Who do you Serve First?

With all of this testing that is required in the united states because of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), questions arise about who should we serve first.  Should we serve the students who are close to passing the tests or do we serve the students who are so far below that they need our help now.  Which ones should we do first?

This is kind of a rhetorical question, one that I do not have an answer to.  I have my thoughts, which is we need to serve both.  Being a future special education teacher, I am biased towards wanting to help those who are so far below that it will take a lot to help them pass.  I like the challenge and it is worth it, because while they may not pass the test, you will be able to see how much progress the students make.  Gains will always be made, however, the question is: who should determine whether the gains are big enough?

I just don't understand why we have to choose between helping those who need our help and helping those who need our help desperately (desperately creates a sense of pity, so I wish I could think of another word for this, but can't right now).  It creates yet another dichotomy, and how do we decide?  Many teachers decide based on which ones they want to work with more.  Those students with problem behaviors are more likely (I have no proof of this, recognize that) to be in that group of needing help desperately.  Many teachers view problem behaviors as difficult, so many teachers are more likely to work with those who don't need the help as much.

A few weeks ago, a teacher sent a student to me to teach a student how to put on his snow pants.  That was borderline ridiculous, if not completely over the line of ridiculousness.  Why can't the general education teachers teach the student themselves while they are on prep?  I don't even end up getting a prep because general education teachers send our students to us and we have to deal with them.