ERIC Number: ED521407
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2011-May
Pages: 50
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Academic Curriculum for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Special Education Teacher Perspectives a Decade after IDEA 1997
Karvonen, Meagan; Wakeman, Shawnee Y.; Browder, Diane M.; Rogers, Melinda A. S.; Flowers, Claudia
Online Submission
In response to federal requirements for general curriculum access and participation in large-scale academic assessments, states have shifted curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities from a primarily functional model to one that includes academics. What does academic instruction look like for students with significant cognitive disabilities, ten years after the first requirements for access to the general curriculum in IDEA 1997 and six years after the mandates for assessments of academic content knowledge in NCLB? The purpose of this paper is to present aggregated findings from a teacher self-report curriculum measure administered in five states (N = 123) during the 2006-07 academic year. Findings highlight the curricula being taught to students eligible to take alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards; gaps in academic instruction; and differences in curricular priorities for students with varying levels of symbolic communication. While students are being taught a wide range of academic content, the most intensive instruction is still grounded in functional academic areas. There are few differences in the content taught to students with different levels of symbolic communication use, although performance expectations differ across those groups. Future researchers may wish to examine the relationships between content taught across multiple strands. Implications for professional development are discussed. (Contains 14 tables and 4 figures.) [Support for this research is provided by the National Alternate Assessment Center, a five-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.]
Descriptors: Alternative Assessment, Academic Education, Special Education Teachers, Assessment Centers (Personnel), Special Education, Curriculum, Federal Legislation, Teacher Attitudes, Access to Education, Federal Aid, Special Needs Students, Program Effectiveness, Educational Policy, Measures (Individuals), English Instruction, Mathematics Instruction, Science Instruction, Academic Standards, Academic Accommodations (Disabilities), Inclusion, Teacher Surveys, Inservice Teacher Education, Mental Retardation
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A