Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says Arizona has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education to allow flexibility in the testing of students with significant cognitive disabilities.

The agreement will allow what is known as out-of-level testing for these students. A student who reads at the third-grade level should be tested at the third-grade level, regardless of what grade the student is in, explained Mr. Horne.

However, he said a provision in No Child Left Behind appeared to prohibit this kind of out-of-level testing, requiring students to be confronted with tests that they could not begin to understand.

Following negotiations with the federal agency, Mr. Horne said that up to 1 per cent of the Arizona student population could take out-of-level testing. The limit should not create any problems, he added.

“It is not educationally sound for students to be required to take tests that they cannot begin to understand,” said Mr. Horne. “I fought hard to obtain this flexibility from the federal Department of Education, and I am gratified that we have been able to reach an agreement that is beneficial to Arizona’s special education students.” —