narrative inquiry of students with significant cognitive disabilities and the MCAS alternate assessment as told by their parents

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20290402

Assessment and accountability are hotly debated topics in the field of education. Finding ways to include students with significant cognitive disabilities, a requirement under federal law, remains a challenge. In Massachusetts, students with significant cognitive disabilities participate in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems (MCAS) Alternate Assessment. The MCAS Alternate Assessments are automatically placed in the lowest achievement level; failing. This practice required investigation to determine the impact on the students with significant disabilities who participate. The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of the parents/guardians of student with significant cognitive disabilities to answer two questions: 1. What is the lived experience of parents/guardians of students with significant cognitive disabilities who automatically fail to achieve a high-school diploma due to the MCAS requirement? and 2. How do these parents/guardians describe the impact on the students? Ten parents/guardians participated in this narrative inquiry. The conclusions of this research suggest that it is necessary to include parents/guardians in policymaking efforts that involve their children with significant cognitive disabilities. The parents/guardians believe that the MCAS Alternate Assessment policy gives an inadequate representation of their childrens abilities.