Accessing the General Curriculum

Victor W. Nolet is Director of Assessment and Evaluation for the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. His current interests include the impact of teacher education programs on P-12 student outcomes and the impact of accountability systems on students with disabilities. Address: Victor Nolet, Woodring College of Education, 251F Miller Hall, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA. 98225.Margaret McLaughlin has been involved in special education all of her professional career, beginning as a teacher of students with serious emotional and behavior disorders. Currently she is the associate director of the Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children, a research institute within the College of Education at the University of Maryland. She directs several national projects investigating educational reform and students with disabilities, including the national Educational Policy Reform Research Institute (EPRRI), a consortium involving the University Maryland; The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO); and the Urban Special Education Collaborative. She also directs a national research project investigating special education in charter schools and leads a policy leadership doctoral and postdoctoral program in conducting large-scale research in special education. McLaughlin has worked in Bosnia, Nicaragua, and Guatemala in developing programs for students with developmental disabilities. She has consulted with numerous state departments of education and local education agencies on issues related to students with disabilities and the impact of standards-driven reform policies. McLaughlin co-chaired the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Goals 2000 and Students with Disabilities, which resulted in the report Educating One and All. She was a member of the NAS committee on the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education.McLaughlin teaches graduate courses in disability policy and has written extensively in the area of school reform and students with disabilities. She earned her PhD at the University of Virginia and has held positions at the U.S. Office of Education and the University of Washington.

• IntroductionAcknowledgments1. Access to the General Curriculum: Why it is More Important Than Ever BeforeThe IDEA and Access to the General CurriculumThe No Child Left Behind ActThe Link Between "Standards" and "Curriculum"A New Way to Think About Special Education2. The Nature of CurriculumMultiple Types of CurriculumThe Core Elements of CurriculumWhat is the Purpose of Curriculum?Curriculum Involves a DomainCurriculum and TimeFinding the General CurriculumChapter Summary3. The Learning-Teaching ConnectionLearning Research and Implications for TeachingHelp Students Develop Meaningful Patterns of InformationCreating ExpertsTeach to Improve Your Student′s MemoryHelp Students Attend to What You Want Them to LearnMake Effective Use of PracticeMake Effective Use of ScaffoldingHelp Students Manage Their Own LearningTeach for Transfer and GeneralizationThe Learning-Teaching Connection4. Assessment That Supports Access to the General CurriculumAssessment and Decision-MakingWhat Will Typical Students Be Expected to Do During the Timeframe Addressed by the IEPWhat is the Student′s Present Level of Performance in the General Curriculum?In What Ways is the Student′s Disability Impacting Performance?Is the Student Making Progress in the General Education Curriculum?5. Access to Curriculum and the Individual Education ProgramCurriculum Access on a ContinuumUniversal Design for LearningMultiple Means of RepresentationAccommodationsModificationsAccommodations and Modifications and AssessmentSpecial Education and Related Services6. A Decision-Making Process for Creating IEPs That Lead to Curriculum AccessStep 1: Instructional AssessmentStep 2: Choosing the Standards and Identifying SupportsStep 3: Creating IEP Goals, Objectives, and BenchmarksThe Relationship Between Objectives and BenchmarksReferencesIndex

"Offers suggestions on how educators can provide all learners with the opportunity to meet standards through accommodating, modifying, and/or implementing alternative achievement goals."