The Foundations of Reform

1
A National Leadership Summit on Improving Results
for Youth
Policy and Practice Implications for Secondary
and Postsecondary Education and Employment for
Youth With Disabilities September 18 and 19,
2003 Washington, DC
2
Students with Disabilities No Child Left Behind

• Giving a New Meaning to Special Education
• Margaret J. McLaughlin

3
The Eras of Educational Reform

• Public education
• Access to equal public education for all
• Adequate public education for all

4
What is an Adequate Education?

• Based on students access to the same content
  standards and assessments
• One accountability system for all students
• Evidence of progress toward proficiency

5
Challenges to Achieving an Adequate Education

• Curricular frameworks that are too narrow (e.g.,
  academic or pre-collegiate) demanding
• Expanded subject matter resulting in faster pace
  of instruction
• Lack of appropriate curriculum materials (e.g.,
  textbooks) assessments
• Understanding impact of accommodations and
  modifications
• Limitations of knowledge base regarding
  instructional intervention
• Parallel systems of education

6
State Participation Rates for 2000-2001
Average Participation Rates for Students with
Disabilities in State Assessments Across Grades
Tested.
7
2003 Maryland Reading Performance Data
8
2003 Maryland Math Performance Data
9
What Do We Need to Do?

• Align NCLB and IDEA
• Increase real participation in curriculum and
  assessments
• Link IEPs to curricular frameworks
• Understand how to use the data you receive and
  collect the data you need!

10
What Data Do We Need?

• There has been a tendency to use budding state
  indicator systems to hold schools and systems
  accountable before the system has the capability
  of adequately doing so.
• Goertz, 1989

11
Perils of NCLB Knowing what You Know

• Lack of sufficient data
• Poor quality data
• Using the data for the wrong reasons or making
  the wrong inferences from the data
• Failure to convert data to information that can
  be used to make decisions