Standardized tests can be a valuable assessment tool in evaluating students who receive special education services. Which scenario would standardized tests be inappropriate to use for data in measuring student growth progress?

• A. When evaluating students with accommodations
• B. When evaluating students who take alternate assessments
• C. When evaluating students new to the school
• D. When evaluating students with frequent absences

Answer: (C)

Growth data relies on having a starting point within the current setting to compare future performance against. When a student is new to the school, there isn’t an existing baseline in that district to anchor growth over time. Standardized tests provide a snapshot of where a student stands relative to peers, but without prior data gathered in the same school or district, you can’t chart meaningful growth from arrival. You’d first establish a starting point using available initial assessments or screening data, then track progress from there.

In other scenarios, standardized tests can still be used in ways that fit the context: with accommodations documented to ensure accessibility and fairness, or alongside other data sources for students who take alternate assessments (since their growth is tracked with different measures). Frequent absences can complicate data collection, but the core issue for a new student is the lack of a local baseline to determine growth.