New grade-level tests may lower special-education scores

Parents and educators fear changes to Texas' standardized tests may cause the scores of students with disabilities to drop because they are based on students' actual grade level rather than their instructional level. "Why would you teach some of these fourth-graders the solar system if they don't understand the concept of their own neighborhood?" asked parent Laurie Snyder, whose son has autism. "It's not realistic." Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)