High stakes testing and the demand for School District accountability: A dilemma for Special Education students in the United States and Australia

Abstract

Legal challenges to certification of achievement and testing are not unknown in the U.S. but have been rare in Australian education. Many of the U.S. challenges have been in regard to special education students or discrimination. Recent federal legislation in the U.S., the NO Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and comparable in Australia, raise the possibility of increased legal challenges in both nations and incompatibility with existing legislation. This paper considers the nature of the federal legislation on standards and testing in both countries, previous grounds for legal challenge and cases, and possible grounds for new challenges. The paper considers legislative accountability requirements at different stages of schooling in the two nations, and high stakes accountability for high school graduation. The overall focus on the analyses is for special education students.