General Education Teachers’ Perspectives on Evaluation of Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Elementary Schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate general education teachers’ perspectives on evaluation practices for students with disabilities in inclusive elementary schools. There were eight teachers who worked with students with disabilities in their inclusive classes participating in focus group interviews. The results were as follows. First, inclusive elementary schools failed to build effective evaluation systems for students with disabilities who were partially included. Second, very little support was provided for general education teachers to help them enact effective instruction and evaluation for students with disabilities in their inclusive classes. Third, general education teachers and their special education teacher colleagues had a difficulty in sharing accountability for teaching and evaluating their students with disabilities in inclusive schools. Fourth, there was a need for establishing an evaluation record system for students with disabilities in partial inclusion, developing evaluation guidelines for inclusive education, and strengthening professional development, curriculum enhancement, and alternate assessments. The discussions and implications for improving the evaluation practices in inclusion for elementary students with disabilities were provided.