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    Joined: Dec 2015
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    Hi all,
    I am hoping to get some advice here concerning some extremely surprising and disappointing news revealed yesterday.
    My son is in 2nd grade right now and has been homeschooled since Kindergarten. He really had an unfortunate experience with his public school kindergarten teacher that we had to withdraw him. He would scream and cry to not go to school, was bored to tears during class and to this day he "hates school". I slowly got him to think a bit more positive since his kinder days...but it's been years yet he still is "scarred" from that teacher he had.
    He took a G/T test before we withdrew him when he was 5, and he scored in the 99th percentile. We didn't enroll him because we temporary moved out of district. We now live in the district and decided this school would be best for him since he is "unique" and we know this school caters to each individual child and their educational needs. He learned to read at 2.5 and learned simple math at 3. I mention this to illustrate how flabbergasted I was reading he didn't get into the local G/T program this time around.
    He again scored in the 99th percentile with the NNAT2, a cognitive ability test. Unfortunately, he scored only 90th percentile in the reading and math achievement test, so was 6 points away from qualifying.
    That part is MY FAULT. There has been personal issues here and I've been behind in homeschooling him, yet he learns so fast I know he can catch up.
    My question is what can I use to be granted an appeal so he can retake this test in April? He was diagnosed with Asperger and sees a play therapist weekly. He has sensory issues, and isn't used to tests. His tolerance is also very low for reading...he's a STEM kid so to speak. When he was in kindergarten the test was taken in 2 parts throughout the year...this time he had to sit down for 3 Hours straight..no breaks.
    I know he belongs in this G/T school...his older siblings (who honestly didn't achieve his level of milestones as early) attended this G/T school. My son needs the structure, social life, and academics that the school can provide him. I know he'll strive.
    My son wasn't prepared emotionally or academically for the test. I didn't know it was 3 hours long or I would have prepared him for it. I also know he can fly through reading and math levels in no time. It was achievement test he scored lower on..he has always been 99th percentile in the cognitive test which I think matters more. He only needed 6 points more.
    Any advice what I should say to be granted this appeal?

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    While it is harsh he didn't meet the criteria. I don't see that there is anything you can do except see if he can retest in a year's time and try and get his scores up. There will be a whole bunch of people asking for an exception to be made and they won't be able to risk making an exception for anyone in case they set a precedent.

    We don't have gifted schools but I know a number of gifted kids who didn't get into the extension classes in middle school because they are not high achievers in all areas.

    eta. You want him to retest in April. Is it usually a one shot at it set up or do people often have more than one attempt? If it is unusual you will have to see what reasons have been granted a reset in the past and whether he meets any of them.

    Last edited by puffin; 12/04/15 05:22 PM.
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    Puffin has good advice. Is it still possible to homeschool him for now? What is your relationship with the school administration like? Given that you have older children who went there, maybe it is something you can bring up informally to see what they think the options are in his case to meet his needs given his cognitive test results but lower achievement scores.

    Please don't take this the wrong way, but it seems you are blaming yourself and perhaps panicking a bit. It may be prudent to stop for a bit to let this all sink in and let your brain think of other options for now.

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    I second asking the school what they think your options are. You have a previous relationship with the school (assumed if your other children went there) and hopefully that means they won't just brush you off.

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    I don't think that they will make an exception for your son's case easily - because my local school district got hit with so many lawsuits from parents who challenged them in court asking them to release information on each exception that had been made, they decided to not make any exception to qualification - they do offer in class differentiation for kids who have high IQ but who failed to qualify because of achievement scores being below cutoff.

    What I suggest would be to ask the Principal/Administration if they will accept an outside achievement test score in order to qualify your son for the G/T program. Then, you can go to an evaluator who will provide tests (WJ-iii ) or let him take standardized tests like ITBS after you work with him for a few months after school to bring up his scores. Good luck.

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    I just wanted to chime in with our experience. Our 2e DS didn't get into the gifted program here until grade 4. Part way through grade 1 he was tested but for a variety of reasons the scores didn't meet the criteria (the program starts in grade 1). We then had to retest in grade 3 and surprise, surprise they not met the criteria and then some. He transferred in and although it has only been a few months it seems to be a better fit.

    Now although it would have been nice to have him start back in grade 1 I do think there are some good things that came out of it in the end. He was able to handle the transition much better, he definitely appreciates his strengths more after being in an average class, we managed to get some differentiation for him back in his old school, we focused a lot on his non-gifted e and made some headway there, etc. Obviously every situation is different but I strive to be a glass half full person and I'm trying to teach that to my kids. Quite frankly life can suck, there is much out of our control but we have to make the best of what we have. I'm not saying to give up or not pursue an appeal but in parallel I'd try to focus on the positive and view this as a bump in the road. I've really come to realize that this is going to be a long journey rather than a quick destination that we get to and everything is perfect. Even in the gifted program there are some things that could be improved but at least we're moving forward. Of course yymv. Best of luck.


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