Here are some questions and answers you may find helpful:     Q: What means of evaluating are used to qualify a child for Special Education? A: School Psychologists administer an academic achievement test and also an IQ test to determine if there is a discrepancy between the child's ability and performance. If so, this could indicate a learning disability.     Q: How does the Special Education curriculum differ from that in General Education? A: Special Education curriculum is Specially Designed Instruction. The curriculum looks different for each child. Assignments are given at the student's ability level. Modifications and accommodations are used to help students achieve their goals.       Q: Are the scores on the test the only indicator used in evaluation or is there personal, hands-on assessment? A: Before students are assessed for Special Education, they are brought to a school’s Child Study Team, made up of general education teachers, special education teachers, counselors, principals, and Speech & Language staff. This team first brainstorms accommodations and modifications that can be made in the general education setting. After these have been tried in the general education setting, the Child Study Team revisits the child. If the accommodations and modifications have not improved the student's ability to learn, then the student is referred for Special Education. State and district wide test scores and the student’ daily class work are also examined prior to testing.       Q: Will my child be in Special Education all year? A: Yes, once a child qualifies for Special Education the student is given an IEP (Individualized Education Program). The IEP is reviewed and rewritten once a year. If goals are met prior to the annual IEP date, but the student is not yet at grade level, new goals will be written. If the student reaches grade level standards, he/she would be disqualified from Special Education.       Q: Is Special Education an all day class or a pull out program? A: Special Education has various programs, ranging from all day classes (usually referred to as self-contained) to pull out models (usually referred to as Resource Room). In a self-contained classroom, a student receives all academics in this classroom, but they are usually mainstreamed into the general education setting for PE, music, and library. In a Resource Room setting, students are pulled out of their general education classroom for the area(s) in which the qualifies for Special Education. Then they return to their general education classroom for the remainder of the day.     Q: Will I get progress reports or have meetings with the Special Education Teacher? A: Yes, the Special Education Teacher will be at the parent teacher conferences to let you know how your child is doing on the goals and objectives outlined in his/her IEP. Your child's IEP will be reviewed once a year at a meeting with all staff that work with your child. You will be a part of this meeting.       Q: My child is in 4th grade and nobody has ever mentioned concerns about his/her learning, why are there concerns now? A: A student with a learning disability may not show signs of struggling in the primary grades (K-2) of schooling. As the student advances to intermediate grade levels (3-6), the gap in their learning widens and their lack of progress becomes a concern.       Q: Since my child will be pulled out of general education to receive Special Education, is there a big production made that he is leaving the room for his special class? A: Students come and go for various reasons throughout a school day. Other students know that a student is going to a special class, but they usually don’t know why they are going there. Most of the time there is not a problem.       Q: Does this really help, have you really seen that much improvement in kids? A: Since Special Education is education at the student’s ability level, yes, there is significant improvement made in most cases. Students feel successful and therefore work hard to keep that success. In the General Education class, they can feel frustrated, ashamed, or intimidated and therefore give up on learning,       Q: My child has a behavior issue as well as learning difficulties, is Special Education only for academics? A: No, Special Education also addresses behavior issues. Students with mild behavior issues may be served in a Resource Room setting and have behavior goals on his/her IEP.The Resource Room teacher works with the student to get the behaviors under control. Students with severe behaviors may require a behavior intervention classroom setting. These classrooms have only students with behavior issues and there is a lot of therapy and counseling that goes on with these students. Q: My child has difficulty with social skills. Can Special Education help him? A: Yes, many Special Education teachers are experienced in teaching social skills. Students are usually put into a half hour social skills group with other students who lack social skills. Social skills curriculmn, role playing and games are used to teach social skills.