How to Grade Special Education Students

Knowing how to grade special education students is an important responsibility of these specific educators. With a variety of impairments including visual, hearing and orthopedic disabilities, a special education classroom can present a wide variety of challenges in designing appropriate assessments. Grading a child with special needs must be done with caution and special consideration.

1. Identify the commonalities of the students in the classroom. If the majority of the class can handle a computer or write with a pencil, it will identify appropriate assessment tools.

2. Determine which students will need individualized attention during the assessment process. You may have students who are unable to write or sit at a computer. Grading this group of students will require another method, such as speaking to them one-on-one to gauge their mastery of a skill or topic.

3. Design the appropriate assessment tool. Computerized assessments can be useful if you have access to software that can accommodate various academic levels. In a special education math class, for example, your students' math skills may range from simple arithmetic to advanced algebra. Prepare the appropriate level tests for each student according to ability.

4. Assign teacher's assistants to work with students with specialized needs. Grading special education students requires tuning into their progress and needs. Getting assistants involved will allow you to spend more time with each student and will help you to navigate through the grading process by getting a second opinion.

5. Pay special attention to student effort. Part of the grade should have some basis on the amount of effort by each student. A student who quickly masters a concept and stops working should not necessarily receive a higher grade than a student who is consistently making an effort and moving slowly through the material.   

6. Reward progress. A student may come into the class at the beginning of the year already having mastered specific content. Challenge that student and base your grade on the amount of knowledge he has gained and the effort exerted throughout the course of the semester or year.