Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy DRA Reading help

Thank you for posting this. The school used DRA testing as a part of their reasoning for not accelerating DS8 and I disagreed completely with the tester. She basically wanted him to recite what he had read about Gandhi. He told her the salient points and then expounded upon the text and Gandhi but neglected to mention things like, "This is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi."

I said, "You noted here that he said something about Gandhi?"

"Yes, but he didn't say, 'This is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi.'"

...

My son was assessed with the DRA as reading late second grade. He comes home with level 28 books. We just had him tested and he's reading and comprehending on a 5th grade level.

Yes, it seems rather subjective to me. And it sounds a bit misleading. Apparently ,they ask "what do *you think* the most important part of the story is?" Which, to DS, for awhile, really meant what *for him* was the most important event, ie, how he felt. I had to explain to him recently that the question really is "what is the most important part?" and there is a "right answer" and a "wrong one" regardless of what "he thinks" - they are not asking for his personal feelings/critique. Anyway, my DS is a little weird like that...

So anyone have any thoughts on what I should do? I am going to approach it as we discussed, i.e., that this is a problem b/c DS is not making appropriate progress. But they will argue he is making progress even though he didn't pass the test and move to the next level. They will say he improved in fluency and his summaries are good, he just didn't pass the test. Any ideas how to counter this?

And, I would like him re-tested to make sure he wasn't just having a bad day (when he told me what his teacher said that he e missed on the test, he commented that he may have accidently skipped a page when he was reading (you know two pages get stuck together or something). He may just have been having a bad day. (Allergies are bad and he's all drugged up, etc. it's a bad time of year.) Can he be re-tested (obviously with a different text)? Should I ask that they re-test him prior to the conference so that we are sure we are talking about lack of progress? Or, should I wait to discuss that at the conference?

Any ideas would be so appreciated.

That's it exactly! They ask what he thinks is most important and then disregard what he says because it doesn't fit with their actual answers. If you don't want to know that Gandhi went on hunger strikes to promote peace, then don't ask what is most important.

Irena- I think this is the trajectory when a teacher can't or won't be flexible.

1. Teacher receives high test scores for the child that they don't do anything with
2. Child is assigned work that is mind-numbing, gets bored and often disruptive because needs are unmet
3. Grades go down because the child is only half-attending to what is going on and working carelessly just to get it over with
4. Teacher uses careless, sloppy work, inattentiveness, and behavior problems to falsely justify holding the child back

The only step we skipped before switching schools was "disruptive." Mine has mild social anxiety, so instead of disrupting class, he spent a good part of the day looking out the window.

That's certainly the path we followed. I am hopeful that the SWAS in Reno will be different...sigh...

Hi Irena -

Sorry I'm coming in late here - I think I've read everything!


This is good that you're having a meeting - I'm just curious - how many weeks left do you have in the school year? I think maybe I saw 4 mentioned above? I'd want to be sure to stress at this meeting that you want a plan in place to be sure this doesn't happen again next year.


This is a good plan - and your email you composed above is good too.


If they argue this, they are using circular logic with you, so use it back-at-them. When they say he didn't pass the test, ask for specifics re what he didn't pass, what type of questions he missed. Listen (even though I'm guessing you already know the answer :)), then reply that since he missed those questions, are they saying he hasn't made progress in that specific area. If they say no, then say ok, why hasn't he been moved up in reading level. If they say yes, then ask how they have been instructing him to remediate. I think you'll find they'll move past this argument fairly quickly if you just stay calm and continue questioning each thing they suggest - because really, it's a never-ending loop the way they are trying to explain themselves, and you need to call their bluff.


I would definitely ask them to retest. If they have an issue with testing him at the same level (same book or whatever - which shouldn't be an issue, I'm fairly certain DRA offers a choice of several books) - ask that they test him at a higher level.


I'd ask now, via email, and ask specifically that it be done before the conference. The only reason I wouldn't ask is if you think it's likely he won't be able to do his best due to allergies or some other reason. I think really it's a win-win for you no matter how he performs on the test - you are either going to see he's at a higher level, hence you can argue he should have been receiving higher level instruction, or if he's at the same level it strengthens your argument that he is not making adequate yearly progress.


FWIW, the schools my kids have been in have never emphasized levels with the students other than in really really early reading where the kids had to choose from specific boxes of books that were truly level-appropriate and that the kids could "test" themselves out of by reading to the teacher and showing mastery. The school *did* give the students DRAs, but the kids weren't assigned books based on them and they could check out any book they wanted to from the library. With an emphasis on knowing your level, it can put the focus on that when really (jmo) the important thing for young readers is lots or exposure - read, read, and read some more! - lots of listening to reading (parents or adults reading to them), and most importantly - encouraging their enjoyment of reading. That's what's going to keep them reading and ultimately develop their reading skills the most.

Another thing I wanted to mention - our school phased out DRA testing by the end of 3rd grade, when they felt most students should have achieved a "40" - that was the goal. After that point, I think the school didn't see value in the DRA as an assessment - and I think your ds is most likely past that point.

Another thing about testing at our kids' school - they didn't test past 40, or past grade level etc. So once our ds hit "40" his teachers all smiled and said "Great!" and that was it. Leveled reading groups also phased out before 3rd grade, and the class instead read books together and discussed together. This was honestly something that my ds both loved and hated all at the same time. He liked the books that were discussed - they were good books. I read them too and liked them lol! But the class read very slow, they might take a few days to read a full chapter, and ds could sit in class and read the whole danged book in an hour or so. So ds did just that - he read ahead. Then he'd be bored when he was supposed to be reading but he'd already finished the book. DS is a pretty mellow kid and he was pretty demoralized by school due to writing issues, so he didn't complain until he just finally erupted at home telling us he wasn't going back because it was just too boring. So - stay on top of it. I don't know a good answer and I've really not had a chance to see reading differentiated meaningfully in any of the classes my kids have been in past 1st-2nd grade.

On the other hand, I also would point out that I think the only "damage" from not receiving appropriately leveled reading instruction for my ds was the boredom of not having faster-paced reading peers so that class discussions and reading time didn't drag out. Even though he was reading way below his ability level in school that didn't stop his comprehension/etc from growing through the reading he did on his own.



Absolutely ITA with all of the above

When is your meeting?

polar

Any help would be appreciated! [/quote]

Irena, this would have made me furious! I did walk away from my reply for a few minutes to think through - but really, what the teacher did is bullying. I would absolutely bring this up at the meeting. If the teacher doesn't want your ds asking for a challenging worksheet in front of the rest of the class, that's fine. There are other ways to handle it - in my ds' 3rd grade classroom math worksheets were left out on three different clipboards - easy, moderate, and challenging, and the kids just picked whichever worksheet was their level to work on. No "bragging" (argh!!) required.

I would personally like to have a talk with your ds' teacher - lol! But I am sure she doesn't want to hear from me

polar