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

other field experiences with specific focus on
learning about exceptional children from ethnic
and multicultural groups.
Paragraph 11 - High Stakes
Assessment of Professional
Knowledge, Skill, and Dispositions
It is the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC)
policy that, in determining an individual’s professional
competence, multiple measures rather than a
single test score shall be used in the decision making
process to enhance the validity and reliability of decisions
related to content and pedagogical competence.
As a minimum assurance of fairness, when a test is
used as part of the decision making process, the individual
should be provided multiple opportunities to
pass the test. If there is credible evidence that a test
score may not accurately reflect the individual’s level
of performance, the agency shall provide an alternative
means by which the individual may demonstrate
performance relative to professional standards.
Background: The CEC recognizes the important role
that standardized assessments play in documenting
teacher competence to ensure that all children are
provided with effective teachers. Developments in national,
state and provincial policy are moving toward
more rigorous assessment and accountability systems
for teachers, most notably through provisions such
as NCLB. CEC endorses various countries’ efforts to
ensure that students with exceptional needs are guaranteed
well-prepared teachers.
However, CEC is concerned by the growing reliance
of policy makers on use of a single high stakes test to
make critical decisions about educators’ professional
competence. Several states in the United States have
already adopted policies that permit individuals with
a bachelor’s degree, but no training in special education,
to be fully licensed in special education if they
achieve a passing score on a single test. NCLB includes
a provision that defines a “highly qualified teacher” as
one who passes a single test. Teaching is a complex activity.
None of the currently available tests adequately
assesses prospective special education teachers in both
content and pedagogy. The use of a single test also
raises serious validity issues and could have a negative
impact on otherwise qualified persons. There is
consensus in the teaching community that high stakes
decisions should never rest on a single test score.
276 whAt every SpeCiAl eduCAtor muSt Know
ChAPTER 02
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS, RIGhTS, AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
Paragraph 1 - Preamble
As public awareness increases and public policies expand,
new sets of conditions are created under which
professionals in special education must function.
While such awareness and policies may be powerful
forces for improvement in the field, they do not of
themselves deliver appropriate education to persons
with exceptionalities. Effective education for persons
with exceptionalities is also dependent upon qualified
professionals who work under appropriate standards
and conditions and are able to ensure their own professional
rights and responsibilities.
Professionals must be adequately prepared and have a
supportive environment which enables them to meet
new demands. As advocates for persons with exceptionalities
they must have the right to be responsive to
and responsible for the vulnerable persons whom they
serve. Finally, professionals must continually advance
the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values that make
up the collective basis for practice and decision making
for those working in the field. The combined energies
of the profession and The Council for Exceptional
Children are needed to accomplish these goals.
Therefore, The Council believes that professionals
practicing in the field should be able to do so according
to recognized standards of practice and a professional
code of ethics; and that only persons qualified
to provide special educational services should be
eligible for employment in instructional, administrative,
and support roles in programs serving persons
with exceptionalities.
For these reasons, The Council is committed to the
development, promotion, and implementation of standards
of preparation and practice, code of ethics, and
appropriate certification and/or licensure in order to
continue its leadership role in supporting professionals
who serve persons with exceptionalities.
Paragraph 2 - Code of Ethics
We declare the following principles to be the Code
of Ethics for educators of persons with exceptionalities.
Members of the special education profession