by Nita Tyson

Created on: July 14, 2008

Professionally, I'm in education. In real life', I'm the parent of a special needs child. I can tell you all the "technical" reasons that we should utilize standardized testing for students, and I can quote you the No Child Left Behind Act until you scream no more, no more'. What I cannot do is make any real sense of the idea of utilizing standardized testing for the special needs population.

My daughter is on the autism spectrum and has developmental delays. She has short term memory loss. Today, she may be able to tell you the history of the evolution of a dog's dew claws. Tomorrow morning, she may sit on the edge of her bed and cry, because I told her to wear her jeans and she can't remember what jeans are.

Today, she may read at a sixth grade level. Tomorrow, she may not remember the alphabet. Which test scores do we accept? The ones that say she is at sixth grade level, or the ones that say she cannot read? She has more than one reality. Some days, she is a sixth grader. Some days, she is a two year old. Is it fair to say she is a sixth grader, and thus expect sixth grade achievement out of her? I think not, for some days she is not, in fact, a sixth grader.

Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, we had the opportunity to sample schooling in a number of states. Prior to Katrina, my daughter had been in three different school systems. The first school system was incredible. They accommodated her needs, and worried about teaching her how to compensate for her issues, rather than attempting to define her "grade" with standardized testing. We were transferred, and experienced two systems that not only concentrated on standardized testing, but also would make no accommodation during the testing process.

After Hurricane Katrina, my little one briefly attended a school in a fourth system, one which temporarily waived all standardized testing and concentrated just on keeping children engaged in the education process during such a stressful time. In two systems, my daughter flourished, and loved learning. In the other two, she and I both dreaded when it was time for her to go off to school in the morning. I cannot tell you the number of times I was told that she must be "putting on" a disability because she "seems just fine today."

Honestly, without required standardized testing, I believe she would have been judged on her daily achievement, just like she was in the other two systems. When she is judged in that manner, it is clear that there are real issues and that she needs

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