Assessment for special education not mandatory

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Friday August 10, 2012 00:00

The research says the practice defies the notion of inclusive education.  Presented yesterday at the ongoing 30th Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA), the paper is co-authored by University of Botswana lecturers, Sourav Mukhopadhyay and Nelly Malatsi from the Department of Education Foundation. Thirty seven percent of respondents said learners in special-units were not assessed regularly. Respondents further believed that 'unavailability of formal tests or tools' and 'lack of proper procedures and information' are the main reasons for learners not being assessed. Mukhopadhyay told the AEAA conference that the practice led to students not progressing from one level to another.

Sixty seven percent of respondents also reported that unlike their peers who have no intellectual impairments, learners usually do not write any formal tests. 'Moreover, no adaptation or accommodations of tests are used because learners with intellectual impairments are never assessed for school subjects as they do not do the same curriculum,' the report says. The paper argues that although the RNPE emphasises the importance of assessment of learners for academic attainment, assessment of learners with intellectual disabilities is not mandatory in special education units. 'This creates a huge gap between policy and practice,' the report states.

It recommends a need for meaningful periodical assessment of all learners regardless of their disabilities. It says alternate assessment might be able to address this gap. Alternate examination is a type of assessment that can be used for students who cannot participate in regular assessments even with accommodations.'The RNPE lists specific provisions for the education and training of all children and young people, including those with disabilities,' the study says.The research was carried out in three government primary schools located in urban and semi-urban settings in Botswana. The researchers explained that they selected the schools  because they have special education units. The number of learners with intellectual disabilities in each unit varied from 23 to 64. Each school had one to three classrooms, and each classroom consisted of 20 to 22 students arranged in two groups. Each group consisted of 10 to 12 learners who were taught by one teacher. The age range in each group varied from six years to 31 years.