I got into an argument with our sp.ed director because the district refused to qualify DD for an IEP even though she was doing practically no work in school. What he seemed to be telling me was that she could be asleep in school all day, every day, and do no work, but if she is able to pass standardized tests for math and reading, that proves adequate academic progress. So what kind of message does that send? It's Ok to do nothing in school, and be completely zoned out, as long as you can pass a multiple choice test? I felt like beating my head against the wall. This is what it now boils down to in so many schools/districts. They don't even care about actual class work or homework anymore, it's all about a score on a standardized (usually multiple choice) test. DD has been skating by on cognitive ability alone, because she's great at taking tests. Since she's "sweet", and obviously has a "problem" (ADHD) the teachers don't want to give her bad grades. It IS very biased. DS is in third grade and doesn't get any grades, but at some point things change. Instead of grades, the assignment is simply indicated with what is right and wrong. If it's especially good there might be a SUPER on the top. I'm not sure why that can't work for the older students as well. Maybe not the smiley stickers, but a similar system. If there is a 20/30 on the top of the paper, the student is going to know they didn't do a very good job of learning the concepts (at least the ones that were tested). Why does it need to translate to a "D"?
