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    Joined: Jan 2012
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    HayJo Offline OP
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    Hello everyone~ I found this board doing some research and would love some opinions on my first grade sons MAP Scores. I am concerned because he has shown little growth this year, even negative growth in math, and I am wondering if this indicates a poor educational fit or could be a clue to a possible LD. I am not sure I see any red flags for a LD but I realize some problems are not real clear yet at this age.

    Last year he had a wonderful teacher who really challenged him in reading which I think is the reason he grew so much during the year in that area. She said he was a couple of years ahead in math though and therefore not exposed to anything new hence the lack of growth. My attempt to advocate for math enrichment this year with his teacher has fallen on deaf years and again I see him stagnating. I have resisted putting him in any after school programs as I really want his free time to be enjoyed doing sports and fun activities. Now I am concerned though that he does not seem to be progressing. Here are his scores:

    Kindergarten
    Math: Fall-184, Winter-192, Spring-192
    Reading: Fall-167, Spring-185, Winter-196

    First
    Math: Fall-208, Winter-206
    Reading: Fall-195, Winter-199

    Oh and he was tested for the GT pullout program last year due to teacher recommendation. He scored 136 on the NNAT but his CoGat scores were under the 132 cut off mark with an overall score in the low 120's hence he did not get selected. His teacher this year said she has had thoughts that he is gifted but is not necessarily seeing it in the work he is producing i.e. pictures he draws, etc.

    I would love any insight into these scores and suggestions regarding any steps I should take to keep him progressing. Should I consider outside testing to figure out if any issues are at hand or if I need to make some educational changes? I am really just not sure what to do.

    I appreciate any advice. Thank you!

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    It's interesting to see the high math growth between K-spring and 1st-Fall. Looks like he needs at school what he was getting over the summer!

    Last edited by inky; 01/27/12 10:24 AM.
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    Welcome HayJo,

    I can't help you with understanding the MAPS scores, but fwiw as I've watched each of my kids and their friends go through preschool and the first years of school, reading seems to be an ability that rather than moving upward in a linear trends grows in spurts... so I wouldn't necessarily worry about it unless you have other reasons to question if there's an LD or other issue.

    My youngest dd is in 2nd grade this year - she's a kid that everyone (parents, friends, teachers, etc) think is at least HG based on her ability to pick up new concepts quickly and her verbal communication. She started learning to read in preschool which wasn't a surprise, but her growth in reading stagnated by the time she reached first grade and by the end of first grade she was very stressed out by reading. She's just been through an eval and was found to have a challenge that impacts her ability to read. So - fwiw - the non-progress in reading achievement scores *might* mean there's some kind of challenge - if yr ds has shown other signs of challenges such as not wanting to read out loud, stumbling over words, seeming to not recognize words you think he should know when reading, etc and your gut feeling is telling you something's up, I'd look into it further.

    Best wishes,

    polarbear

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    HayJo Offline OP
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    Thanks Inky! I guess it is a sign I need to take matters into my own hands.

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    HayJo Offline OP
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    Thank you polarbear for your response.

    In some ways my ds sounds a bit like your daughter. He started to read in preschool too, though toward the end at about age 4 1/2 and progressed fairly well until this year. He has seemed to hit a wall a bit. Though maybe as you mentioned that is how reading typically develops in spurts and he has yet to hit his next spurt :-). He does well when reading out load and I do not notice any obvious issues when I hear him read however he does not particularily like to sit and read. Maybe that is an indication in and of itself?

    I have noticed this year that he has gotten more into sports and have seen big gains in his motor skills. His focus is now on more physical activities where he used to be the chid who would love to sit and draw mazes and do puzzles. Maybe he is just switching gears on me! :-)

    Thank you for your insight. I am definitely going to keep my eye out for any signs of a possible issue.

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    My ds has stagnated from time to time and by the next test started moving forward. I know with Math he stayed flat for almost a year because he was so high to start and until I found an enrichment math for him- it did not go up. We had other health issues going on that prevented any extra enrichment for a good 2 years during that time- once he got well and he started learning again- they shot up- exposure has a lot to do with it. I can't home school but have a math class for him that has helped where his school can't teach any more. His science MAPS have him at a high school level and they really don't know what to do with him- I bought him high school science books to read on his own. So your son may just be dealing with lack of exposure or hitting a little plateau or he just had a bad testing day the second time. Regarding the COGATS- My son's COGATS do not always show him as "gifted"( he has taken it more than once for different school assesmemts) and the teachers say they don't reflect his giftedness- ds got put in gifted program with borderline scores and is thriving. The school recognizes he does not always test to his capabilities and the gifted teachers says he is one of the few kids who REALLY needs the gifted program. So scores don't always mean a lot and CogTs have never accurately demonstrated my ds's "giftedness". I'm lucky because the school gets my kid- he has a 504 for PANDAS and the administration decided if he is acting up or in a bad place with PANDAS he gets to go to the gifted classroom more. Normally they hold kids out for behavior issues- they know he needs it- so maybe your son can get in without the cogats( ours look at MAPS and teacher recommendations too). Good luck!

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    HayJo Offline OP
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    Thank you bgbarnes I really appreciate your input. It is nice to hear about an environment that really gets each child. Sounds like you have a wonderful school!

    His conference is Monday so I will see what his teacher says about his latest scores.

    Thanks again!

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    I really wouldn't worry about the results of the MAP testing. There was a pretty big jump between his spring math testing from last year and the fall math testing from this year -- yes, it could have been an awesome summer, but his fall math score could have just been "artificially" high (excellent "guessing") and his winter score could be the "accurate" one...or something distracted him or was bugging him during the winter one he took a few weeks ago, and his score should actually be higher. He may have been more confident in his ability to read this time, so he didn't listen to the test "read" the questions to him as much as he has previous times, so he may have missed a few things just because he misread something. I always caution parents against reading too much into MAP test scores, especially ONE test result. We want to see growth over time, but HAVE to allow for the "little bumps" and "big hills" along the way.


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