Virginia to Phase Out VGLA Portfolio Testing for Students with Disabilities
According to Michael Chandler of the Washington Post, the VGLA was created to test only a small population of students with disabilities who could not perform well on multiple-choice SOL tests with accommodations but who had learned grade level material. The VGLA is a portfolio style assessment where the special education teacher compiles "evidence" of student mastery through worksheets, quizzes, and other items. In recent years, the number of students taking the VGLA instead of the SOL test has more than doubled, and many critics of the VGLA feel that the system is being misused. More students with disabilities were passing the VGLA than those given the SOL test, and the VGLA is typically given to students with disabilities who have greater academic weaknesses.
On April 22, 2010, a memo from the Virginia State Superintendent announced that the VGLA program would be phased out and replaced with a new program, the Virginia Modified Achievement Standard Test (VMAST). Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright said, "Today's announcement is the first step in carrying out the will of the General Assembly and addressing my own concerns about overuse and misuse of the VGLA."
The VMAST program will be given for math in 2011-2012 and reading in 2012-2013. The VMAST will be more objective than the portfolio style test because it is scored like a traditional SOL test. The VMAST will be a multiple-choice test but will have simplified items, such as fewer choices or reading passages that are broken down. Supports not available on traditional SOL tests will also be available, such as math formulas on the math tests.
Currently there is no timeline for when VMAST assessments will be used for other subjects, such as Science and History.
Sources:
Virginia Dept. of Education
Virginia to launch standardized tests for disabled students, Michael Chandler, The Washington Post
Published by J. Darling
J. Darling is a special education teacher with experience at the early childhood, elementary, and high school levels. She serves as a mentor teacher in her school division and has taken courses in Montessori... View profile
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