"In our state we have benchmark testing, with benchmark one achieved in third grade, benchmark two achieved in fifth grade, and benchmark three achieved in eighth grade. The Certificate of Initial Mastery is supposed to be achieved by tenth grade.

"Last year I had a fifth-grade student who reads at a second-grade level. We were allowed to challenge down to the first benchmark and he passed! He knew immediately that he passed and the smile was beautiful. However, now he will be required to take the sixth grade test.

"There is no way he will be able to pass the test, and he will feel defeated and a failure. We must have system to allow those students who have educational delays feel like a success and not like a failure."

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