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Melissa Pedrigi claps to get the attention of nine youngsters in her special education class and asks, "What are we doing now?"

"Cooking," says 10-year-old Monee in a sing-song voice.

Monee partners with another child to make Christmas cookies, a fun lesson designed to teach following directions and provide a skill they'll need if they ever hope to live independently.

But for other students in the Wayne Elementary School classroom, baking cookies may present too daunting a task.

For many, sitting still long enough to use a cookie press or recognize that dough first must be placed on a baking sheet and then shaped into cookies might be beyond the scope of their cognitive abilities.

Student needs vary, but all of Pedrigi's young charges, who range from fourth- to sixth-graders, have mental disabilities and function at the intellectual level of a 3- to 5-year-old.

"We're working with some children on toilet training. That's a big skill in terms of being an independent person. Our whole goal for them is to be independent at whatever level that may be," said Pedrigi, who has taught special education in Elgin Area School District U-46 for five years.

Independence, however, does not rank among the criteria measured on state assessment exams, whether students take the traditional test given to children in mainstream classes or an alternative assessment reserved for the most severely disabled children.

Yet, such test results now determine whether a school - and by extension the district as a whole - succeeds or fails in the eyes of the state.

Fifteen schools in the Fox Valley were deemed "failing" this year because subgroups of children with special educational needs scored below state expectations.

That sparked concern among parents, teachers and administrators who question whether students with special needs and disabilities will ever be able to perform at or above state learning standards by the 2013-2014 school year.

Such testing edicts stem from the federal No Child Left Behind law, which requires schools bring all students - not just some - up to grade level in reading and math within the next 12 years.

"We work hard to teach them to read, and students make good progress, but it's not a fast fix. Yet they're tested each year," said Dundee Middle School teacher Linda Morning.

The all-or-nothing mandate raises the stakes for teachers, principals, district officials and school board members each year by raising the academic bar and demanding every subgroup of children - as defined by ethnicity, income level, language ability or disability - meet it.

This year, 40 percent of students in each subgroup were required to meet state standards in reading and math. Next year, the watershed mark climbs to 45 percent.

That's a laudable goal, but an unrealistic one, say many special education officials, when referring to students whose disabilities range from speech impediments to severe mental retardation and autism.

Special Education Administrator Laura Frankiewicz of Community Unit District 300 in Carpentersville calls No Child Left Behind the "Lake Wobegon philosophy."

"You know, where all men are good looking, all women are smart and all children are above average. That's great, but the truth is people below average don't perform at average ability; they don't have the capacity."

Raising the bar

Special needs children aren't alone in the limelight.

The federal education law takes schools to task for the test-day performance of kids who might just be learning English and kids whose families might lack the resources to visit museums or buy many books.

There need only be 40 students in a grade with disabilities or limited English to qualify as a subgroup, and then they are factored into a school's overall grade, according to the federal education rubric now in place.

"All kids can learn. The whole point of No Child Left Behind is to ensure kids have access to the general curriculum and are challenged to learn at the highest level," said Chris Koch, director of special education for the Illinois Board of Education.

About 310,000 students across the state have disabilities that affect they way they learn, and they receive a personalized educational plan. Of those, 50 percent have learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

"The majority of kids with learning disabilities learn differently, not all at the same rate or in the same way. We want to make sure they will be afforded the same opportunity to go on and live productive lives," Koch said.

The law permits children with multiple disorders to take an alternative, specialized assessment that strives to reflect a more appropriate level of progress, but one that nonetheless is measured against state learning standards. For kids in this area, that test is called the Illinois Alternative Assessment. A group of special education experts met earlier this month to re-evaluate the format of the alternative exam.

A team of teachers, parents and special education experts typically determine whether a child would be better suited to take the alternative test or the traditional Illinois Standards Achievement Test, given with modifications such as extra time or using a keyboard rather than a pencil to write.

"No Child Left Behind raised awareness that all students should meet the bar, all students should be given opportunities," said Meg Schnoor, director of special services at Huntley Unit School District 158. "But it's very difficult to explain that some students do not have a God-given ability to read."

U-46 Special Education Director Maria Smith agreed.

"We have to acknowledge the growth kids are making and hold high standards but be realistic," Smith said.

There is no limit on how many students in a school or district may take the alternative assessment, but a cap limits how many alternative test scores may be used to determine a school's success or failure.

Only one percent of the total number of students tested in a district may be evaluated using the alternative test, federal education officials said this week.

That proviso kicks in next year but does little to assuage the current concerns of U-46 teacher Melissa Pedrigi.

Independence

Four of Pedrigi's seven students last year were in grades slated for testing; all of them took the alternative assessment.

But they still were required to read and also show an awareness of the solar system.

"They don't even understand there is Earth and space. To identify there is a solar system ... no way," Pedrigi said.

As for reading, Pedrigi said she scores her students based on how well they understand pictures of words.

"Maybe by the end of the year they'll have a few more picture words and sight words, or they can follow a schedule through the day. Our gains are small, but when they do come they're exciting."

And that's exactly the point.

Roosevelt University education professor and former Palatine- Schaumburg High School District 211 Superintendent Gerald Chapman said, "There can be tremendous progress in special education, but many times it's not in areas being tested. And those are probably the skills they need most."

That is to say, children may learn how to handle money, take a bus or prepare a meal, all of which are essential to live independently but may not be reflected in a state test.

Such skills, however, often fall between the cracks of standardized tests, and for that reason, schools must broaden their definition of success, said Terry Awrey, assistant superintendent at Huntley District 158.

Testing the gray areas

Nor do test scores necessarily provide an accurate read of how much a child learned during a year.

Take Linda Morning at Dundee Middle School, for example. A 26- year veteran teacher of special education, Morning works with students who struggle to read and write but nevertheless are required to take assessment tests and score at grade level.

"My students understand the concepts. Last year in science and social studies, they scored close to the building average. They just struggle in the core subjects," Morning said.

That's not particularly surprising since reading and writing are where Morning's students have diagnosed disabilities.

The scenario is not unique.

The problem, as District 300's Frankiewicz sees it, is No Child Left Behind requires students be tested at the grade level in which they are enrolled, though they might perform at a lower or higher level. Such gaps are what Frankiewicz calls "gray areas."

Referring to the Prairie State Assessment Exam given to all high school juniors, Frankiewicz said, "We have students with mild levels of retardation, with an IQ below 70. How are they going to perform at an 11th grade level?"