Science Assessment

I have a sister who has a sever learning disability in reading. This semester I read over her IEP and looked for items I may or may not agree with now. One thing that was common was having dictation available to her. However, in an English class she would not have this available. I believe this was the staff's accommodation for my sister. However, as I have spent more time thinking about this, I wonder if it really helped. I agree with everyone that a student should not be punished in the science classroom for their reading abilities. But where I think I am a bit different is I feel the student should still read in the science classroom. They should still be exposed to the material. My sister would have someone 7/8ths of the day help her with reading and writing. During the one class that was reading and writing intensive she received zero help. How are the teachers helping her by being the life support in most classes and letting her drown in the one? There has to be a better way. I believe in text that is appropriate to the readers capability. With the hope that this will improve the readers ability over time.

As far as assessments go, I believe in alternative assessments. Not only does this help the students be well rounded individuals on the knowledge, it also takes the high stakes pressure of the students. If a student has a couple weeks to work on something that is equivalent to one test, studies have found students do better at project based assessments. However, I would not solely have projects in my classroom. It is also my job to prepare all students for the SOL tests. So, in order to do this, I must assign SOL like tests. Again, it is all about the balance.