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Testing Leaves Some Students Behind
By David Holmes - Idaho Statesman,Edition Date: 09/18/07
We live in a society that places great importance on intelligence and on
success in school. And society keeps score. Schools keep score by
grading our children on what they do in their subjects. Every state,
Idaho included, administers a series of standardized achievement tests.
In a way that every young person understands, the educational experience
is an unavoidable and life-changing sorting mechanism.
Along the way, children get the message. All too often, they conclude,
"I can't do this stuff. I feel stupid." This statement — "I feel stupid"
— from a child, mine or yours, makes us weep. No child should live with
that self-perception.
Growing up with a learning disability
Testing has ominous implications for children with a learning
disability. It is estimated that about 20 percent of the population has
a learning disability of some kind. The majority of children have their
primary deficit in basic reading skills. For these children, the chances
of being and feeling inadequate are greatly compounded.
At the practical
level, a learning disability is an unexpected difficulty in learning. It
is "unexpected" because the problem is not linked to intelligence or to
motivation. Because children with a learning disability tend to be
average or above average in intelligence, "learning difference" is
probably a better descriptive phrase.
Recognizing that learning disabilities are common and that testing is
omnipresent, where does this leave children? Where does this leave the
children who are being tested, score poorly, have a learning deficit and
need help?
The reality is that millions of children are left out in the cold. About
5 percent of the school population has a documented learning disability
and are being served by special education. Yet, we know there are other
children — hundreds in every school system — who have learning deficits
of one kind or another and need help.
A more
hopeful time
Fortunately, the environment for children with learning disabilities has
changed. First, we have a growing body of research about learning and
learning disabilities. These findings are telling us more and more about
the specific problems that hold back learning and what to do about them.
A second promising development is the growing public awareness of
learning disabilities. Check the catalogue in the Boise library, and you
will find an excellent new collection on dyslexia, Asperger's, ADHD and
other learning challenges. Equally important, prominent people are
talking in public and writing books about their learning disability.
This growing awareness and acceptance is a gift to our children.
Finally, there
are better educational opportunities for children with a learning
disability. Many schools, such as W.H. Taft Elementary and Whitney
Elementary in Boise, are reaching out to students who have been ignored
previously.
Also, the
Treasure Valley has Lee Pesky Learning Center, a nonprofit organization
that is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Oct. 13 with a scavenger
hunt and auction in Boise. The Pesky Center is one of very few
enterprises of its kind in the nation. The Center has clinics in Boise,
Caldwell and Hailey. Thanks to a substantial scholarship fund, the
center does not turn away a child due to a family's financial
circumstances.
A brave new
world
A learning disability is not the child's fault and does not mean that
the child lacks superior intelligence. Today, thanks to increased
availability of professional services, a child can overcome the problem
and go on to educational success.
Gradually, we
are eradicating the phrase — "I feel stupid" — from the vocabulary of
children. This is the most important development of all. When "I feel
stupid" is gone, millions more children will have a hopeful future.
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