LD News Policy Briefs (February 2006)

Teaching Matters: The Link Between Access to the General Education Curriculum and Performance on State Assessments
This new Access Center brief is an introduction to the linkage between classroom practice and student performance on State assessments. It offers insights into the following questions: 1) What are the elements of a standards-based system? 2) What is access to the general education curriculum? and 3) How does access to the general curriculum improve student performance in the classroom and on accountability assessments?

For more information, click here.

High School Completion by Youth with Disabilities
This Fact Sheet summarizes data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 which provide a national picture of the rate at which secondary students with disabilities complete high school and how they fare in their early postschool years. Data were analyzed by disability category and certain demographics and are compared with data from 1987.

To download the fact sheet, click here.

"Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities."
This manual, from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), presents a five-step process for Individualized Educational Program (IEP) teams, 504 plan committees, general and special education teachers, administrators, and district level assessment staff to use in the selection, administration, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the use of instructional and assessment accommodations by students with disabilities.

To download the manual, click here.

"The Good News Behind Average NAEP Scores"
This new report from the Center on Education Policy’s TestTalk series highlights recent National Assessment of Educational Progress results and looks behind the aggregate results to see how students from different racial/ethnic/socio-economic backgrounds are performing on the exams.

To download the report, click here.

Education Secretary Pledges NCLB Flexibility
Taking over as education secretary a year ago, Margaret Spellings promised to enforce the No Child Left Behind law with flexibility not previously seen much from Bush administration officials, including her.

More information is available here. 

Public Education is Becoming Accountable
On the fourth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Seattle Times reports that public education is becoming accessible and accountable to all.

For more information, click here.
 
Evidence-Based Education "Help Desk" Now Open
The Evidence-Based Education Help Desk, established by the What Works Clearinghouse of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, provides federal, state, and local education officials, researchers, program providers, and educators with practical, easy-to-use tools to advance rigorous evaluations of educational interventions (i.e., programs, products, practices, and policies), and to identify and implement evidence-based interventions.

More information is available at http://whatworkshelpdesk.ed.gov/

Response to Intervention Resources
The National Association of School Psychologist (NASP) has assembled an array of resources and information about the Response to Intervention model being used in many school districts as part of the procedure to identify students with specific learning disabilities.

More information is available here. 

Schools and Families Need to Work More Closely
One Illinois family’s efforts to secure an appropriate school program for their child underscores how schools and parents need to cooperate to best help kids with special needs.

More information is available at:
http://www.journalstandard.com/articles/2006/01/29/local_news/news02.txt
 
Online Discussion at the Family Center on Technology and Disability
Throughout the month of February 2006 a panel of national experts will discuss how mediation is being used to settle disputes between schools and families regarding assistive technology.

More information is available at http://www.fctd.info/webboard/index.php.