North Carolina News-Observer
4/9/99
Blind students will take test by computer
Rather than having to use Braille, the four students may take the test
the same way they study.
By TIM SIMMONS, Staff Writer
Facing angry criticism from advocates for the blind, state
educators say they will not deny diplomas to four blind students
simply because the teenagers are unable to pass a reading test in
Braille.
Instead, the recently blinded children will
be allowed to use computers that can read the test to them -- the same
way they study and take exams in the classroom.
"In the end, it is a question of fairness,"
said Phil Kirk, chairman of the State Board of Education. "I think at
times the board just has to find a way to show some compassion."
The four students, blinded by accident and
disease in the past two years, are able to master the high school
courses required of them, said Charles Bernardo, superintendent of the
Governor Morehead School for the Blind.
But state educators initially told Bernardo
that the students could not pass the reading test unless they could
read the text themselves. In this case, that meant using Braille.
Mastering Braille, the system of printing and
writing in which characters are formed by patterns of raised dots that
are felt with the fingers, takes four years, Bernardo said.
Younger children tend to learn Braille faster
than older children. Some who lose their sight as adolescents or
adults never master it.
The four students, whom officials would not
identify, range in age from 16 to 17 years old. They are freshmen and
sophomores who lost classroom time because of disabilities. They can
remain at the school only until age 21.
To Bernardo and many advocates for blind
children, the answer to the state test was obvious -- let them use the
same technology they rely on in school.
"We are teaching them Braille, but the tests
also need to reflect the technological realities of today," Bernardo
said. "A text the size of the state reading exam is not something
these children will read in Braille. I am delighted to hear that the
state testing officials will work with us."
A variety of questions remain about how to
translate the test from a reading exam to a spoken document that
measures comprehension and understanding, said Lou Fabrizio, director
of testing for the state school system of 1.2 million students. It
isn't likely, for example, that a computer-generated voice can read
graphs or any form of text that isn't presented in a traditional
format.
Also lost in the debate is the fact that
children process test questions differently when they hear questions
as opposed to reading them. But given the circumstances of the four
children, Kirk said such points are moot.
"What's more important is that they be tested
in a way that is fair," Kirk said. "This does not guarantee them a
diploma. They must still earn it. They must still understand their
lessons."
When testing officials first suggested the
students could have an alternative test read to them if they met a
higher standard of comprehension, many parents and teachers questioned
the legality of the approach.
But Kirk said the board's primary legal
concern was not about setting standards that were too high. Instead,
the board was worried that its decision involving the blind will "open
the floodgates" for others who want to have the test read to their
children.
"Almost every week I get a request from
someone who believes the reading test should be read to their child or
their student," Kirk said. "That's really the thing we are more
worried about."
An estimated 50,000 children or more in North
Carolina's classrooms have specific reading disabilities, according to
the Learning Disabilities Association of North Carolina. Most of those
children could be taught to read adequately with the right
instruction, said association president Mary Ellis.
But thousands of those students never get the
instruction they need, leaving them years behind their peers in
reading ability. When those students reach high school, parents
naturally want to know if their children will be exempted from reading
tests, Ellis said.
That question -- coupled with a new plan to
stop promoting children who can't read at grade level -- prompted
state Sen. Allen Wellons to introduce a bill last week that would
exempt many children from taking the reading test.
Wellons, a Democrat from Johnston County,
said he has no intention of lowering state standards or exempting
thousands of children from testing.
"I just happen to think it is the adults'
responsibility to find a way for all students to demonstrate whether
they understand and comprehend the material being taught," Wellons
said. "The case is obvious with children who are blind, but it is no
less frustrating for children with other disabilities who fail even
when they understand their lessons."
Tim Simmons can be reached at 829-4535 or [log in to unmask]
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