MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Students with physical or mental disabilities requiring an Individual Education Plan (IEP) with testing accommodations such as extra time or a quiet testing room are given those options during standardized tests like the TCAP.
Despite testing accommodations, some students still were not able to meet state expectations with their learning plan, so the district is making adjustments.
MSCS’s director of exceptional children and health services — Deborah Harris — said exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis.
“We look at the student’s IEP, and we look at the student’s disability and determine if that disability effects the development of literacy,” Harris said. “If that effects the development of literacy and that student does not do well on the ELA part of the test, then that would be grounds for an exemption as determined on an individualized basis by the IEP team.”
Roughly 15 percent of students in the MSCS school district have an IEP for various reasons that require different accommodations. Students can be referred to the district for an IEP evaluation by parents, physicians and the education system.
The plan follows students through the end of their 12th grade year, but the education plan does not automatically exempt a student from standardized tests or the repercussions of failing a standardized test.
“Because a student has an IEP does not necessarily mean that that is a student who possibly will be exempt from retention,” Harris said.
Whether a student is able to get an exemption from retention due to their IEP is fully determined by the IEP team.
“After the test is taken, we look at each student again on an individualized basis and determine if that student for example should be exempt from retention,” Harris said. “It is done on an individualized basis by the IEP team. The team is the one who basically knows the child best and it’s not something that we can do as a group. It has to be done on an individualized basis by the IEP team.”
If a parent feels their child may have a learning disability and could benefit from an Individualized Education Plan, they can reach out to the child’s school for more information on the free evaluation.