Parents Across Rhode Island

The following is testimony submitted to the Rhode Island General Assembly in support of legislation protecting students from the harmful and negative effects of high stakes testing and the rush to implement the Common Core standards with it's accompanying tests.  For additional testimonies, please return to

Joanne Quinn, Executive Director, The Autism Project
Original Testimony Submitted to the RI Board of Regents on January 25, 2011

January 25, 2011

Dear Members of the Board of Regents and Commissioner Gist,

Tonight I represent The Autism Project and the many students and families we support.  I also am the parent of a 15 year old sophomore with autism.

• We too are committed to high standards and expectations of all students. What we question is the tool that is being used to determine if students are meeting the challenge. Students with a legal document, the IEP, have accommodations that are set up to enable them to access the curriculum and be successful across there academics and school days. These accommodations are not allowed as a part of the NECAP exam. Suddenly they are left hanging and if they can't prove they know the information through the NECAP on a Tuesday in October, they can't graduate, despite successful completion of course work and portfolios or Senior Projects that show their capabilities. We are asking for a fair way to assess our student's knowledge. This is the group of students who do not qualify for alternate assessment, but still require accommodations.

• The accommodations are necessary because Autism in a communication disorder. The format of the NECAP exam is a barrier for the majority of individuals with autism or Asperger Syndrome. Regardless of all their knowledge and hard work, if the question is not presented so they understand what you want to know, they will be unable to answer it correctly. They have the knowledge; many have an extreme expertise, but don't know what you are asking. There are proven methods to design an assessment that will be less of a barrier for students with autism.

• In addition, we ask to be invited to work with you to problem solve the bigger issues facing our state's education system today. To be truly committed to a higher quality education, we need to see that the education, training and resources are available across districts and towns so goals can be met. We need accountability, commitment and resources to turn this around.

• We respectfully ask that we slow down and bring the groups together to focus on the true problems that are barriers to all children learning to the highest level.

Sincerely,

Joanne Quinn

Executive Director

The Autism Project

NOTE: The Board had not any discussions or review on the NECAP as a graduation requirement since this hearing.