Three Emerging Issues in Special Education Technology
This paper examines three emerging issues poised to significantly influence special education over the coming years: multiple assessments and evaluations, assistive technology, and functional behavioral assessment in special education. Drawing on federal legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and current research, the paper explains how electronic portfolios and performance-based assessments broaden student evaluation, how IDEA's 2004 revision expanded assistive technology eligibility, and how functional behavioral assessments can help special education teachers tailor instruction to individual student needs. Each issue is considered in terms of its practical implications for educators and students with disabilities.
- Introduction: Three key education issues identified for consideration
- Multiple Assessments and Evaluations: Electronic portfolios and broad student progress measures
- Assistive Technology in the Classroom: IDEA revisions expanding assistive technology eligibility
- Assessment in Special Education: Functional behavioral assessments for individualized instruction
- Conclusion: Summary of implications for special education practice
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly signals its structure upfront, naming all three issues in the introduction so readers know exactly what to expect.
- Grounds each claim in specific legislative language (IDEA 1997 and 2004 revisions), giving the analysis concrete legal authority.
- Uses direct quotation strategically — citing researchers and practitioners to reinforce rather than replace the author's own framing.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of legislative analysis as an organizing framework. Rather than simply listing educational trends, the author anchors each issue in statutory language — particularly IDEA's shift from "requires" to "needs" — and explains how that single wording change produces real-world consequences for classroom practice. This technique connects policy detail to practical implications in a way that is both precise and accessible.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a classic short-essay structure: a brief framing introduction, three body sections each devoted to one issue, and a summary conclusion that restates the significance of all three. Each body section opens with a definition or legislative reference, introduces supporting research, and closes with a forward-looking implication. The Works Cited section follows APA-adjacent formatting with print source attribution.
Introduction
Innovations in technology and calls for increased accountability have combined to create an environment in which significant changes in education over the next several years are a reasonable expectation. This paper identifies three potential issues in education — multiple assessments and evaluations, assistive technology, and assessment in special education — and explains why each of these topics will be worthy of consideration.
Multiple Assessments and Evaluations
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study already provide educators with the ability to administer multiple assessments and evaluations (Scott and Bagaka 70). One of the main advantages of using multiple assessments is that they give educators the ability to evaluate a wide range of student progress indicators — including experiments, written assignments, portfolios, and other tasks that require the application of critical thinking skills — which may not be accurately or efficiently evaluated through conventional means (Dietel 33).
In the future, these types of multiple assessments and evaluations will further streamline the student evaluation process while still providing educators with a solid indication of student progress. In this regard, Rhodes advises that "well-planned electronic portfolios provide opportunities to collect data from multiple assessments across a broad range of learning outcomes and modes for expressing learning while guiding student learning and building reflective self-assessment capabilities" (5).
Assistive Technology in the Classroom
According to Demski, "assistive technologies were initially developed for students with severe learning or physical disabilities. However, a 1997 update of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires assistive technology regardless of the degree of the disability" (30). IDEA defines assistive technology devices as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system … that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" (cited in Demski 30).
A minor change in wording in a 2004 revision of IDEA — from "requires" to "needs" — had significant implications for the provision of assistive technology in the classroom for special education students in K-12 schools. As Demski explains, "No longer are assistive technologies only made available to students whose survival or success depends on their use. If, after consideration, the student shows merely a need — something essential or very important — then the technology must be provided" (31). This change in the law means that greater numbers of students will be required to be provided with assistive technology in the classroom in order to optimize their learning abilities and opportunities (Demski 31).
Conclusion
The research showed that three issues in education holding significant potential for special educators are multiple assessments and evaluations, assistive technology, and assessment in special education. Each of these issues was shown to have important implications for special education students and their teachers, and each requires individualized application in order to optimize its effectiveness.
Works Cited
Demski, Jennifer. "Assistive Technology and Access for All: A Slight Revision to Existing Legislation Has Expanded the Base of Students Eligible to Receive Assistive Technologies, Creating Major Changes in Their Implementation." Technological Horizons in Education 35.12 (2008): 30–33. Print.
Dietel, Ron. "Testing to the Top — Everything but the Kitchen Sink? Many Questions Remain Unanswered as the United States Forges Ahead into Greater Uses of Performance Assessments — Potentially Even Linking Them to Teacher and Principal Evaluations." Phi Delta Kappan 92.8 (2011): 32–35. Print.
Rhodes, Terrel. "The VALUE Project Overview." Peer Review 11.1 (2009): 4–7. Print.
Scott, Caitlin, and Joshua G. Bagaka. "Moving District Reform into Schools: Links between Teachers' Perceptions of District-Wide Reform Efforts, Participation in Professional Activities, and Student Achievement." Planning and Changing 35.1/2 (2009): 69–72. Print.
Zirkel, Perry A. "State Special Education Laws for Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plans." Behavioral Disorders 36.4 (2011): 262–270. Print.
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