More Questions than Answers: Defining "Inclusive Classroom" & Exploring Legislation

My blog topic is assessment in inclusive classrooms. I want to explore all of the decisions that a classroom teacher makes during the steps of the assessment process, including by not limited to preparing for an exam, writing an exam, administering an exam and grading it, especially considering students with special needs. As a future elementary grades teacher, I want to make sure that I am not overlooking any of the needs of my students. I also want to make sure I’m not giving too many accommodations to the extent where the test is invalidated.  

I thought a good starting point for my exploration would be a basic google search. I started with “Inclusive Classroom”. It immediately became clear to me that not everyone defines "inclusive classrooms" in the same way. So I went to the Pennsylvania Department of Education website next, and read the Pennsylvania State Guidelines for Inclusion of Students with Disabilities. Although this document didn’t provide the definition I was looking for, it did include some important points related to how students with disabilities are required to participate in assessments.

In terms of assessment, IDEA states: “students with disabilities to participate in standards-based instruction and assessment initiatives”, and the level of assessment determines who develops guidelines for accommodation during assessment.

At this point I’m thinking that I could spend well over an hour reading through all of the legislation that there is and trying to really unpack it all. Even as someone who has seen these laws before and has a general idea of what they were intended for, it’s a little confusing.

Just some of the questions that come to mind as I’m reading: What are these “accommodation guidelines”? In a realistic scenario, do Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) really detail all of the specific needs a child might have during different levels of assessment? Are these guidelines updated? How often? What role does the classroom teacher play in considering the unique needs of each student?

Reading further, I see that in April 9, 2007, the “final regulations” regarding assessment were released. According to this, it’s the responsibility of the state to “develop guidelines for appropriate accommodations”, make sure they “do not invalidate the score” and “Instruct IEP Teams to select, for each assessment, only those accommodations that do not invalidate the score.”

So how is the balance determined between what accommodations a student needs and what accommodations would invalidate the score?

It seems to fall on the IEP Teams, and the instructions that they receive from the state. As a classroom teacher on one of these teams, how do you best advocate for the student?

Chapter 15 of 22 PA Code uses the phrase “equal opportunity to participate” which I think is great, but is still lacking a detailed explanation.

I found the NCLB to have the same vague quality. The NCLB legislation, while providing some framework for accountability, seems to add a great amount of pressure for students in these groups to succeed. How does that additional pressure affect teachers and students in preparing for these types of assessments?

I understand that assessments are an integral part of the education system, because without them, how would we understand what a student needs help with, has learned, or has mastered. Any form of assessment, can provide data that will guide important decisions a teacher has to make, but only if it is valid and reliable. How much of that really falls on the shoulder of the classroom teacher, or do they just have to prepare students as best as they can?

Assessments provide a lot of really useful information, but not if they are invalidated in some way.

I’m tempted to say that for students with disabilities, or students without an IEP that still many have special learning needs, the accuracy of these tests is even more imperative.

But on the other hand, shouldn’t every student, get what they need? Shouldn’t every student be assessed in the way that is best for them? Even if a classroom teacher manages to accommodate accurately and as necessary, how do they help students on exams like the PSSA or even the SAT where testing situations may be out of their control? How do they prepare for these types of tests without taking away from their own teaching style?

Obviously, my research at this point has raised more questions for me than it has answered. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the variables of assessments, especially when considering the special needs of students. How can all the needs of each student can really be considered while still giving fair and accurate assessments?

A little bit of doubt even starts creeping into my mind, wondering if I’ve taken it too far in the other direction? Am I over-thinking it by trying to consider every students needs? (Even as I type this I tell myself no way, how can you not?!).

At some point do we just have to tell them to suck it up, because that’s life? Do I accommodate the student who looks exhausted in class the day of the test, but it’s really just because he stayed up all night playing video games?

I guess some of it is a judgment call and the only thing that can help is experience.

This whirlwind of thoughts brought me back to the original definition that I was searching for, because I needed something a little concrete and Cornell University's Center for Teaching Excellence spoke to me:

"Inclusive learning environments are ones in which students feel that their contributions and perspectives are equally valued and respected.”

This was the true north I was looking for. This was a reference point I feel like I could keep in mind when trying to judge whether or not an assessment is really being as inclusive as necessary without invalidating the score. How do we access the point of view of a student who may not always be able to express what their test-taking experience was like? Should we be collecting more data on student’s opinions on test-taking instead of making all the decisions for them?

I think my next steps in answering some of these questions is to explore more resources, find some concrete examples of accommodations that have been given to students in inclusive classrooms, continue to expand the concept of an “inclusive” classroom” and see what real teachers are doing every day.