Grade inflation has been a consistently ignored problem in the public schools and universities for over fifty years. Grades keep getting higher and higher for a multitude of reasons. Students expect high grades. Parents demand high grades of their children and teachers. Some administrators implicitly or explicitly require that their teachers give…

Parents are concerned about their children's math learning. Teachers are concerned about math teaching. When parents see what children are bringing home under the new curriculum, it is clear that their children are not working on the same mathematics that parents remember from the time when they were in school. But, the problem goes beyond grades…

The authors provide information about test construction and testing practices in order to help parents and teachers to ask important and critical questions about them. Issues pertinent to the appropriate selection, use, and interpretation of tests are presented. (Author/CL)

The increase in large-scale standardized testing in the nation's schools is one major result of demands for accountability. Such testing also impacts many aspects of school and family life and culture. For some, certain unintended impacts may be like side effects of medicines that need to be tolerated; for others they raise larger questions about…

A variety of testing methods can be extremely useful in finding out whether children who are experiencing learning difficulties may have one or more learning disabilities. This is an important and valuable role for testing. Another important issue concerns how best to ensure fairness for a learning disabled student when he or she must take a…

As a service to the community to protect the legal rights of students, this manual is designed to provide the legal information New York state parents and professionals need in order to become more effective educational advocates. It is not intended as a definitive legal resource, but rather as a guide for structuring a legally sound argument to…

The performance-based assessment was developed to assess students' higher order thinking skills in real-life problem-solving situations in Alberta, Canada. These tasks assess aspects of science that cannot be measured easily by regular paper and pencil tests. The purpose of this document is to provide teachers, administrators, students, and…

This guide to learning disabilities is primarily based on the experiences of parents and staff at Landmark College (Vermont), a two-year college specifically for students with learning disabilities. Chapter 1 introduces a group of Landmark parents and students who share their feelings and concerns. Chapter 2 describes learning by seeing, hearing,…

Designed for parents and family members of students with disabilities, this policy statement clarifies federal requirements for including children with disabilities in state and district-side assessment programs. Information is presented in a question-and-answer format that addresses: (1) requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities…

This compilation outlines the Council for Exceptional Children's basic commitments and responsibilities to exceptional children. The policies are intended to set the stage for emerging professional practices and procedures, providing a guideline for those who strive to provide quality education for exceptional learners. Professional policies are…