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TESTING MATTHEW
The Bush administration's No Child Left Behind law requires more standardized
testing with far tougher tests for America's 7 million students
in "special education". And that's not all: if
these students fail to measure-up, then their schools will be put
on warning lists and ultimately could be shut down.
Depending on how you look at it, the new testing requirements are
either a disaster in the making or the most exciting opportunity in
decades for students with disabilities.
Through profiles of students, conversations with their teachers and
parents, and interviews with lawmakers on both sides of the debate,
we examine the complexities involved in deciding what students with
"special needs" should be expected to know and how best
to test them.
Producer: John
D. Tulenko |
VIEWER
COMMENT |
"I
saw your piece on testing children with special needs and it
was right on target and consistent with my own experiences as
a building principal. On the one hand, I can remember a time
when special education students were pulled out of the classroom
during English Language Arts time to return with a basket they
had made and an excuse for their not being able to do the work;
however, we now seem to have gone to the other extreme. In schools
all across America, there is a Matthew Petrone and others with
less obvious developmental delays. These children are truly
being left behind. Great Job!"
-Dr. Eileen Santiago, Principal, The Thomas Edison Elementary
School
Port Chester, New York |
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| Original
Airdate: April 20, 2004 |
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