Why shouldn t IEP teams be able to exempt a student from taking the assessments required by NCLB?
A. The full participation requirement of NCLB is a key part of the school accountability system. Only by requiring that schools include all students including those with disabilities in the assessments will the performance and progress of all students be of equal importance to schools. As U.S. Department of Education Secretary Spellings has said, What gets measured gets done. Too often in the past, students with disabilities were excluded from assessments and accountability systems, and the consequence was that they did not receive the academic attention and resources they deserved. Q. My child s school told me that my child will not receive a standard diploma unless he can pass the test required by NCLB. A. NCLB is strictly about school accountability. Furthermore, the federal government does not set requirements for grade promotion or graduation. Such requirements and policies are set at the state level. While some states may use the same tests to satisfy NCLB s testing requirements
