By Gerry Tuoti
Wicked Local Newsbank Editor
Posted Aug 25, 2017 at 12:30 PM
Updated Aug 25, 2017 at 3:23 PM
THE ISSUE: Some students with severe disabilities take an alternative to the MCAS. THE IMPACT: A new federal requirement caps the number of students who can take the alternative assessment, and Massachusetts is over that limit.
New federal limits on the number of students allowed to take an alternative to the state’s MCAS exam could have significant impacts for some special education students in Massachusetts.
The federal Every Student Succeeds Act, the successor to No Child Left Behind, includes a requirement that no more than 1 percent of public school students in any state take the alternative assessment instead of the state’s standardized exam. Proponents of the cap say the vast majority of special education students are able to take the standard exam with accommodations, and that taking the alternative assessment in early grades could put students on a track that could delay or hinder the eventual attainment of a high school diploma.
In Massachusetts, more than 1.6 percent of students currently take the alternative assessment, or MCAS-Alt, primarily due to severe cognitive disabilities.
“Obviously, if a student is required to take MCAS, even with accommodations, if it’s not developmentally appropriate for the student, it’s going to have an impact on them,” said Jim Major, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private Schools, an organization of schools that educates severely disabled students whose educational needs cannot be met by their public schools.
Massachusetts is seeking a one-year waiver from the cap on the number of students taking the alternative assessment. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education expects to hear a decision from the federal government in early fall.
“I think what they’re proposing is not a fix; it’s another delay,” said Kathleen Boundy, executive director of the Boston-based Center for Law and Education.
When a student has special needs or a disability, a team meets to create an individualized education program, or IEP, that outlines how the public school can best accommodate him or her. The IEP team, which includes educators, psychologists and parents, is responsible for deciding, among other issues, whether the student will take the standard MCAS exam.
Roughly 10 percent of special education students are designated for the alternative assessment, which is intended for students with the most severe cognitive disabilities, such as nonverbal impairments, traumatic brain injury…