Entry Testing and the Overrepresentation of Romani ... - UR Research

R44PITFALLS AND BIASCOUNTRY-SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONSAlthough the Czech government has in name abolished special primary schools for pupils with mild intellectualdisabilities, the issues around inequities in educational opportunities still exist in the newly named “practical”primary schools. This has not created a “unified” system of schooling, but rather has legally ossified the segregatedsystem. The following recommendations are related to current testing practices, not to the overall system ofspecial education. However, these recommendations support working towards a truly unified system of schooling,where no child would be placed in special or segregated classes and where each child would receive the appropriatesupports and adaptations to allow him or her to participate meaningfully in the mainstream curriculum inmainstream classes.– Access to kindergarten: Kindergarten should be free and compulsory for two years before entry into first grade.Kindergarten should focus on providing opportunities for children to explore, play, and develop their interestsalongside promoting social and other skills that will equip them for success in primary school. Kindergartenshould also be inclusive, working with children to develop skills with their peers, without streaming children topreparatory classes before they enter the first grade of primary school.– Access to early childcare: Following the framework of the 2008 Ministry of Education Concept of Early Childcarefrom Socioculturally Disadvantaged Environments in order to develop a seamless and inclusive transition frombirth to preschool to primary school and beyond, the Ministry of Education should continue cooperation withthe Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in providing educational activities aimed atproviding children the skills and opportunities needed for success in school.– School readiness testing: Any assessment of a child’s skills before entry into kindergarten or primary schooling shouldbe used only as a formative tool to identify children’s areas of strengths and needs to address in the general educationclassroom. At no time should any assessment determine the placement of a child in a practical or special school.– Special school placement: End the practice of placing pupils in special/practical primary schools; instead, train andtransfer the expert staff from these facilities to standard primary schools to serve as co-teachers or consultantswho work with teachers to develop individualized supports, methods, activities, and materials for all pupilswho need them. In addition, psychological and/or educational assessments should be used to target academicor behavioral strengths and needs to address in the general education setting, not as a mechanism throughwhich children are segregated into special classes. If a child is assessed, the assessment session should followtesting protocols and the diagnostic methods currently used in the Czech Republic, such that the instrumentitself is but one of four pillars upon which a diagnostic determination is made: (1) standardized tests, (2) interviews,(3) observations, and (4) informal assessment procedures.