Thanks for the responses. I agree with all of the comments. We have IQ and achievement private testing from last spring. Her private testing in the spring put her a couple point below her dys brother. We had that done out of a feeling that she was hiding her abilities ( claiming should could not read for like 6 to 12 months after i knew she could) and concern over the writing. Which I know is so young to worry about the handwriting output. My oldest son is dyslexic and something about her concerned me that she had similar traits to him. As her reading has gotten strong the writing as not improved at all. The scores on those assessments all seem to line up together and with what we see her doing.

The school has been test her on grade level all year. She was reading chapter books in the fall and got a tad over 50 percentile on DRA. They retested her and bumped her reading placement up in November. Her placement was higher but not a lot. She was doing well in the placement academically. The staff describe her as actively participating and know the answers to question, etc. The math placement was made in the fall by her teacher. She again only tested around 50 percentile on their math assessment. This is a timed test and she doesn't do well timed. The teacher put her in enrichment anyway because she was the first kid done everyday and getting the work done correctly. I honestly do not have a vested interest in the Math placement. A friend of mine, who teaches at the school, has always said it is a joke for enrichment.

We met with them to talk about her writing and the reading assessments. We see her reading at home as strong. Initially, they said her comprehension was weak. Which didn't jive with me at all. When pressed they said it is the retell part of the test. She needs 2 or more prompts to retell a story. When I spoke with the reading specialist, I inquired about if she felt she doesn't understand the material or if she isn't articulating the information back well. She said it was a matter of articulating the material back. Which made sense to me. I can ask her any question about something she has read and she answers the question correctly, but if I ask a for a retell it's a short limited response. I have to tell her give me more information for her to expand her response. Which she will do but only if you prompt her for more information. She has great fluency and reads with really good inflection. She will change her voice for different characters in a book, etc. The comprehension appears strong as well as her fluency.

At the first meeting they agreed to give her an alternative reading assessment and look at her writing. We got back to the second meeting and none of it had happened. They said the DRA is the very best test and they had not looked at the writing. Two weeks after our second meeting they gave her another DRA and moved her to a lower group because it was unchanged from the previous DRA. That's when I called my district contact. They got calls from the pupils services person at the district level and now are all about testing her.

I absolutely agree on the age and grade equivalents. I don't think they say anything about what level she can work at in class. I would be more interested in an out of grade level test. It was eye opening the first time my ds took an about grade level test. The school doesn't do out of grade level testing. They use DRA for reading and a similar tool for Math. My ds had it through talent search. They only responded when his ACT scores were better than graduating seniors at their high school. I did get to see a practice test for 3rd reading and Math on our state assessments and feel she would do just fine on both of them. If I could talk them into give her that I would do it.


I have wondered about dysgraphia and other written language issues with her. Which is why I am bugging the school now. I don't want to wait for her to hit a wall in a couple of years. The pupil services person really does get that 2E doesn't look the same as a regular kiddo with the same disability. They can go for years looking ok. It is possible she is not 2E, but I lean towards her being 2E. I have been bugging them about the writing from the get go. They have finally agreed to have someone work with her on written expression for an hour a week. I do think if after 4 to 6 weeks they don't see an improvement they will start to be concerned it is more than developmental. If for some reason she does improve and it's working than that is exactly what I want to see.

I don't think she is getting challenged at school, but I'm most concern about the possible underlying issues and addressing them now. I would be happy to be wrong about it. I would like her reading placement changed back to the higher group. She was doing really well according to the teacher and moving her on DRA alone seems short sighted. The reading specialist told me it didn't seem to be reflecting her levels and yet they are solely relying on it, UgH! The pupils services person did seem agree with me that she should be placed at the higher group while you work on writing instead of moving her backwards. I am hoping she gets that done for us.

As far as testing, I don't really care what tests are given, if it can help figure out the problem or give a better picture of her strengths and weaknesses. I really feel uncomfortable with the one person doing the test. I would prefer the school psych or outside testing if they really want another WJ achievement.

PolarBear was there any particular test or assessments that helped bring it to light with your DS?
Her timed test in achievement are always lower than even the teachers expect given her performance day to day at home and school. She is great at math facts until you time her. She seems to panic with a clock. She avoids writing task, drawing, coloring, etc. she does do a lot of crafty stuff requiring fine motor skills such as knitting, beading, pearled beads. She isn't fast at the crafts but slow and meticulous. The timed sections of her WPPSI were her "low" scores but they were not low at 14/15s. I didn't see anything alarming in her subtest on IQ. Really open to any suggestions on investigating this and suggest to the school as what test as most helpful in assessing her.

Thanks again for the responses ... I swear this is the place I come to not feel like a crazy person:)