This article describes how proficiency tests administered to senior high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District were modified for visually handicapped students with the aid of a committee composed of experts in the fields of education and blindness, students, and parents. The authors discuss (1) the legislative mandate for the revisions, (2) concerns with the validity of administering the regular tests to visually handicapped students, (3) the committee's resolution of controversial issues, (4) its recommendations concerning proficiency tests in general and the SHARP and WRITE tests in particular, and (5) the procedures followed to develop, modify, and field test the SHARP.
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References
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EfronJ. R.Generally speaking: Proficiency testing for visually handicapped high school students.California Transcriber, 1980, 82–84.
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EfronJ. R.Report of the Committee to Modify Proficiency Testsfor Visually Handicapped Students.Los Angeles, Calif.: Visually Handicapped Office, Los Angeles Unified School District, July1979.
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Excerpt from Chapter 894 education code: Proficiency in basic skills.Los Angeles Calif.: Office of Instruction, Los Angeles Unified School District, 1978.
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Florida literacy tests for graduation delayed.Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1979, Part 1, p. 11.
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GibsonJ.Report of progress in the modification of the SHARP for Visually Handicapped Students.Los Angeles, Calif.: Office of Instruction, Los Angeles Unified School District, August1979.
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Standards and quality in education.American Teacher, 1979, A8.
