Subject: FW: Parents Win Lawsuit re: Accommodations on Statewide Tests
From: Ginette Perkins (ginettep@seals.org)
Date: Fri Feb 02 2001 - 12:28:04 PST
-----Original Message-----
From: BrightSol@aol.com [mailto:BrightSol@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2001 10:36 AM
To: BrightSol@aol.com
Subject: Parents Win Lawsuit re: Accommodations on Statewide Tests
Here is the complete article on this landmark ruling.
Settlement Helps Learning-Disabled
By STEVEN Du BOIS
.c The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon youngsters with dyslexia and other learning
disabilities will be able to use computerized spell-checks and get other
help
on statewide tests under a settlement announced Thursday.
The settlement with a group of Oregon parents who sued the state will affect
fewer than 4,000 students, said Wayne Neuburger, Oregon's associate
superintendent for assessment and education.
But it could provide guidelines for other states considering additional help
for learning-disabled students when they take standardized tests.
Many states have made, or are considering, tests as a graduation
requirement,
and President Bush has made expanded testing a key part of his education
plan.
``These recommendations have national importance. It's not just for
Oregon,''
said Susan Vogel, a Northern Illinois University professor who was on a
four-person panel that recommended the settlement.
Under the settlement, students with dyslexia - a neurological disorder that
affects the ability to read and write - will be able to use computers or
word
processors with a spell-check feature.
Some students may be allowed to use calculators. In some cases, the tests
will be read aloud to youngsters by someone. And some youngsters will be
allowed to recite their answers into a machine.
Currently, learning-disabled youngsters are often given extra time to
complete the tests.
``Even though I don't have to take the tests anymore, this is a good thing
for people who still have to take it because they won't have to have the
same
hassle I did,'' said Edie Wyrick, a 17-year-old junior who has dyslexia.
Parents filed the federal lawsuit against the state Education Board in 1999,
claiming Oregon's standardized tests violate the Americans with Disabilities
Act and hurt Oregon children with learning disabilities.
``The failure rate on these was very high, and a lot of the kids we
represent
are really bright,'' said Jeffrey Foote, a lawyer for the parents. ``In
addition, it was causing a tremendous emotional toll.''
The lawsuit targeted tests administered to children in grades 3, 5, 8 and
10,
covering a wide range of topics, including reading, writing, math and
science. Students who fail have trouble enrolling in Oregon's public
universities.
Lawyers for the parents said 95 percent of disabled Oregon students who took
the most recent round of tests failed, compared with a 70 percent failure
rate among students without disabilities. Critics say many students were at
a
disadvantage because the tests are heavily weighted toward spelling and
punctuation, a weak point for those with dyslexia.
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