(page 1) MEMORANDUM TO SENATOR DOLE DA: May 14, 1995 FR: Alec Vachon RE: UPDATE/NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE STUDY OF SCHOOL REFORM AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES As you may recall, last year you had included in GOALS 2000 legislation a provision for a study by the National Academy of Sciences on the impact of schools reform and students with disabilities (PRESS RELEASE ATTACHED). At the heart of GOALS 2000 is more testing and standards--which sometimes presents unique problems for students with disabilities (particularly learning disabilities--who are about 50% of special ed students). (It turns out this concern was farsighted--a recent study in New York found that some students who scored poorly on achievement tests were being labeled "special ed" so that their test scores would not bring down their school's performance. The schools looked better--at the expense of these students.) Since the Fall, I have worked with (i.e., prodded) the Education Department to implement the study ... and on Friday the panel that will conduct the study met for the first time -- a distinguished panel of 18 educators and others--including Ann Turnbull from the University of Kansas (list attached). I visited with the panel on Friday briefly. The panel is supposed to issue a preliminary report in 12 months, and a final report within 24 months. (handwritten) Dan; Daniel; Sheila (page 2) Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education Division on Education, Labor, and Human Performance Board on Testing Assessment GOALS 2000 AND THE INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Margaret J. McLaughlin (Co-Chair) Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Ofc: 301/405-6495 Fax: 301/314- 9158 E-mail: mm48@umail.umd.edu Home: 301/571-9563 Lorraine M. McDonnell (Co-Chair) Department of Political Science University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Ofc: 805/893-7128 Fax: 805/893-3309 E-mail: mcdonnel@alishaw.ucsb.edu Ansley Bacon Westchester Institute for Human Development Westchester County Medical Center Valhalla, New York 10595-1689 Ofc: 914/285-8204 Fax: 914/285-1973 Stephen N. Elliott Department of Educational Psychology University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706 Ofc: 608/262-8841 Fax: 608/265-4559 Home: 608/274-8039 Lynn S. Fuchs Department of Special Education Peabody College/Vanderbilt University Box 328 Nashville, TN 37203 Ofc: 615/343-4782 Fax: 615/343-1570 E-mail: fuchsl@uansvs Margaret E. Goertz Carriage House at Eagleton Institute of Politics Rutgers University 86 Clifton Avenue New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1568 Ofc: 908/932-1331 Fax: 908/932-1551 E-mail: goertz@zodiac.rutgers.edu Michael L. Hardman Office of the Dean Milton Bennion Hall 225 University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 Ofc: 801/581-4082 Fax: 801/581-5223 E-mail: hardman@gse.utah.edu Ted S. Hasselbring Peabody College/Vanderbilt University Box 45 Nashville, TN 37203 Ofc: 615/322-8070 Fax: 615/343-7556 Email: hassclts@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu Home: 615/760-6937 Daniel M. Koretz Education Policy Research Program Urban Institute 2100 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037-1270 Ofc: 202/857-8526 Fax:202/463-8522 E-mail: dkoretz@ui.urban.org (page 3) Ari L. Nettles The University of Michigan 610 E. University Avenue 1360B School of Education Building Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259 Ofc: 313/763-6123 Fax: 313/763-1368 E-mail: arie.nettles@um.cc.umich.edu Home:313/761-1821 Ian E. Novos Georgia Institute of Technology School of Economics 225 North Avenue, NW Atlanta, GA 30332-0615 Ofc: 404/894-3542 Fax: 404/894/1890 E-mail: ian.novos@econ.gatech.edu Home: 404/875-1941 Diana J. Pullin Boston College School of Education Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 Ofc: 617/552-4200 Fax: 617/552-0812 E-mail: pullin@hermes.bc.edu Daniel J. Reschly Department of Psychology Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 50011-3180 Ofc: 515/294-1487 Fax: 515/294-6424 E-mail: dreschl@iastate.edu Home: 515/233-6837 Ann P. Turnbull Beach Center on Families and Disability 3111 Haworth Hall The University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045 Ofc: 913/864-7608 Fax: 913/864-5825 E-mail: beach@dole.lsi.ukans.edu Home: 913/843-9500 Edward Lee Vargas Santa Ana Unified School District 1405 French Street Santa Ana, CA 92701-2499 Ofc: 714/558-5501 Fax: 714/558-5802 Home: 714/858-5048 Richard K. Wagner Department of Psychology Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306-1051 Ofc: 904/644-1033 Fax: 904/644-739 E-mail: rkwagner@psy.fsu.edu John F. Witte Department of Political Science University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706 Ofc: 608/263-2029 Fax: 608/265-2663 E-mail: jwitte@polisci.wisc.edu Home: 608/233-5026 James E. Ysseldyke Department of Educational Psychology 350 Elliott Hall - Univ. of Minnesota 75 East River Road Minneapolis, MN 55455 Ofc: 612/624-4014 Fax: 612/624-0879 E-mail: yssl001@maroon.tc.umm.edu Home: 612/631-0297 (page 4) NEWS FROM BOB DOLE U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, February 3, 1994 CONTACT: CLARKSON HINE (202) 224-5358 SENATE ADOPTS DOLE AMENDMENT TO GOALS 2000 BILL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SHOULDN'T MISS THE BUS IN SCHOOL REFORM Washington -- Senator Bob Dole Issued the following statement today on his amendment to require a study of GOALS 2000 and students with disabilities: I am pleased that my amendment which directs the Secretary of Education to conduct a study of how well students with disabilities are served by the GOALS 2000 school reforms has been included among the managers amendments. The National Academy of Sciences was selected as the contractor because of its reputation for both independence and excellence. There are three reasons why this study is important and, in my views, way overdue. First, I am concerned that students with disabilities will miss the bus when it comes to school reform. Whether one agrees with GOALS 2000 or not, the national debate over education sparked by the 1983 report A Nation At Risk has been important and sometimes riveting. Regrettably, in the past 11 years there has been little attention to students with disabilities -- although they comprise 10 percent of all students and are among those most in need of education reforms. For example, GOALS 2000 aims for a 90-percent high school graduation rate. Even without reform, the graduation rate among nondisabled stuents has been growing, up to 83 percent