Academic Standards and Students with Disabilities

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why should students with disabilities be held to academic content and achievement standards when the IEP process requires an individualized education?
2. How can students with the most significant cognitive disabilities show what they know related to state grade-level content standards?
3. How do IEP teams set priorities for student instructional time in a standards-based system?
4. What is a standards-based IEP?
5. How do academic content and achievement standards relate to the state assessment?

1. Why should students with disabilities be held to academic content and achievement standards when the IEP process requires an individualized education?

The individualized education program (IEP) is a planning process and tool used to ensure that each student with disabilities receives the individualized services, supports, and specialized instruction that are required to access and make progress in the general curriculum. System accountability in a standards-based system holds schools accountable for ensuring that all students, including those students who have disabilities, are being given appropriate opportunities to learn the general curriculum. Thus, the IEP process and system accountability under standards-based reform work together to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.

2. How can students with the most significant cognitive disabilities show what they know related to state grade-level content standards?

Alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards are available for students with significant cognitive disabilities. These assessments are based on different achievement standards than the regular assessment. That is, the expectations for what these students should achieve in the grade level content can be defined differently from what is required in the grade level achievement definitions, but the essence of the content at grade level should be maintained. Many states provide materials and support to teachers to understand how to use assistive technology, adapt materials from grade-level classroom activities, and give every child access to grade level content. State alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards are designed with enough flexibility to capture learning in a variety of ways, along with the standardization of procedures to allow comparability.

3. How do IEP teams set priorities for student instructional time in a standards-based system?

IEP teams will have to consider priorities to determine how students spend their time. Most states have numerous extremely challenging academic content standards, and many students with disabilities have specific and unique needs that also require time to address. Decisions made at one point may limit options at a future point. For example, a student who is pulled from science instruction in fifth grade to work on remedial reading skills may be missing foundational skills and knowledge needed to successfully access science content in sixth grade. Thus, although the student's reading skills may have improved, there will be gaps in preparation for more advanced science concepts. IEP team members must have a comprehensive understanding of the scope and sequence of content across and within grade levels as the team considers its choices. Consideration should be given to how the multiple priorities can be "bundled." For example, a student could work on reading skills in the context of the science curriculum, with support from both general and special education teachers. A comprehensive approach to educational planning considers both continued access to high quality standards and supplemental and remedial instruction to address student deficit areas. Neither a standards-based curriculum without support nor a fully remedial curriculum will promote student success in a standards-based system.

4. What is a standards-based IEP?

Many states and districts are moving toward standards-based IEPs, although there is not one common definition for what a standards-based IEP is. Some individuals have proposed that a standards-based IEP is one in which the IEP team has incorporated state content standards in the IEP development. Others suggest that in a standards-based system, all students—including those with disabilities—are to be taught the general curriculum based on state defined goals and standards. For students with disabilities, the IEP process can help define the services, supports, and specialized instruction the student needs in order to ameliorate the effects of his or her disability and access and make progress in the general, standards-based curriculum. Thus, the IEP defines what each individual student needs to succeed in the standards-based curriculum, but does not define the curriculum since the curriculum is what all students are to be taught.

5. How do academic content and achievement standards relate to the state assessment?

According to current federal policies, state assessments given for the purpose of system accountability for student achievement are to be aligned to the state academic content standards, and independent studies must describe that alignment. Experts recommend that states provide teacher and parent-friendly descriptions of the precise knowledge and skills assessed by the accountability assessments. Practitioners are encouraged to work with state or district assessment offices as they move toward more complete descriptions of the academic content assessed by the state assessment. This can help teachers and parents ensure that students are appropriately instructed in a curriculum based on grade-level standards that will be assessed.

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