I'm hoping handwriting clicks! That's not a red button issue for me, though, since he's progressing very well for his chronological age, and spells well.
Trinity:
Thank you for your post! It really was helpful. We asked several times about the reading MAP test ... Hmm. I'm going to have to talk with ex-h. Because we agree with you, and said exactly that to the principal -- If they're willing to do the math now, why put off the reading if we can get more information now? They said there really wasn't anything else they could do, even if he *did* score higher. We'll see. I'll email ex-h and see what he thinks.
I forgot to ask whether the DRA assessment was done in one sitting, because if it was, he likely got bored by the end of 27 short stories and was done! He's certainly reading higher recreational books if I go by the Scholastic list; on the floor in his room are Captain Underpants (which he's been reading independently since last winter!), The Boxcar Children, and Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary. We've also just found the Franny K. Stein books; how funny are those? Sounds like he's reading at his "instructional" level for fun at home, if we go with their DRA. Benj and his dad have been reading "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" together; he read a chapter on his own the other day and was able to answer questions about it; that's RL 5.3 on my favorite leveled site:
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/index.html
We pointed that out; I don't think they believe us.
I think we did get our point across, at least somewhat, and I feel better about going forward. They do seem willing to work with us, which is a relief, given the horror stories I hear about some schools. I think they're just patting themselves on the back a little too much with the "we have children like this all the time" attitude.
I'll practice my speaking skills! I was able to on the phone with ex-h the night before the meeting. I was asking him what he'd say if they said x, and when he didn't have a good answer ready, I got to practice mine. :-)
Mia
