Existing research indicates that there is a disproportionate number of students with cultural and linguistic differences, English Language Learners (ELL), who are misidentified as learning disabled when their problems are due to cultural and/or linguistic differences. As a consequence, these students do not receive appropriate services. With the increasing number of ELL in our preschool to high school classrooms, educators need to employ assessment measures that fairly and accurately identify individual strengths and areas of need. Informal assessment is an authentic solution to the need for formative evaluation that is adaptable to language and cultural diversity, individual learning styles, and personal challenge. Informal assessment also helps to realistically inform instruction.
There is increasing emphasis on assessment by legislative mandates (e.g., No Child Left Behind and IDEA-04) by professional education organizations (e.g., Council for Exceptional Children, Internat...
Transition to the secondary school level can be very stressful, particularly for adolescents with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Students with ADD are legally eligible to receive reasonable accommodations and modifications under IDEA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Support staff members responsible for insuring that these students' programs and support services are appropriate are often resource center teachers. In order to provide for these students' academic and social needs, resource center teachers function as advocates with administration and school staff. They need to know the characteristics of youngsters with ADD, their rights under the law, appropriate interventions and accommodations for these students in developing metacognitive, compensatory and self-advocacy skills. In their role as the knowledgeable, supportive contact person, they function as a facilitators who empower these adolescents to become productive, competent and well-adjusted individuals. This article address these issues and identifies specific methods and materials to guide support staff in providing positive high school experiences for these adolescents.
As increasing numbers of students with diverse needs are included in general education, the preparation of preservice teachers needs to be reformed. Traditional curriculum, methods, and management courses need revision as the population in general education classes changes. With the trend toward full inclusion, the typical school classroom includes students who have learning disabilities, physical impairments, medical needs, visual/auditory acuity disorders, and/or attention deficits. Skill levels range from gifted/talented to moderate/severe delays, including students at risk due to cultural differences, environmental deprivation, stress, and health issues. Teacher educators need to revise traditional teacher education course content to include alternative instruction and assessment practices that provide all students with the curricular and program modifications they need. Teacher preparation course content should emphasize best practices that are interactive, authentic, and performance-based when dealing with students who have special needs. In order to effectively model these innovative, state-of-the-art practices, teacher educators are moving away from the lectern and utilizing more interactive teaching methodology that is both multidimensional and multisensory through demonstration, simulation, role playing, and cooperative group activities. (Contains 25 references.) (Author/SM) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ********************************************************************************
