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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITORS
KameronCole
Stefanie Knowlton
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Students
with
learning
disabilities
deserve the
chance to
do their best
on state
high school
skills tests
With disturbing fre
quency, employ
ers, teachers and
students across
the country are discovering that
getting through school is not
necessarily synonymous with
getting an education.
Hoping to reverse this trend
at home, Oregon has spent the
past several years engaged in a
valiant effort to improve the
quality of education it offers to
its children. One of this move
ment’s keystone achievements
is the advent of the Certificate
of Initial Mastery (CIM) and
the Certificate of Advanced
Mastery (CAM).
For those unfamiliar with
the standards, the CIM is
awarded based on lOth-grade
level achievement in nine sub
jects: English, math, science,
civics, history, geography, eco
nomics, arts and foreign lan
guage. Until the 2002, howev
er, school districts are only
required to offer CIMs in Eng
lish and math.
Starting with the 2001-2002
school year, the CAM will be
awarded to students who
demonstrate 12th grade com
petence in English, math and
career-related fields.
Without the CIM, students
can eventually move on to the
next grade level, but may not
be able to enroll in advanced
placement classes or gain ad
mission to Oregon’s public col
leges and universities.
Educational reform is a wor
thy goal. The world is chang
ing at such a rapid pace
that it is essential to
make sure that kids go
into it prepared to
meet the challenges
of the new millen
nium. Indeed,
the establish
ment of
L.1M and
CAM
has
been
ap
plaud
ed by
many
who see
"3^ 3"H
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performance testing as the only
way to keep track of which stu
dents are ready to move on and
which ones are in danger of
falling through the cracks.
But what if this new system
is actually harming the stu
dents it’s supposed to help?
This is exactly what some
parents charged when they
filed a lawsuit against the Ore
gon Board of Education earlier
this week.
The parents allege that the
CIM test in particular, which
puts a strong emphasis on
skills such as spelling and
punctuation, put students with
learning disabilities at a disad
vantage, and therefore violates
the Americans with Disabili
ties Act.
Despite the Board of Educa
tion’s noble intentions, the
CIM test is in danger of becom
ing just another obstacle to a
quality education.
Under state regulations, stu
dents are not allowed to use
computers or spell-checkers on
the test, even when they are
used to offset learning disabili
ties such as dyslexia.
Why should a dyslexic stu
dent with stellar grades be pe
nalized because his or her
spelling is not up to par? If the
student needs to use a comput
er or some other piece of
equipment to fully express his
or her potential, what purpose
is served by denying them?
The student is no less pre
pared for advanced course
work or a college education
than anyone else. And if they
fail the CIM, it would likely be
because of deficiencies in the
system, not themselves.
Ironically, as it stands now,
the testing system could end
up creating serious problems
in the quest for higher educa
tion.
Even if they don’t plan to at
tend college in Oregon, if they
aren’t able to pass
™ the CIM and CAM
tests, students might
be barred from taking ad
vanced placement classes that
would enhance their chances
of being accepted at other uni
versities. This seems especial
ly ludicrous because both the
College Board, which adminis
ters the Advanced Placement
program, as well as most col
leges and universities will ac
commodate learning-disabled
students.
It is in the best interest of
both the students and the state
for the board to re-examine the
way it will allow students with
special needs to be tested. Un
less the tests are equally acces
sible to all students, they don’t
mean anything.
This editorial represents the opin
ion of the Emerald editorial
hoard. Responses may he sent to
ode@oregon. uoregon edu.
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ON YOUR
MARK...
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i think our ooufacuc
JJAJJR AN tWIUWT POINT
With our othir coueacuc ..
V
Thumbs
THUMBS UP
To changing
times:
In another attempt
to establish democ
racy, on Feb. 27
Nigeria will hold its
first election since
the death of military
dictator Sani
Abacha. Under
Abacha’s rule, the
results of the 1993
election were de
clared invalid and
the president-elect
was jailed.
To whiz kids:
Congratulations to
the high school stu
dents who domi
nated the Universi
ty Chess Club’s
recent tournament.
A special nod goes
to Oleg Zaikov, a
fifth grader who
tookthird place.
V/
THUMBS DOWN
To quasbing dis
sent:
In response to sev
eral recent lawsuits
filed against gun
manufacturers, a
Florida lawmaker
has proposed leg
islation that would
make it illegal for
local governments
to file product lia
bility suits. If the
law passes, indi
viduals can still
take the gun indus
try to court, but
government offi
cials would be sub
ject to up to five
years in prison.
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