Minimum Competency Testing and the Handicapped Student: Testing Skills, Not Abilities

Many school districts have adopted competency test schedules and administrators have begun working on procedures to smoothly implement this new aspect of the education program. But administrators also need to consider the needs of special education students in their competency test plans, says this author. SHOCKED PUBLIC has asked for assurances that high school gradu-ates have mastered basic skills. State education agencies have re-sponded with minimum competency tests that include successful perfor-mance on a series of skill tests as part of the requirements for a high school di-ploma. Since court decisions have upheld the right of school districts to require such proof of competency from all students, including the handicapped, and other decisions have held that handicapped students must meet the same proficiency standards as other students and cannot be refused the opportunity to demon-strate their competence on the require