Individualizing minimum competency testing for learning-disabled students.

Abstract

With almost 40 states currently developing or implementing some form of minimum competency testing (MCT), the issues involved in including special education students in these testing programs have received a great deal of attention. Most of the articles addressing this area have focused on the identification of problem areas and possible infringements on students' rights. Few have described strategies and options for individualizing the decision-making process for testing learning-disabled students. During the 1981-82 school year, the Louisiana State Department of Education began implementing one of the most ambitious testing programs in the country. Beginning with the second grade, a test of basic skills mastery will be administered to students, with a grade level added each year until all grade 2 through 12 students are tested annually. Scores on the state test are the principal criteria for grade-to-grade promotion. Each local education agency submits a Pupil Progression Plan outlining how Basic Skills Test scores and other factors (such as attendance, teacher observation, and local test scores) will be considered for promotion. Students who do not achieve the required minimum scores will receive state-funded compensatory/remedial education. Like most educational programs developed for regular education, the problems of fitting special education students in the Basic Skills Test policies and procedures have been complex. Some state and local minimum competency testing programs have excluded special education students (or students with certain special education classifications); the policies and procedures for the Louisiana Basic Skills Test emphasize individual needs, regardless of special education classification.