Controversy Over Assessment:
The Changing Sociopolitical Climate

Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, judicial decisions were an important sociopolitical factor influencing legislation, policy making, and practice. In the courts, parents and advocacy groups pushed for the rights of those with disabilities and equality of education and fought discrimination.

Hobson v. Hansen (1969): This was the first major case raising questions about placement in special education. The court ruled that using test scores to group students into "tracks" was unconstitutional because it discriminated against blacks and the poor.

Diana v. State Board of Education (1970): Here was a case in which the use of tests to place students was again challenged. Diana, a Spanish-speaking student in Monterey County, California, had been placed in a class for mildly mentally retarded students because she had scored low on an IQ test given to her in English. The court ruled that Spanish-speaking children should be retested in their native language to avoid errors in placement.

Larry P. V Riles (1972): Larry P. Was a black student in California, and his complaint led to an expansion of the ruling in the Diana case. The court ruled that schools are responsible for providing tests that do not discriminate on the basis of race. In the class-action case of PASE v. Hannon (1980), however, the fudge stated he could find little evidence of bias in the test items. The Larry P. Case also set a precedent for the use of data indicating disproportionate placement of minority groups as prima facie evidence of discrimination. However, subsequent cases have undermined this precedent (Marshall et a. v. Georgia [1984] and S-I v. Turlington [1986]).

In many ways, it is unfortunate that litigation is necessary. But it is. It seems that many questions about the appropriate treatment of those who do not "fit in" are so unsettled and unsettling as to require adjudication.