I am a special education teacher in a New York Public School. What I would like to know is - with the special education reform and the induction of the common core learning standards, do our special needs student’s annual goals have to reflect the common core learning standards? My students are all functioning below their grade level and have to take the state test on their grade level. How can I give my students what they need and get them ready for the test?
Hi!
I know how difficult a situation THIS is- it is all too familiar! My first year of teaching I had 8 students in a self-contained classroom with a TA who was never there. The students were in grades 1 - 4, and NONE of them read at even a first grade level. I was distraught because I had no direction. I was told by the principal to just pick a grade-level curriculum and work with it! Can you believe it? If I had known then what I know now… :)
I believe you should expose your students to the curriculum and teach them strategies to support their learning. They may be able to transfer these strategies to what is on the test, providing they are comfortable enough with this task.
Best of luck!
Gen