THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT AND HOW IT INFLUENCES SPECIAL EDUCATION

1. THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT AND HOW IT INFLUENCES SPECIAL EDUCATION BY Anita Schneider

2. I. Bridging the Gap on Achievement 1. Accountability and High Standards • NCLB states that all schools will be held accountable in guaranteeing that all students, including students with special needs meet high academic standards. • Standards NCLB requires all states to adopt standards in math, reading/ language arts, and science, and make them available to the public. These standards are to apply equally to children with disabilities. • All schools will measure student achievement yearly in reading in math in grades 3- 8, and at least once during high school. Anita Schneider

3. 2. Assessing Students with Disabilities • Proficiency for all students: All students will be proficient by 2014. NCLB requires that all students with disabilities eventually demonstrate proficient academic performance. • If a special education student achieves proficiency , he or she is no longer considered to have a disability. • Students with disabilities must participate in annual assessments. They may take regular grade-level assessments, regular assessments with accommodations, alternate assessments based on grade-level achievement standards, or alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. Anita Schneider

4. (Assessing Students with Disabilities Cont’d) • Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities can test with alternate achievement standards, but the percentage of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities must not exceed 1% of all students in grades assessed. There is a new policy, allowing states an additional 2% increase, by creating a new category of student, those with "persistent academic difficulties." • Nationwide, about 10% of special education students had been allowed to take alternate tests, that may grow to 30% (as many as 530,000) students, 3% of all students tested annually. • Students with Learning Disabilities are expected to take grade-level achievement tests without any type of accommodations or modifications. Anita Schneider

5. 3. Adequate Yearly Progress • A school that fails to make AYP for all students will first receive assistance, then receive corrective action if they fail to make progress. NCLB requires annual achievements objectives. AYP conditions require that these objectives establish annual targets for all students. In calculating a school's AYP, 4 subgroups data must be divided into the economically disadvantaged, Limited English Proficiency (LEP), students with disabilities, students from major racial/ethnic groups. A school that fails to make AYP for all students will first receive assistance, then receive corrective action if they fail to make progress. • If a school does not make AYP for any of the subgroups for three years in a row, they may face sanctions, mainly less funding. • The multiple subgroup student: A student who falls under two or more of the subgroup category. The performance of this student counts for or against a school multiple times. Anita Schneider

6. (Adequate Yearly Progress Cont’d) • The determining factor for placing a school in Academic Early Warning Status (AEWS)? Schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years are placed in Academic Early Warning Status (AEWS). • Safe harbor provision: The State, school districts, schools, and each subgroup of 45 or more students must reach the performance targets for increasing proficiency in reading and math to make AYP. There is an exception to that requirement. The State, school districts and schools may still make AYP if each subgroup that fails to reach its proficiency performance targets reduces its percentage of students not meeting standards by 10% of the previous year's percentage, plus the subgroup must meet the attendance rate or graduation rate targets. • Schools that are currently in AEWS get removed from this status need to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years, then they can be removed from AEWS.  • The determining factor for placing a school in Academic Watch Status (AWS): Schools that do not make AYP for four consecutive years are placed in Academic Watch Status. • Schools that are currently in Academic Watch Status (AWS) get removed from this status by achieving AYP for two consecutive years are removed from AWS. • Schools are notified of their AEWS or AWS status: The State Board of Education adopts an official status list for each category after School and District Report Cards are published Anita Schneider

7. (Adequate Yearly Progress Cont’d) • Private schools or institutions do not have to make AYP However, if a Local Education Authority has Title I-funded private schools or institutions within its boundaries, the LEA must establish with them the criteria that will be used to annually evaluate the impact of the services that are delivered. • Assessment results that will be considered in making AYP determinations: The reading and mathematics results from ISAT, PSAE, IMAGE, and IAA. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is continuing to develop an assessment to replace the IMAGE and IAA. • Schools make AYP in a given school year under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requirements: Three conditions are required for making AYP in a given school year: At least 95 percent of students are tested for reading and mathematics, for all students and for all subgroups of 45 or more students. At least meet the minimum annual target, for Meeting/Exceeding Standards for reading and mathematics for all groups and all subgroups of 45 or more students. At least meet the minimum annual target for attendance rate for elementary and middle schools or graduation. Anita Schneider

8. II. Rewarding Success and Sanctions for Failure 1.Rewards for schools that close the achievement gap • supplemental services, such as tutorial assistance that has proven to be effective. • Additional human, financial, and/or material resources such as funds to pay highly skilled teachers at a matching rate of pay to work with struggling readers after school. • Additional personnel such as a substitute teacher. • High-quality professional development opportunities • Increased funds for instructional supplies. • Contract variance • Public Recognition of schools that make the most progress • Cash awards to schools to be distributed as the school determines, such as high quality professional development, school equipment and materials, technology, or bonuses to staff. Anita Schneider

9. 2. Sanctions for Failure • reduce federal funds available to a state for administrative expenses if a state fails to meet their performance objectives and demonstrate results in academic achievement. • identify, assign accountability status, and publicly report schools that do not make AYP or that do not meet other expectations for progress. • Schools must send out a written notice about the school’s status to parents of each student enrolled in the school. • Offer public school choice to parents • Reduced funding • Possible replace- mentor- restructure- of personnel. • Implement needs-based, content-specific professional development that is scientifically research-based. • Implement supplemental educational services to eligible students Anita Schneider

10. III. The cost of NCLB Implementation 1. States, School Officials and Educators argue that NCLB is under funded. There is a need for more funding in these areas: • Proven programs and services that help increase the achievement of all students and close the achievement gaps. Funding is essential to support programs that do help children learn. • Development and Administration of Student Assessment/Testing • Remediation Costs such as Evaluation of test results, technical assistance, development of school improvement plans, and curriculum changes • Compliance with Requirements Concerning Teacher and Paraprofessional Qualifications. • Sanctions mandated in NCLB which will result in costs associated with school choice, transportation, supplemental educational services, corrective action and restructuring. Anita Schneider

11. IV. Parental Choice 1. School Reports to parents: • Describing their child’s achievement and specific areas of need • Achievement levels for specific groups of students—in each state, district, and each school. • Teacher quality and the distribution of qualified teachers among different schools. • Lists of schools in need of improvement and their improvement plans • Notice of school transfer choices parents have with data on the sending and receiving schools. • Information about free tutoring • services for some children and data on the tutoring provider, especially the success rate in helping children to meet standards. Anita Schneider

12. 2. School choice programs: • A Title I elementary school that does not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two years in a row enters School Improvement status. The following year, the school must offer transfer options to all students in that school, and continue offering choices until it makes AYP two years in a row. • The school that the parents choose must follow a certain criteria: The following is the possible criteria: -must not be identified for School Improvement -must not be identified as persistently dangerous - must have higher academic performance than the sending school -may not be a new school -will be a traditional calendar school 3. Parental rights to look at teachers qualifications • At the beginning of the school year, the school district must notify parents of all children who attend Title I schools of their right to request information about the qualifications of the child's teachers and paraprofessionals. Anita Schneider

13. V. Improving Teacher Quality 1. Who does the Highly Qualified Status apply to? • Highly qualified status applies to all teachers with K-12 teaching credentials and assignments. NCLB requires all teachers, including special education teachers of core subjects ( Math, Science, English, Reading, Language Arts, Foreign Languages, Civics & Government, Economics, Music, Art, Theatre, Dance, History and Geography) to meet the NCLB teacher requirements. • Paraprofessionals must meet one of the following options: -Complete 60 semester hours of college credit and evidence is an official transcript -Obtained an associates degree or higher and evidence is an official transcript -Met a formal state assessment -Met state paraprofessional approval • NCLB exempts special education teachers who provide solely consultative services such as providing guidance or modeling in instructional techniques, resources, or accommodations that will enable a particular student to succeed in the curriculum. Instructing an individual or small group on a specific aspect of a core curricular area with the classroom teacher retaining primary responsibility for instruction in that core content area for that child. Anita Schneider

14. 2. What makes a teacher highly qualified? • In order to be highly qualified in the subjects that you teach you must have the following: -Passed the IL state content test in the subject or have a major in that subject indicated by university transcript -Have 32 semester hours in the subject or have a masters degree or higher degree in the subject or -Have a state master certificate in the subject. 3. How schools and special education teachers are working with the mandate • Assigning special education teachers to co-teaching positions with a highly qualified general education teacher. • Assigning special education to teach subjects not considered core subjects. • Teachers take a state test or tests in the core subject that they are required to teach and pass. • Teach the core subject(s) they are certified in and the rest of the day supervise a study skills class. • Report your competence through HOUSSE – 100 points. This applies • to teachers with one year of experience or more. This expired 10-31-06. Anita Schneider

15. PROS AND CONS OF NCLB PROS Accountability: Enforces schools to make sure special education students receive the intense and quality education that they need. Assessments: NCLB is viewing special education students as individuals that are capable of accomplishing goals that are set for them and having high standards. NCLB does make a bit of an attempt to give some students with disabilities accommodations when it comes to assessments. The law may allow as many as 30% of the special education population to a take alternate tests opposed to only 10%. AYP: Adequate Yearly Progress is intended to help parents, students, education departments to monitor the progress of all students. Anita Schneider

16. PROS • Highly Qualified Status: Standards are set for teacher qualifications. Teachers must be certified in the field/subject that they teach. • NCLB stresses reading, writing and math for all students. • Parental involvement: Parents are provide every year with a report of student achievement and explanations are provided Anita Schneider

17. CONS • Proficiency for everyone: All children will be proficient by 2014. NCLB is not looking at children as individuals who have unique needs and abilities. Some children will be able to achieve at high levels, while others will work as hard and apply themselves but they will achieve less because of their disability. • Assessments: One test fits all. This law expects children with disabilities to be held to the same standards as their non disable peers. Students with disabilities who are cognitively disabled are expected to work at their grade level. • Adequate yearly progress: A school doesn’t make AYP if one subgroup does not meet or exceed standards in both math and reading.If one subgroup does not make AYP for two years in a row, the school may face sanctions. If it doesn’t make AYP for four consecutive years it’s put on Academic Watch Status. Anita Schneider

18. CONS • Multiple subgroup student: If a student falls under two or more subgroups such as race, poverty, disability, and LEP(Limited English Proficiency) that student is considered a multiple subgroup student. According to NCLB, the test scores of a poor minority student with a learning disability will count against a school in three separate subgroups. • NCLB is an unfunded mandate: There is little to no money coming into schools and districts to properly fund this mandate but states still must abide by all the terms of NCLB or risk losing funds. • Teacher Qualification Standards for Special Education Teachers: Special education teachers are expected to be highly qualified in all core academic subjects, whether it is regular, self-contained, inclusion setting, resource or any other setting. Anita Schneider

19. Recommendations for the future • Proficiency for everyone by 2014: NCLB needs to set attainable goals. Such high goals as this will only hurt schools because they will be labeled as schools that fail. Students need to be treated as individuals. Special education students who are not cognitively at their chronological age, should not be required to take grade level tests or the results should not count against a school for not making AYP. • Assessments: Students with IEPs typically have lower test scores than regular education students. Realistic goals must be set for these students. Multiple assessments are needed for an accurate portrait of the academic achievement of all students. No single test can provide an accurate portrait of students and schools. Smarter, more nuanced assessments can provide better information on achievement without increasing the testing burden and wasting valuable instructional time. Multiple assessments should be used to determine student and school progress and that assessment data be made available to teachers in so they can use it to shape instruction. Anita Schneider

20. (Recommendations cont’) • Adequate Yearly Progress: Legislators must set more realistic goals for students with special needs. Proficiency for everyone and one test fits all needs to be fixed before dealing with the issue of AYP. As long as those two issues are not being addressed, many schools will not make AYP. Setting more realistic goals and ensuring that subgroups truly contain members with common characteristics would most likely reduce some of the problems with AYP. • The multiple subgroup student: If a student falls under two or more subgroups such as race, poverty, disability, and LEP(Limited English Proficiency) that student is considered a multiple subgroup student. According to NCLB, the test scores of a poor minority student with a learning disability will count against a school in three separate subgroups. The solution to this is to count students only once in the group that has the biggest impact on their achievement. Anita Schneider

21. (Recommendations cont’d) • Funding: NCLB is an unfunded mandate. If legislators want this law to work there needs to be adequate funding for developing and administering assessments, professional development to ensure highly qualified status, and for school improvement plans and curriculum and staff changes. • Highly qualified status: Special educators should be considered highly qualified since they are trained and know how to transform the content so that more students learn it. For many years the pedagogy of teaching has been the expertise of highly qualified special education teachers for students with learning disabilities and other special needs. If the law stays as it is, the solution for this would be that undergraduate and graduate special education teacher programs should insert in their curriculum more core academic subject courses so special education teachers can come into the field highly qualified. Anita Schneider