Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment DRA V. WJ-III Achievement Test

Yes this is exactly what it looks like they are doing... DS's teacher actually said something like this when DS kept pestering her to test him so he could move up. It just gets demoralizing. He scored at 28 at the beginning of they year and it really looks like they want to keep him there all year - how is that progress

Well, I'd feel better if he were in the 30's - they are trying to keep him at 28.

Yes - well, I am not sure DS's teacher is all that great (after all he hasn't made any progress all year on this! LOL But we'll continue at home with reading

That stinks! At least when DD was stuck at 28 ,I knew it was her hand writing and they had tested her on the higher levels. They were willing to give her some extra help with the hand writing to move past the road block

Well, that is a significant difference from where you feel he should be. Has his DRA level actually stagnated this year? Maybe you could approach the teacher by expressing concern for your DS's frustration and for his lack of progress. Has the teacher specifically given reasons for the stagnation? If it is indeed the comprehension and not the accuracy, have they asked the questions orally to see if it is actually a matter of written expression? Demonstrating comprehension and analytical skills in writing is very important in many walks of life. So if that's the issue, what are they doing to help him grow?

Stagnation should be a concern for the teacher, even if he is ahead of the curve. Students need to progress roughly 1 grade level each year. At least that should be the goal.

I think it's useful to pass on your child's frustration with lack of progress to the teacher. Teachers at this level should be first and foremost focused on the affective domain of learning.

Two questions that have been effective for me to ask in situations like this:

*Is 28 his instructional level or his independent level? (As in, does he make errors at 28, and therefore needs instruction, or does he pass the test at 28? Teachers will use both numbers with parents without qualifying which is which.)

If 28 is independent:
*"How do you target his instruction so that he can continue to grow without finding his instructional level?" You might be surprised. A lot of teachers know what they're doing

If 28 is instructional:
*"I'm concerned at his lack of progress this year in reading. What needs to happen so he can continue to progress?" (28 and 38 tend to be barriers for kids. "Maturity" might be the answer and you just need to wait it out.)

I still honestly don't see a big difference between 28 and 34. However, since we've also had dreadful experiences with lack of instruction resulting from these reading level caps, you might also want to check on the type of instruction and the frequency. I would simply cast it as a question of "help me understand what this looks like to help me talk to my child at home."

Okay this is where it gets a little dodgey. At the beginning of the year in September, they tested put him on 28 and I asked "is that is instructional level or his independant level" She told me it was "both." I knew then they had ceilinged him.... But with him testing at the beginning of the year at the "end of the year level" I didn't want to make it a big deal and plus I am already a huge PITA for them and just wanted to not be once in a awhile . I KNEW what this meant but I didn't say anything at all..... I figured "well they can't keep him there all year so no big deal" He'll still progress nicely. What I didn't know was their intention to make sure this didn't happen again. Well, lesson learned - just be a pain about every darn thing because here we are...

Well, I am going to talk about it with the teacher this Friday (at our meetuing about "attention issues"). That is what I am preparing for by posting about it here. She seems to be refusing to give me info prior to then (they always do that - I ge thte feeling they do not like me to be prepared when I meet with them) - when I asked her she said "we'll talk about it Friday" (I think I am going to call her today and corner her into giving me at least some answers so I can be prepared to talk more adequately about it on Friday. What I do know is that they haven't moved DS's level and he was tested this past Friday so I am strongly suspicious they want to keep him where he is. From their remarks to DS I know it's about his "summary" - he is great at retell but has a hard time with the summary in that he apparently gives too much detail.




Yes , excactly and this are wonderfully worded. I will quote this when I express my concern. I suspect it is a ceiling issue more than anything but obviously it looks like they are going to say he just isn't there. Either way he can't just not learn anyting or progress for an entire year!

All i can say is that at least the teacher is talking to you about his reading. Ours won't answer any questions at all. She completely ignored my email asking when is the last time his reading had been assessed and why his reading level is what it is. She saw the email but the only thing she will talk about is acceleration for math, and that is because people higher in the district are now involved.

I also don't think it's a huge deal between late second grade and mid-third grade but if you address it again with them, I would focus on the lack of progress being made and tell them that you expected to see at least one year academic gain from your son in reading, just like what the other kids are seeing. Then it makes them look silly for not teaching him (but you are not directly saying that).

We have been told that the writing part of the DRA test at 28 is hard for a lot of the children. Honestly, we had a similar problem last year with the teacher and reading specialist allowing one of my children just to languish at the same level all year without providing the instruction needed to help him move up, and it took a toll on him psychologically. He was watching everyone else in the class change levels, and couldn't understand why he wasn't as well. It was in fact the main driver of my having him tested early for the gifted program.

Is your son in a gifted program at school? If so, I would enroll the gifted teacher in your discussions with the teacher. It may be that he has to work on improving his writing when he writes the answers, but someone should be teaching him what to do. Last year I had to find out what was expected for my son to move up to the next level and teach it to him myself. They had the nerve later to tell me "it finally just clicked for him." Well, yes, because I TAUGHT it to him. Being gifted doesn't mean that one doesn't still need to be TAUGHT things.

We have also found that with 100 book challenge they are just not going to let the children move past one year ahead without throwing up roadblocks. So my children are in first grade , and they are not going to get past "RR" level this year (end of second grade). I have already been informed that as third graders usually stay at the same level all year it will be very difficult for my children to move to white this year.

Exactly. This is exactly my concern. I am fine as long as my kid is fine and happy and feels like he's learning. I am not pushing him to be at a certain level becasue *I* need him to be there. If he weren't feeling so demoralized and frustrated I wouldn't worry about it. But this is exactly what is happening and I feel it's unnecessary to do that to a child because of a cap or ceiling. And if he really isn't progressing and it isn't due to a cap or ceiling I don't want my kid going to reading day after day and for months and months and not learning and progressing.