Should the student always be placed in the age-appropriate grade level?

Working with many IEP teams of educators, parents and related service personnel, we have found that while there may be individual circumstances to consider in making the class and grade placement of any student, the type or degree of disability should not be used to determine the grade placement of a student with a disability. Students with disabilities have historically been placed based upon their mental age or achievement levels rather than their chronological age. This was done primarily because student's were expected to meet similar standards as their peers without disabilities. The concept of education which is inclusive does not require that students with disabilities have the prerequisite skills necessary for independently meeting grade level standards. With education which is inclusive, supports are provided and curriculum adapted to meet the individual needs of each learner. Therefore, students should be educated in age-appropriate general education classes allowing them to interact with students that are their same chronological age.

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What is the ideal class size?

Early efforts to successfully educate students with severe disabilities in general education classes in Illinois school districts have been accomplished in a variety of class sizes. If the appropriate supports are provided based upon the student's IEP, it appears that large class size does not have to be a barrier to the education of students with disabilities in general education classes. All educators and parents, however, advocate for small class sizes for the benefit of all children.

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How do you deal with students who are 18-21 years old and normally out of high school?

Students determined to be eligible for special education services maintain that eligibility through age 21 or until they have graduated from high school. If parents and school personnel determine that a student should continue to receive special education services beyond the normal four years of high school, many Illinois districts are developing post high school services that are community-based and/or offered on the campus of the local community college or university. These districts maintain services without age-inappropriate placements. In cases where students may need a study hall between classes in order to do homework and, therefore, they will not complete all the course requirements for graduation by age 18, flexibility will be required. They may need to be at the high school for a portion of the day and in the community or community college or university the other portion of the day until age 21.

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What happens to other options on the continuum?

Some opponents of education which is inclusive in Illinois and elsewhere argue that education in general education environments is just one of many points on a continuum that school districts may select for an identified student. The intent of Congress in initiating the federal mandate on least restrictive environment was clearly to give preference for placement in the general education classroom in a student's home school. Other points on the continuum are necessary only to the degree that it is demonstrated that the needs of an individual student with disabilities cannot be met in the general education environment when appropriate supports and aids are provided. The reality is, that in many states, students are placed in segregated programs on the basis of their label with little or no consideration being given to the supports necessary to educate the student in general education environments. In the U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT (1993), Tom Hehir, Director of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education, is quoted as saying, "Let's bring services to kids, not kids to services as we do now" (p.60).

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How many students with disabilities should be in one general education class?

The number of students with disabilities placed in a general education classroom should reflect the natural proportion of disabilities within the total school population. For example, if 10% of a district's total student population is identified as having a disability, then placements in a general education classroom of 30 students should be limited to three students with disabilities. Since people with the most significant disabilities occur in the general population less than 1 percent, then there should be no more than one child with a label of severe disabilities in a general education classroom. In Illinois, in order to be considered a general education class, no more than 30% of the students may be identified as eligible for special education services.

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How will students with disabilities be graded when education is inclusive?

Previously, when a student eligible for special education services was "mainstreamed" or "integrated" into a general education classroom, one of two grading systems was commonly used. Either the student received his/her grade from the special education teacher or the student received a grade using the same standards being applied to nonlabeled students in that class. Students receiving their grade from the special education teacher were considered to be earning a special education grade in much the same way as they would have had they received instruction in the self-contained special education classroom. Special education students receiving their grade from the general education teacher would need to possess the prerequisite skills necessary to meet the same standards as other students. For this reason, students with more severe disabilities have not been considered "appropriate" for mainstreaming. Education which is inclusive, however, assumes that curriculum standards will be adapted or modified based on the needs of the learner and that assessment and grading will take into consideration these accommodations.

Grading, we are finding, is one of the major concerns of general education teachers regarding education which is inclusive. A major concern many high school teachers have with adapted grading is the perceived unfair treatment of other students. Lowering the class rank of other students and, thereby, jeopardizing their qualifying for college enrollment or scholarships is often of particular concern. We suggest you thoroughly read the answer to the next question before adopting practices in your school or district.

Cohen, in her 1982 article for the Council for Exceptional Children entitled "Assigning Report Card Grades to the Mainstreamed Child," suggests that the special education support person (inclusion facilitator) resolve the following questions with the regular classroom teacher in an effort to avoid problems which are often associated with assigning adapted grades:

• Who is responsible for assigning the report card grade?
• Should the grade be based on the discrepancy between the student's actual and potential performance or between the actual performance and grade level expectancy?
• What type of grading feedback should be given on a daily basis?
• What type of descriptive annotation will best complement the system's report card grading procedure?
• Whom should a parent contact to discuss a grade?

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How will student assessment be adapted?

If instruction is to be adapted to address the identified Individualized Education Program (IEP) needs of a student with a disability, then assessment and grading must also be adapted. The general education teacher, the parents, the student and the special education support staff should review the curriculum and objectives for each class and determine appropriate student outcomes based on the IEP of the student with a disability. Outcomes for the student would then be identified and instructional strategies developed. Based on these individualized outcomes, student performance would be assessed and grades assigned. Because many important outcomes cannot be adequately measured by paper-and-pencil tests alone, one or more of the following alternative measurement strategies may need to be considered:

• Portfolios - A collection of the student's work over time that demonstrates his/her understanding of the competencies identified.
• Checklists - A criterion-based measurement system which has the instructor check the student's progress against a predetermined list of needed skills or the completion of specific tasks. Competencies can be derived from the course outline or from the student's IEP.
• Class participation and discussion.
• Class projects - Including cooperative learning activities.
• Verbal reports from students.
• Anecdotal records of student performance.
• Daily logs of student activities.
• Modified tests - Verbal, performance, shortened checklists.

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