The Curse of High Stakes Tests and High Abilities: Reactions to Wong v. Regents of the University of California

Authors

  • Nancy Mather
  • Noel Gregg
  • Jo Anne Simon

Abstract

In a recent court case, Andrew H. K. Wong was dismissed from University of California at Davis medical school. He sued the university for discrimination, in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), but lost. Unfortunately, these types of court decisions and the overly mechanistic and rigid interpretations ofADA are threatening the provision and legitimacy of accommodations for high functioning students with learning disabilities across the life-span. To identify the need for accommodations and to provide equal access to individuals with learning disabilities, one must consider the manner, condition, and duration of an individual's learning experiences, rather than just simply focusing on standardized test scores.

Issue

Section

Articles