Teaching to the Child or Teaching to the Test? How Standardized Accountability Undermines IDEA's Promise of Individualized Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59719/txep.v10i1.88Keywords:
Special Education, IDEA, IDEIA, Standardized testing, accountability, IEP, Teacher PreparationAbstract
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees students with disabilities an individualized education responsive to their unique strengths and needs. Simultaneously, federal accountability policy requires these same students to demonstrate proficiency on standardized assessments aligned to grade-level standards. This conceptual analysis examines the structural tension between these mandates and traces three consequences: (a) standardized instructional expectations contribute to the identification of disability among students whose developmental trajectories differ from uniform timelines; (b) Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) shift from instructional planning tools to compliance artifacts oriented toward test alignment; and (c) special education is reframed from specialized pedagogy to remedial support, contributing to professional devaluation and workforce attrition. Using illustrative case analysis grounded in observed instructional patterns, this paper argues that the collision between individualization and standardization reflects policy design rather than implementation failure. The analysis concludes with implications for educator preparation programs, emphasizing the need to prepare teachers to navigate structural contradictions while maintaining instructional integrity.
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