Kaitlin WhiteMark Sanders

Megan DavenportNicole Faulkner

The Effects of NCLB on Special Education

Table of Contents• What is NCLB?• Philosophical Approach• Historical background • IDEA• Curriculum • Testing and Funding• Roles of a Special Educator• Collaboration

What is No Child Left Behind?

• The purpose of this law is to close the achievement gap with accountability and choice.– Accountability: The

school system• Administration• Teachers

– Choice: Parental Choice• Different schools that

meet AYP• Special Education

• Goals:– All students with limited

English proficiency will become proficient

– Taught by highly qualified teachers

– Meet AYP standards• AYP

– Assessment through testing

• Disabilities

Philosophical Approach• Constructivist• Developmentalist

Constructivist• PRO: Requirement to reach diverse

learners may lead to more hands-on/applied instruction, less memorization.

• CON: AYP req’t may lead to exact opposite- just know the facts and be able to repeat it on a test. Testing and progress req’t take focus away from the learning experience.

Developmentalist• NCLB by it’s NAME should mean that each

student is getting their individual needs met,• BUT- AYP and other requirements may not

allow teacher’s time to do this.• Inclusion: SpEd students may be on different

developmental levels than peers – good or bad?

• IEP is a very developmentalist approach: education is student-centered and student-specific, built around one student and begins at their current level of learning and development.

Historical Background• Learning Disabilities (LD) as a field

of research in the early 1960s• Elementary and Secondary

Education Act in 1965• Programs for LD students in the

early 1970s

More Historical Background

• November1975 President Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act

• IDEA Act in 1975 (original)– Revisions throughout the

implementation• Last Revision 2004

Even More Historical Background

• Improving America’s Schools Act 1994– Addition to Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965• NCLB Act 2001

Individuals with Disabilities Education

Plan• Inclusion (Mainstreaming)• Education Community toleration• Closing the Gap between Special

Needs students and General Curriculum Students

Curriculum• General Education Classes

– Inclusion as soon as possible• Prepare the students for real world

experiences• Severe Cognitive Abilities• IEPs (Accommodations and

Modifications)

Accommodations• Accommodations

– Equal Access to learning and equal opportunity to show what they know.

• Areas to accommodate– Instruction– Organization– Grades– Homework– Testing– Environment– Communication

Modifications• Modifications

– Provide meaningful and productive learning experiences.

• Areas to modify:– Instruction– Organization– Homework– Testing– Grades– Environment– Communication

Testing• AYP

– 1% sit out• Alternative Assessments• High Stakes

Example Questions

Role of the Special Educator

Role of the Special Educator

Before and After No Child Left Behind

NCLB and the Speducator

• More Consulting / Less Teaching

• Overall + effect– Results in more

inclusion– Results in more

collaboration

More of a Consultant

• GenEducators may need SpEd strategies to raise test scores (Neel, 2006)

• NCLB mandates that students learn from highly qualified (not SpEd)

More Inclusion

• Same Access, Same Teacher, Same Test

– So- Same Classroom?• (Handler, 2006; Paulsen, 2008)

Collaboration is a Joy!

Speducator

Gen Educator

More Collaboration

• NCLB calls for Shared Responsibility– For gen-ed content and common assessments– SpEd students are spending LESS time in SpEd

classrooms (more time in gen ed).

Percentage of special-ed children who spend more than 60% of their day outside a regular classroom

More Collaboration…• GenEducators need Speducators

to meet strict NCLB standards– Help to work with struggling students

(Handler, 2006)– Mutual Interdependency (Neel, 2006)

Collaboration• “You have some, I have some, we

need each other for the whole” (Neel, 2006)

• Helps meet the highly qualified standard– Both teachers are experts in their

own area• Collaboration is necessary for

success

Successful Collaboration

• Sustained over time• Collaborating teachers working

towards the same goals• Draw on each others expertise• Principal being an advocate and

allowing time to plan collaboration

Interview Response

Interview Response 2

Position on the issue• We are for the changes that have

been implemented for the Special Education Curriculum goals and what the roles of the Special Educators have.

• We are against the changes that have been implemented for the testing on the Special Education Students.