Polly
12-31-2007, 01:47 PM
Oh, great.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002447.html?hpid=sec-education
Waiting Too Late to Test?
Parents Protest as Area Schools Delay Learning-Disability Screening in Hopes Of Avoiding Costly Special Education
Third-grader Tylor Goshorn sometimes writes letters or numbers backward. She has trouble with simple directions and lags a year behind her class in reading. Her parents suspect that she might have a learning disability and that she would be better served by smaller classes and more intensive instruction from special education.
But the Loudoun County school system has balked at testing Tylor for a possible disability. Instead, the schools have arranged for a reading specialist for the 9-year-old, a special computer program for math, even a seat in the front of her classroom. These alternative steps reflect a growing national movement to contain one of the costliest programs in public education. After three years of such efforts, the Goshorns aren't satisfied.
"We feel like we are chasing our tails here," said Jereme Goshorn, her mother. "It's obvious there's something wrong."
Since a 1975 federal law gave students with learning disabilities a right to special education, the number of learning-disabled students who receive such services has risen to 6 percent of the public school population. The figure was less than 2 percent in 1977.
Many educators say learning disabilities have been over-diagnosed and are seeking ways to address learning difficulties in mainstream classrooms, rather than addressing them through special education for as much as twice the cost. Loudoun officials estimate their cost per pupil in special education is $22,000 a year, compared with $12,000 for most students. One cost-saving method drawing attention is known as "response to intervention."
For many school systems, RTI-influenced strategies have led to a significant drop in the number of special education students. In Charles County, special education enrollment has fallen to 8 percent from 12 percent in 1999. In Frederick County over the same period, the rate dropped to 11 percent from 17 percent. Loudoun's rate fell to 10 percent from 12 percent in 2001. The national average is about 14 percent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002447.html?hpid=sec-education
Waiting Too Late to Test?
Parents Protest as Area Schools Delay Learning-Disability Screening in Hopes Of Avoiding Costly Special Education
Third-grader Tylor Goshorn sometimes writes letters or numbers backward. She has trouble with simple directions and lags a year behind her class in reading. Her parents suspect that she might have a learning disability and that she would be better served by smaller classes and more intensive instruction from special education.
But the Loudoun County school system has balked at testing Tylor for a possible disability. Instead, the schools have arranged for a reading specialist for the 9-year-old, a special computer program for math, even a seat in the front of her classroom. These alternative steps reflect a growing national movement to contain one of the costliest programs in public education. After three years of such efforts, the Goshorns aren't satisfied.
"We feel like we are chasing our tails here," said Jereme Goshorn, her mother. "It's obvious there's something wrong."
Since a 1975 federal law gave students with learning disabilities a right to special education, the number of learning-disabled students who receive such services has risen to 6 percent of the public school population. The figure was less than 2 percent in 1977.
Many educators say learning disabilities have been over-diagnosed and are seeking ways to address learning difficulties in mainstream classrooms, rather than addressing them through special education for as much as twice the cost. Loudoun officials estimate their cost per pupil in special education is $22,000 a year, compared with $12,000 for most students. One cost-saving method drawing attention is known as "response to intervention."
For many school systems, RTI-influenced strategies have led to a significant drop in the number of special education students. In Charles County, special education enrollment has fallen to 8 percent from 12 percent in 1999. In Frederick County over the same period, the rate dropped to 11 percent from 17 percent. Loudoun's rate fell to 10 percent from 12 percent in 2001. The national average is about 14 percent.