Isn’t it better to exempt from testing students with mild to moderate disabilities who are in vocational settings where they are not working toward the same academic standards as other students?
It is important to address the problem of students not working toward academic content and achievement standards. The solution is not to exempt them from testing. Instead the quality of the vocational program should be improved to ensure that all students are working toward the same standards. Where and how students work toward standards can be flexible as long as the standards remain the same; many students with and without disabilities can learn standards-based knowledge and skills more successfully in an applied setting like those in many vocational programs. By aligning the instructional opportunities in the applied setting to state or district standards, students are able to learn in a way that fits them well, but with clear expectations that they will master the same standards expected of students in more traditional academic settings. Increasing the rigor and expectations aligned to standards in the vocational curriculum will benefit all students. For the small number of special
