Math, Science and Learning Disabilities

The assessments of math and science according to Elizabeth Stone and Linda Cook in
their article Levelling the Field on Math and Science Tests for Students with Learning
Disabilities have displayed their concerns regarding validity, construct and fairness. The
concern of assessing students through standardized testing who have learning disabilities
may not provide an accurate representation of the learning that is taking place. In the
United States, the No Child Left Behind or NCLB, has mandatory participation for
students with disabilities in their yearly progress assessments. The concerns that arise are
that the categories of acceptable test changes, such as presentation, response, timing and
scheduling and test setting may not be able to be accommodated for the assessments that
do not allow for flexibility. In relation to combining all test scores of the NCLB education
movement, it can skew the actual results of the assessment and evaluations. This can in
turn affect the amount of funding, staff and other developments in curriculum for any
particular school and their staff.