What Every Must Know Special Educator - Council for Exceptional ...

especially those already burdened by poverty and
prejudice.
b. Most group intelligence tests are multileveled and
standardized on grade samples, thus necessitating
the use of interpolated and extrapolated norms
and scores.
c. Most group intelligence tests, standardized on
LEAs rather than individual students, are not
standardized on representative populations.
d. In spite of the use of nonrepresentative group
standardization procedures, the norms are
expressed in individual scores.
e. Most group intelligence tests, standardized on
districts which volunteer, may have a bias in the
standardization.
f. Many of the more severely handicapped and those
expelled or suspended have no opportunity to
influence the norms.
g. Group intelligence tests are heavily weighted with
language and will often yield spurious estimates
of the intelligence of non-English speaking or
language different children.
h. A group intelligence test score, although spurious,
may still be a good predictor of school performance
for some children.
i. School achievement predicts future school
performance as well as group intelligence tests,
thus leaving little justification for relying on group
intelligence tests.
j. One of the most frequent abuses of group
intelligence tests is the use of such tests with
populations for which they are inappropriate.
The Council goes on record in full support of the recommendations
of the “Classification Project” (Hobbs,
The Futures of Children, 1975, pp. 237-239) pertaining
to group intelligence testing as follows:
a. “... That there be established a National Bureau of
standards for Psychological Tests and Testing.”
b. That there be established “minimum guidelines
with respect to the utilization of psychological
tests for the classification of children.”
258 whAt every SpeCiAl eduCAtor muSt Know
c. “That organizations that make extensive use
of educational and psychological tests...should
establish review boards to monitor their testing
programs.”
Until these three recommendations are accomplished,
The Council encourages a moratorium on the use
of group intelligence tests by individual school
districts for the purpose of identifying children with
exceptionalities.
Paragraph 14 - Exit Exams for
Students with Exceptionalities
To ensure that exit exams are appropriately carried out
regarding students with exceptionalities, it is the position
of the Council for Exceptional Children that:
a. No single test score should be used to make
critical educational decisions for students with
exceptionalities. Multiple measures that document
student learning and skills development should
be used with accommodations when appropriate,
in the decision-making process.
b. All students with exceptionalities must be given
the opportunity to learn the material that is covered
on exit exams. This includes the provision of
individualized instructional services and supports
that address the general education curriculum
that is aligned with standards, test content, and
the student’s IEP. An alternate assessment should
be an option for a student as recommended by the
IEP team.
c. Advance notice should be given to all students
with exceptionalities and their parents on the
consequences of exit exams. This should include
(1) a description of the steps to be taken to prepare
students and teachers for the tests themselves;
(2) any additional resources/supports that are
available to ensure adequate performance on the
tests; and (3) a clear statement for parents and
students that explains what decisions may be
made on the basis of the test results.
d. On-going research should be conducted on
the impact of exit exams for students with
exceptionalities that address issues, such as,
grade-level retention/promotion, referral rates
for special education, and any limits on future
employment and educational experiences resulting
from alternative high school diplomas.