Four researchers argue the merits of qualitative methodology and its particular relevance to those in special education who seek to move beyond a deficit perspective. Their studies examine the experiences of a young deaf child in a hearing family, Portuguese-speaking parents of special needs students with severe disabilities, a class in basic reading-writing in an urban university, and fifth- and sixth-grade students in a literature discussion group. Unconstrained by the defined variables and decontextualized settings characteristic of much research in special education, qualitative methods allowed the authors to extend the scope of their studies beyond originally stated research questions when unanticipated findings emerged from descriptive data. In doing so, each researcher discovered unexpected strengths and abilities in her participants.
The goal of the Common Core State Standards Initiative is to ensure that states have a progression of K-12 standards in place that ensure that students have the knowledge and skills in mathematics and English Language Arts to graduate from high school ready for college and careers. Just as states will need to modify or create new curriculum frameworks and instructional materials to match the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), states will also need to significantly alter their assessments to ensure alignment with the CCSS. Assessments play a critical role in state education systems, providing consistent measures of whether or not students are meeting or exceeding the state's academic standards. A coherent assessment system anchored in college-and career-ready expectations will include a combination of measures designed to meet the following goals: Effectively measure the depth and breadth of the CCSS;
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