So do you have to hold to some curriculum or do you have any latitude that way? Maybe you can make the standard tests open whatever(book, cellphone, computer, etc). Let them use the things that are going to be actual life skills for them and just make it clear that the state hasn't caught up with real life, so they can't use it on the progress tests?

No idea if that would work or not, but I think I'd be pretty happy with that if I were still a kiddo.