Case
Inclusion Class Writing Assessments

I have taught inclusion classes the past two years. I teach 10th grade literature, which comes with lots of reading and writing. I find it difficult to grade my inclusion students on writing, because some of their IEPs state that they should not be graded on grammar or spelling. What if grammar is what I'm grading for? How do I grade these students? Many of our rubrics for writing include a section on conventions. I usually take that section out for them, but I struggle with the fairness of that. I have other students who struggle just as much with grammar and spelling, who don't have IEPs.

Posted on: 03/15/15 | Views: 946
Solution #1
Maybe you could set specific goals for these students and modify the rubric. For example, if you have a student who is consistently not using capital letters at the start of sentences, you could establish a goal for him or her and add this goal to the rubric. For example, "Student has no more than two errors in capitalization of beginning of sentences." Maybe starting small can be a way to hold students accountable while still meeting their needs. To meet the IEP, don't include this in the actual grade, but make it a personal goal for the student and reward and recognize this goal in some way.
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Solution #2
This is a situation that requires you to work closely with the resource teacher. They will help you make the expectations that are appropriate for these students. In my second grade inclusion class we modify rubrics based on the skill level the student is working on. For instance I am looking for subject/verb agreement, capitalization and punctuation for my regular ed students but simply look for punctuation for my inclusion students.

Modifications to the rubrics are a great first step in supporting these students in writing. The IEP is a legal document that outlines goals for students, and we have to follow them. Talking with the SPED team leader or resource teacher would be a great idea to find ways that the rubric could be modified.

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Solution #3
Accommodations that are provided in class should match the accommodations that students are going to receive on standardized tests. If students are going to be held accountable for grammar or spelling on tests that are required for promotion, you may want to bring this up to their case manager because an IEP change may be necessary. You could also request to attend the IEP meetings for these students to ensure that you aid in the committee's decision making when writing the IEP.
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Solution #4
Maybe you can create an alternative assignment for them. If you are grading for grammar you can have prewritten sentences with grammar issues prepared and they can correct what is wrong.
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