Auto mechanics perform alignments by lining up the direction of the wheels so the vehicle is pointed in a straight line. Curriculum alignment follows the same principle, with the “wheels” being curriculum, instruction, standards and assessment. Research indicates this kind of alignment can point a school or district toward improved student achievement.
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The federal law governing special education is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. It is codified in Title 20, United States Code, starting at section 1400. It was initially passed in 1975. A number of major reauthorizations have taken place. The two most recent were in 1997 and in December 2004. The December 2004 changes took effect, for the most part, on July 1, 2005. The changes made in the 2004 Act are numerous and varied, but perhaps not revolutionary. Continue Reading »

The most common and disabling communication gaps are seen in kids with expressive language dysfunctions. Their weaknesses take several different forms. There are some students who have trouble with words; either it is hard for them to find the words they need when they need them (so-called expressive dysphasia) or they simply possess inadequately developed vocabularies. In the latter case, a student has trouble learning and incorporating into her speech newly acquired words. Other students have trouble with sentence formulation. This is a big problem in elementary schools. A child may know what he’d like to say but then have serious problems constructing a grammatically correct sentence to convey his thoughts. Such trouble may make him reluctant to speak or it could cause him to “dumb down” his ideas to fit them into a simple sentence. What a shame! Continue Reading »

Who Participates in CMT?
Students enrolled in public school in Connecticut are required to take the CMT in Grades 3 through 8. Since 1985, the CMT has assessed essential mathematics, reading and writing skills that students are expected to master. The content of the test is based on The Connecticut Curriculum Frameworks. State and federal laws require that all students participate in statewide tests such as the CMT.
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