
completedin2007found"thepressureteacherswerefeelingto'teachtothetest'"sinceNCLBwas
leadingtodeclinesinteachinghigherorder

Figure2:ParentsOpiniononTestingandIts
Effectiveness

thinking,intheamountoftimespentoncomplex
assignments,andintheactualamountofhigh
cognitivecontentinthecurriculum.24Teacherswho
loveteachingbecomefrustratedwiththeirjobsand
asaconsequence,mayfindsomethingelsetodo
whiletheirjobswillbetakenoverbypeoplewho
havenointerestinorpassionabouteducation.
Teachershaveahugeimpactoneverystudents

Source:ReprintedFrom:Gallup
http://neatoday.org/2015/08/23/pollamericanswant
lessstandardizedtestingandmoreschoolfunding/

life,andifateacherisgivennotimetoexpand
beyondthematerialbeingtested,theirstudents
6

wontlearnvaluablelifelessonsandwillnotbeaspassionateabouttheirlearning.Enthusiasmis
infectiousandteacherpressuretoteachtoatestratherthanexcitementforthelearningprocesswill
certainlybesensedbystudents.Asanextensionofthisproblem,studentswillcometoschooland
attendclasseswithoutteachersmotivatedtoeducateandmemorizationandrotelearningwilltake
theplaceofanyformofcreativelearningprocesses.25Teachersnolongerhavetotrulyengage
studentsorchallengetheirideasbecauseallanswerswillalreadybepreconceivedor,atthevery
least,preordainedbyatestconstructednotbyteachersbutbybigbusiness.
Standardizedtestingaffectsindividualssothereforeithasanaffectonthecommunityand
schooldistrictasawhole.Localnewspapersprinttestscoresmakingthemasourceofpublic
conversationandcontroversy.Evenmorecontroversialisthefactthattestscorescangreatlyaffect
aschooldistrictsfunding.Thestandardisthatthefederalgovernmentplaysanimportantrolein
fundinglocalschools,andwithoutfederalfundingmanyschoolswouldceasetoexist.26While
schoolsdon'tactuallyhavetoadministerannualachievementtests,they'lllosefundingiftheydon't.
Thisforcesschoolstoputfundsbeforethestudentsandbeforetheirfaculty.Thisisunfairtoall
students,andespeciallyunfairtostudentswithspecialneedswhosescoresshouldnotalwaysbe
factoredintothefundingoftheschool.Anotherissueisthathighstakestestscanevennegatively
impactrealestate.Propertyvalueswilldecreaseifaschoolisnotconsideredgoodbasedonits
testscores.Thisraisedthequestionofwhatactuallymakesaschoolgood.Testscorescannotbethe
onlydeterminant,consideringthattherearesomanydrawbacksthatcomewithhighstakestest
taking.

PossibleSolutions:OptingOut,AlternativeTesting,PortfolioBasedAssessment

Althoughitisevidentthattherehavebeensomegainsinhighstakestesting,manyproblems
stillexist.Figure3showstheprosandconsassociatedwithoptingoutinNewYorkState,for
example.27
Figure3:TheGainsandDownsidesoftheHighStakesTesting
Gains

Lastyear,theoptoutmovementexploded,
fedbyeducators,teachersunionsandsocial
media.Itledto200,000kidsstatewideand
70,000onLongIslandoptingout.
ThestateandGov.AndrewM.Cuomohave
letteachersandparentsevaluateevery
individuallearningstandard,madechanges
tothelengthandstructureoftests,and
createdasystemtoletteachersevaluate
everytestitem.
Thestateisreplacingthecurrenttest
producer.
NYSadoptedafouryearmoratoriumon
usingscorestorateteachers.
Stateexamsareloadedwithpoorlywritten,
ambiguousquestions.Arecentstatement
signedby545NYSPrincipalsnotedthat
manyteachersandprincipalscouldnotagree
onthecorrectanswers.

Downside

Ineffectiveteachersareseldomfired.
Substandardschoolshardlyever
improve.
Poorlyeducatedandspecialeducation
childrenrarelysucceed.Therearetoo
manyineffectiveteachers,substandard
schoolsanddistricts,andpoorly
educatedchildren.
Standardizedtestsaretheonlyobjective
waytocompareachievementacross
multipleclassrooms,schools,districts
andstates.
Lessthan40percentofNewYork
studentsareontracktobecollegeand
careerreadybygraduation
Itmaycostschoolsanddistrictsmillions
ofdollarsinstateandfederalfunding

Source:CreatedfrominformationfromNewsday.http://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/optoutseasonisback
1.1161904

Itisevidentthatthecurrentstandardizedtestsysteminplaceisnoteffectiveandisoftenopposed
byteachersandparentsalike.Highstakestestsandtheotherexpectationsplacedonspecialneeds
studentsmightnegativelyimpacttheminamultitudeofways.Thepressuremayresultinfewer
diplomasforthem,lessopportunityforlifeskillstraininginschool.Theirdaysarefilledwithmore
academicsupportclassestogetthemthrough,thuseliminatingopportunitiesforart,musicand
othercreativeexperiences.Someoftheneedsofstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesaremetthrough
certainaccommodationsintheclassroom,sowhyaretheynotmetwithsametreatmentinrelation
totests?Thesetestsdonotmeasureanythingrelatedtowhatstudentsactuallylearnorneedtolearn
fortheirfuture,especiallyifaspecialneedsstudentswishestodevelopskillsthatwillmakethem
successfulinthejobmarket.Further,highstakestestscaneventhreatenthesuccessful
8

achievementofahighschooldiplomaasstandardizedtestingbecomesanintegralpartofa
studentsacademicprofile.Thecurrentsolutionisforparentstohavetheirchildrentooptout.
Whilethisisatemporarysolution,itisnotthedefinitivefixtotheproblemscausedbyhighstakes
testing.Schooldistrictsarepenalizedwhentoomanystudentsoptoutoftests.Insomestates,if
fewerthan95%ofthestudentsinagivenschoolordistricttakethetest,thatschoolcannotmake
AYP(AdequateYearlyProgress)andlosefundingandresources.28Thisisoneofthewaysschools
canfailwhenstudentsoptout.
ThespiritofNCLBisthatnochildshouldbeleftbehindyetironicallythatisexactlywhatweare
doingtospecialeducationstudentswhenthereareunreasonableexpectationsandlackofresources
forthestudentstomeetthestandards.Whileitwouldbeextremelydifficulttogetridof
standardizedtestscompletely,modificationsneedtobemadeinordertobettertheUnitedStates
educationsystem.Asignificantaspectofstandardizedtestsisthatthesetestsarenotmadeby
educators.Rather,theyarecreatedbylegislators.Tosolvetheproblemsassociatedwithhigh
stakestesting,itisimportanttofirstlookathowthetestsaremadeandmakechangesfromthere.
Legislatorsmustrecognizethattheeducatorsshouldmakethedecisionsinregardstotestquestions,
requirementsanddistribution.Untileducatorsarethedecisionmakers,itiscrucialthatparentsget
togethertosupportlegislatorswhosupporttheireducationalagendas.
Onesolutioncouldbetoreinstatetheideaofalternativeassessmentforspecialeducation
students.Alternativetestswereessentiallyeliminatedwiththeriseofhighstakestests.Thesetests
wouldbeeffectivebecausethecontentthatintellectuallydisabledstudentsaretaughtandthe
standardstheyareexpectedtomeetmightbeverydifferentfromthoseoftheirgradelevelpeers.
Alternateassessmentsenableschoolstomeasureprogressfromyeartoyearforastudentwhois
stillstrugglingtolearnandunderstanddifferentconcepts.29.Anotherpromisingformofassessment
9

iswhatisknownas"portfoliobasedassessment."Theapproachestoportfoliosvaryconsiderably,
buttheyallrestonrecordskeptbytheteacherandoncollectionsofthestudent's
work,calledthe"studentportfolio."30Studentsareusuallyencouragedtoreflectontheworkthat
hasbeenselectedwhichhelpsstudentsthinknotonlyaboutwhattheyhavelearned,butabouttheir
ownlearningprocesses,allofwhichcontributestotheoverallgoalofimprovingstudentlearning.
Schoolsshouldnotbesofocusedonmeetingtestingrequirements.Thisfocusistakingawayfrom
theimprovementandgrowthofstudentswithdisabilitiesandalsowithoutdisabilities.Although
standardizedtestscanplayausefulroleineducation,theyneedtobedetachedfromhighstakes
consequences.Educationalreformhastobefluidandthereforestandardizedtestsarenotanswerto
solvingcrisisinAmericaneducation.

10

1GailL.Thompson,andTawannahG.Allen.FourEffectsoftheHighstakesTestingMovement
onAfricanAmericanK12Students.TheJournalofNegroEducation81.3(2012):218227.
2Ibid
3 Lazarus, Sheryl, Quenemoen, Rachel and Thurlow, Martha. Meeting the
Needs of Special Education Students: Recommendations for the Race to the Top
Consortia and States. Cehd.umn.edu.
4LearningDisabilitiesAssociationofAmerica.TypesofLearningDisabilities.
http://ldaamerica.org/typesoflearningdisabilities/.2016.
5Fuchs,DouglasandFuchs,Lynn.FairandUnfairTestingAccommodations.TheSchool
SuperintendentsAssociation.
6Ibid
7GreatSchoolsStaff.ImplicationsofHighStakesTestingforStudentsWithLearning
Disabilities.Greatschools.org.http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/highstakestesting
learningdisabilities/.2010.
8Strauss,Valerie.NoChildLeftBehind:Whatstandardizedtestscoresrevealaboutitslegacy.
TheWashingtonPost.2015.
9Ibid
10Ibid
11Ibid
12Stanberry,Kristin.Understanding504Plans.Understood.org.June,2014.
13Chute,Eleanor.Pennsylvaniastudentscoresdeclinedwithreducedfunding,testresultsshow."
PittsburgPostGazette.November21,2014.
14GreatSchoolsStaff.ImplicationsofHighStakesTestingforStudentsWithLearning
Disabilities.Greatschools.org.http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/highstakestesting
learningdisabilities/.2010.
15Ibid
16Ibid
17Ibid
18 Juerling, Merry. Guide for Opting Out/Refusing High Stakes Testing and Test
Preparation for Special Needs/Exceptional Students. Unitedoptout.com.
February 7, 2015.
19NYStopTesting.WhyOptOutofNYSStandardizedTests?
http://www.nystoptesting.com/2014/03/whyoptoutofnysstandardizedtests.html.March27,2014.
20Willis,Judy.BrainFriendlyStrategiesfortheInclusionClassroom.ASCD.

21AFT.AgainstStandardizedAssessmentsforStudentsReceivingSpecialEducationServices.
http://www.aft.org/resolution/againststandardizedassessmentsstudentsreceivingspecial
educationservices
22Walker,Tim.Poll:AmericansWantLessStandardizedTestingandMoreSchoolFunding.
NeaToday.August23,2015.
23Ibid
24ProCon.org.IstheUseofStandardizedTestsImprovingEducationinAmerica?
http://standardizedtests.procon.org
25Ibid
26VanThompson.DoStandardizedTestScoresFactorintoHowMuchMoneyaSchoolWill
Receive?GlobalPost.
27TheEditorialBoard.Optoutmovementisoutofhand.Newsday.
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/optoutseasonisback1.1161904.March26,2016.
28 FairTest. How NCLB Relates to Opting Out of Tests.
http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Federal_law_related_to_opting_out_final.pdf
29Gryta,Virginia.AlternateAssessments:WhatTheyAreandHowTheyWork.
Understood.org.https://www.understood.org/en/schoollearning/partneringwithchilds
school/testsstandards/alternateassessmentswhattheyareandhowtheywork
30Neill,MollyandPeterson,Bob.AlternativestoStandardizedTests.RethinkingSchools.
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/restrict.asp?path=archive/13_03/assess.shtml