Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment reading test scores - not sure what to do.

bzylzy, I take it you don't have an IEP yet since you're still doing testing. Ours is a whopping 4 days old. The ink isn't even dry. Anyways, getting the spelling list provided by the teacher was the easiest of all the accommodations we got. I'd brought in the previous week's study list with 5 out of 12 words spelled wrong.

Multisensory-wise, we spend a week studying the 12 word list. First we identify the rules covered. (Sometimes this is a guess because the spelling program is just not transparent.) Then DD writes flashcards with the spelling rule in a different color.

The next day she marks the syllable breaks on each flash card, and we review the words with ASL -- we look up the ASL sign for the word, and she finger spells the word.

DD has spelling homework each night that includes sorting and rewriting exercises, so we don't worry too much about practice writing them.

On the walk to school, we run through the words once each spelling out loud and finger spelling them. Any problem words we break down and brainstorm ways to remember the spelling. We often do this by picturing the word with its colors and doing something to the image in her head. She's missed three words on spelling tests all year.

We have discovered that this approach has helped her spelling overall, while the specific 12 words are hit or miss a week later. Go figure. I think a good part of the problem is that the level of the spelling lists has passed her by, such that her need for instruction is actually on simpler spelling patterns than is now being taught in 4th grade.

Anyways, on the nonsense word tests, the point in IDEA is that the tests are nationally normed tests and are evidence based, and as such, the schools should recognize them as meaningful.

I've never thought about the finger spelling. I've found that if DD can say it, spell it, put it in a sentence meaningful to her, see how the dictionary breaks it up, and dramatize it works. This is in addition to the visual memorization. She also loves that book called "Word Roots" which I bought through Mindware.

Yes you are right, no IEP yet. The university test data came to us in Feb., with advice to pursue through school (they can collect data but not interpret/advice/diagnose for this study) and that plus what seems to be a great struggle started up a couple of months ago.

The whole thing is such a jumble now that I want to take her out for the last few weeks of school, stating out of town family visits, the vacation we didn't take in spring out of respect to the state assessments, etc...something breezy and not threatening.

Unfortunately DD overheard the talk about taking her out for the last 3 weeks of school, mentioned it at school, and teacher told her that her parents were doing something "illegal". That deeply upset DD and that's added to the mix. We got too very aggressive e-mails in two days and I am worried too but we are going to try and enjoy our holiday weekend and deal with it on Tues. I'm so confused as to how to deal with the teacher, don't want to go above her head at this time.

You can actually begin "homeschooling any time after the start of school, legally, in my state and district, it's on the district website in black and white.

My DD's test was the CTOPP, which I think is pretty specific. I don't know the IDEA.

Sorry for the ramble, it's just a bit stressful around here lately!

For those in B&M schools - how do you get the schools to listen???

I mentioned before that we are also in the middle of other testing - so far the WISC and part of WJ Achievement have been done; we'll finish in June and get results in late-June. I emailed these reading results to the PsyD. She said, essentially, that DD's IQ is "extremely high" such that performing at 50th or 60th percentile "could be considered a LD."

But how do you get the school to take that seriously? "Yes, my DD is 1 year above grade level, but we think she should be 5 years above grade level - so could we have accommodations, please?"

Ack!

Susan

from geofizz:
In practice, this will be done with a lot of phonics with multi-sensory approaches to get her to focus on these mechanics. Once she's learned them, then we teach her to use them together with her skills to infer meaning. When it comes to writing, the plan is to teach her to write for meaning first, and edit for mechanics second (including, for instance, the writing of mathematics). Because of this need to sequence, she's qualified for extra time on tests, including state standardized tests.

geofizz, are you doing this through the school, or through a program of some sort? It does sound extremely similar!

There is a book called "100 Easy Lessons" that you can find in most bookstores. It is a sort of mini-Direct Instruction course intended for parents to deliver. It isn't an intensive enough resource if you're really looking at dyslexia, but it is an easy, systematic, 10 minute per day approach to teaching decoding skills. I've been very impressed with outcomes I've had using Direct Instruction techniques and materials as reading intervention for students with decoding and fluency difficulties. It might be worth a try before committing to a more expensive and intensive approach.

Susan,

DD is getting Wilson through school on an IEP. We coasted through the process, benefiting from the fact that a dozen families filed a complaint with the department of ed for its lack of responsiveness to kids much more hampered by their dyslexia. The state found in favor of the parents and made it clear there was no appeals process. There's been a big shake up, a change of tune, and state oversight.

That being said, it still took nearly a year and there were errors-- DD's teacher told me she suspected a disability on Nov 9 of last year. That should have triggered child find. Instead, I took DD for private testing, and produced the scores in a meeting Feb 8. We signed the IEP on Moday.

We also hired an advocate, who got us a much better document than we would have otherwise had, though we didn't have to fight to get it. In years past, an advocate would have been necessary to get the IEP at all.

Privately, we'd started OG tutoring at the university's teaching and learning tutoring center. DD and I also did some of Sequential Spelling together, and we flirted with an independent tutor. The Sequential Spelling improved things a lot, but only to a point. The independent tutor didn't seem to get DD, and couldn't quite click with DD's massive vocabulary. The university center was the best since they were used to tutoring across a much broader level, and DD presented as a fascinating case.

Wow.

This thread is great.

With the 2Es, getting the click is the hard part because they tend to be very unique. The massive vocabularies seem to throw off alot of people, and in my DD's case she is very well-spoken and projects herself very well with adults, and is clever/funny. But I think a strong foundation for the verbal manipulations and frustrations she has is when she hits a compensation wall.

There's alot of good info on this thread, thanks for sharing everyone.