State giving no TAKS exemptions<\/p>\n
Students with disabilities, other difficulties will be required to
\npass version of test <\/p>\n
By Ann Work <\/p>\n
Monday, January 7, 2008 <\/p>\n
If Helen Keller attended school today in Texas, she would take the
\nTAKS test along with her classmates. <\/p>\n
It doesn’t matter whether a child is blind, deaf, dyslexic,
\nwheelchair-bound, handicapped by muscular or mental impediments, or
\nstruggling with addiction, language or emotional problems, the state
\nrequires each child in Texas public schools to take some version of
\nthe Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. <\/p>\n
Exemptions that were once allowed for students with severe handicaps
\nno longer exist. <\/p>\n
“They’re all taking an assessment,” said Denise Williams, testing
\ncoordinator for the Wichita Falls Independent School District.
\n“Everything falls under a TAKS label now.” <\/p>\n
As recently as last year, students who were the most cognitively
\ndisabled were taking a version of the TAKS test as part of a field
\ntest. <\/p>\n
“But this year will be the real deal,” Williams said. The TAKS “Alt,”
\nor an alternative version of the TAKS test, is here to stay. <\/p>\n
“We don’t have the option any more of exempting them because they
\ndon’t know the language or are handicapped. All kids test.” <\/p>\n
The blanket requirement covers even children who have moved here as
\nrecently as six months ago from Mexico. They might barely know the
\nEnglish language, but when enrolled in Texas schools, they will be
\ntaking a TAKS test in reading, math and science. <\/p>\n
A few years ago, students were tested only in reading. They also had
\na one-year exemption to give them a chance to learn the language. <\/p>\n
No more. Now, the state requires testing sooner and in more subjects.<\/p>\n
Some teachers joke that No Child Left Behind has turned into No Child
\nLeft Untested. <\/p>\n
“It’s the truth,” Williams said. “No longer can you bubble in an ‘X’
\nfor exempt.” <\/p>\n
A teacher will help determine what type of the TAKS test suits each
\nchild in her classroom. <\/p>\n
Williams confirmed that a deaf\/blind student like Helen Keller would
\ndefinitely be included in such testing. “Oh, yes,” she said at the
\nthought of it. “We have Braille.” <\/p>\n
Other accommodations can be made. <\/p>\n
Sandy Camp, Jefferson Elementary School testing coordinator, said
\nTAKS modified tests may be done orally, given in larger print or with
\nfewer answer choices. <\/p>\n
A dyslexic child takes the same test as his peers on the same day
\nthey do, but has two days to take it. A teacher assists these
\nchildren by also reading to them the proper nouns and the questions
\nand answers, two areas that are particularly troublesome for dyslexic
\nchildren, Camp said. <\/p>\n
“So as far as the higher level thinking skills, they still need to
\nuse those to complete the test, even though they have a learning
\ndisability,” Camp said. <\/p>\n
For the most severely profound children, a teacher does a computer
\nform of their test, entering information that she has gleaned from
\nmonitoring the child over a certain period of time. “The child is
\ngiven certain goals to achieve, they are monitored, and she sends in
\nthe results of that monitoring,” Camp said. <\/p>\n
The nature of testing today requires good communication between a
\nteacher, a diagnostician and the home campus, said Marvin Peevey,
\nassistant principal and TAKS coordinator at Cunningham Elementary
\nSchool. <\/p>\n
At his campus, children under his watch include those enrolled in
\ngrades K through 12 at North Texas State Hospital, Rose Street and
\nRed River Hospital. “If a child is at grade level for TAKS, they take
\nsome form of the TAKS test,” Peevey said. If they perform a few years
\nbehind their grade level, they are given an alternate version. <\/p>\n
Any alternative form of the TAKS test can be time-consuming for a
\nteacher, Peevey said, because it involves lengthy documentation and
\nan ongoing assessment. <\/p>\n
Each school has its own TAKS coordinator who monitors all the state
\nand federal regulations pertaining to TAKS testing. Like Peevey and
\nCamp, the TAKS coordinator is usually the school’s vice principal. <\/p>\n
So where do the results go once all the testing has been done? <\/p>\n
Testing is a two-headed monster, with some results going to the state
\nand other results going to the federal government. <\/p>\n
“We have to be able to serve both masters right now,” Williams said. <\/p>\n
The federal government requires reports on all children. While the
\nstate collects reports on all children, it tracks information on just
\nfive subgroups: white, African-American, Hispanic, economically
\ndisadvantaged and “all students” (which is defined as the total of
\nthe four subgroups). <\/p>\n
“Special ed is not a sub-group evaluated for the state,” Williams
\nsaid. <\/p>\n
The result of the disappearing exemptions has forced teachers to go
\nto the mat for every child, searching out ways to reach each one.
\nCollaborative teaching has been helpful here, Camp said. <\/p>\n
“We’ve come around to the realization that teachers can’t teach kids
\nalone. They can’t do it all by themselves. With professional learning
\ncommunities, we have developed teams where teachers work together to
\ninsure that these kids will learn.” <\/p>\n
Teachers can no longer settle for presenting academics only, she
\nsaid. “It’s working with the psychological part of (learning), where
\nthe kids know they can accomplish things. Sometimes when you have low
\nexpectations for a child, they will fulfill those low expectations,
\nand they won’t go any further. (Testing) is preventing any of us as
\neducators from having low expectations for kids any more.” <\/p>\n
Times have changed, she said. “When the accountability wasn’t so
\nfierce, we just kinda looked at kids and said, ‘These will be capable
\nof this much and these of that much.’ We did lower expectations for
\nkids a lot of times. Now, kids with learning disabilities like
\ndyslexia or any kind, we really expect them to come right along and
\ndo what they need to do.” <\/p>\n
When teachers put their heads together to help children learn, it’s
\namazing how successful they can be with children, she said. <\/p>\n
“We see it every day in our severely profound classes that these kids
\nare being successful. Years ago, people would have taken children with
\nsevere disabilities and put them in an institution. Now, it is amazing
\nwhat these kids can do,” Camp said. <\/p>\n
Education reporter Ann Work can be reached at (940) 763-7538 or by
\ne-mail at worka@TimesRecordNews.com<\/p>\n
Link:
\nhttp:\/\/www.timesrecordnews.com\/news\/2008\/jan\/07\/state-giving-no-taks-exemptions\/<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
BETTER IP RELAY – EVERYWHERE! i711.com makes all your relay calls better.
\nBetter web calls. Better wireless calls. Better AIM calls. Why settle for
\nordinary IP relay? Go beyond! Try http:\/\/www.i711.com for free today!<\/p>\n
NEW! Try out our Deaf Network of Texas Calendar! Go to
\nhttp:\/\/calendar.deafnetwork.com <\/p>\n
NOTE: deafnetwork.com does not endorse any of the products, vendors,
\nconsultants, or documentation referenced in this message or. Any mention of
\nvendors, products, or services is for informational purposes only.<\/p>\n
Powered by http:\/\/www.CrazyWebHosting.com<\/p>\n
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters,
\nhttp:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/list\/?p=unsubscribe&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234<\/p>\n
To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit
\nhttp:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/list\/?p=preferences&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234
\nForward a Message to Someone
\nhttp:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/list\/?p=forward&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234&mid=846<\/p>\n
—
\nPowered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com —<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
State giving no TAKS exemptions Students with disabilities, other difficulties will be required to pass version of test By Ann Work Monday, January 7, 2008 If Helen Keller attended school today in Texas, she would take the TAKS test along…<\/p>\n