How do you evaluate whether a kid still needs an extra time accommodation on standardized tests?
My DD gets time and a half on all standardized tests except math. we recently had DD's annual 504 meeting. One of the teachers stated that DD didn't appear to need extra time because she didn't use it on last year's state tests. Without going into the gory details, it's my understanding that last year's test had time and a half built into the schedule for everyone because they were piloting a new assessment. Recently, her class completed MAP testing in science. DD had no accommodation for that test and received the second highest score in her class. The teacher asked me whether I still believe that DD needs the accommodation.
I asked DD if she thought that she needed extra time still. Her answer was a resounding "yes" for written responses and "some" for reading comprehension issues. She said that on reading tests, she uses the extra time to go back over things and make sure that she is reading things correctly. DD tends to have a harder time with short questions that don't give her much context. She may miss an "or" or a "not" that completely changes the meaning of the question. I realize that all kids probably do this to some degree. At the same time, I believe that it is worse for DD since she probably reads by anticipation more than typical kids.
I've been told that the high school is likely to balk at the extra time accommodation next year particularly if she is on one of the honors tracks (highly likely).
