Fed Agencies Spar Over NAEP for Special Populations

At issue is how many ELLs, Spec. Ed. students to test

Despite a pending policy change aimed at including more students with disabilities and English-language learners in the "nation's report card," the federal agency that administers the national testing program appears to be softening the penalty for states that fail to improve inclusion rates.

The disagreement underscores the uneasy relationship between the National Center for Education Statistics, the federal agency that administers the national tests, and the National Assessment Governing Board , the independent body that sets policy for the exams. And it reflects an intensifying debate about how to ensure that the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a congressionally mandated set of tests designed to take the national pulse on student achievement, accurately allows for state-by-state comparisons of student achievement.

"These issues, as all issues with students with disabilities and English-language learners, are hot potatoes," said Cornelia Orr, the...