Seeing his potential, one mother wonders why her child isn't held to higher standards at school, despite his learning disability.

By the time my younger son is midway through third grade, I realize that his academic progress has stalled. He's stuck somewhere between kindergarten and first grade. School is a struggle for him. He has a language-based learning disability, which affects how long it takes for him to process new information before he can respond.

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We have safeguards — classroom accommodations and an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP, a document required by law for students who receive special education — to keep him on track.

Except, that he isn't.

In our annual IEP meeting, I request that my son be challenged for longer periods of time and encouraged to struggle through problems to reach a solution.

I point to Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset, demonstrating the brain's capacity for unlimited potential. The research shows how neurons in the brain can grow new connections when effort is applied. Plus, when students learn that they can actually get smarter and grow new brain cells by trying harder, their test scores improve. I bring up recent studies verifying failure as a crucial part of the learning process. I contrast the team's strategies to motivate special ed students with approaches used in general education. My older son, for example, was fed a rigorous curriculum punctuated with high expectations that he met with little fanfare.

As the meeting wraps up, it's agreed to encourage my son to work harder.

Students in general education are required to meet well-defined standards written for grade-specific goals. In special education, there are not set academic standards.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, federal law rules my child's right to a Free Appropriate Public Education, known as FAPE, which includes specific support services outlined in his IEP. Without any incentive to get students in special education at, or near grade-level standards, though, minimal progress is acceptable under FAPE.

Hopefully, what is considered an appropriate education will change as the future of FAPE came to a head in March this year at the Supreme Court. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the Court ruled unanimously in favor of providing students with disabilities more challenging objectives to establish consistent progress.

All kids, despite their differences, are young aspirants and should be encouraged to reach their optimal potential. Creative teaching methods and research-based programs must be coupled with consistent and credible expectations to drive students, no matter what type of learner, to advance academically.

Read the source article at npr.org

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