Some Children Still Left Behind
In the wake of the Elementary and Secondary Education Actâknown as the No Child Let Behind Act (NCLB) of 2007, low expectations for students in any sort of learning disability program led some schools and districts across the nation to marginalize students with disabilities by excluding them from the testing, using alternate testing more frequently than necessary, or testing them well below their enrolled grades.
This did a lot to pad the test scores for these schools, but understandably, has done nothing to help students with disabilities to excel or achieve in the classroom. However, the testing and reporting requirements of NCLB caused a few schools to take a hard look at the students in their learning disability program, recognize the need for improvement, and take action. These schools view NCLBâs requirements regarding the learning disability program at a school as valuable tools for change.
Using the strategies of small classes taught by teachers with both teaching and special education credentials, and integrating students with learning disabilities with their peers nearly fulltime rather than isolating them in a special learning disability program, and allowing students with learning disabilities to test along with their peers resulted in vast improvement in test scores among those students with disabilities.
Apparently students with learning disabilities, like all other students, thrive better in an environment where there are challenges and expectations, than if they are sequestered in a learning disability program with no expectations at all.