standardized test relief

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2004
standardized test relief
7
Tue, 04-15-2008 - 7:29pm

The state standardized tests started yesterday.


Mollie Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Tue, 04-15-2008 - 8:10pm

I'm glad you moved that weight off your shoulders.

Opting out of tests is definitely an option but there are other options available. I am not criticizing your decision. I just want to put this out there for anyone else reading this and for future reference:

You can get a scribe for him if he knows the material but has difficulty writing. I used to be a parent member on the IEP team and some kids had a scribe for standardized tests. It is an option I am keeping in my back pocket for Pete. Other more common accomodations are:

extra time

a quiet location away from the main group

someone to read the questions to him.

I believe these accomodations must be on the IEP prior to taking the tests.

-Paula


visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2003
Tue, 04-15-2008 - 8:49pm

I'm in CA, and we have a LOT of standardized tests!


 


Mich

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2004
Tue, 04-15-2008 - 9:08pm

The problem is that he is in the middle of an evaluation to set up the IEP, so we weren't able to get a scribe.


Mollie Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-2006
Wed, 04-16-2008 - 1:06am

I feel your pain, and your childs!

Avatar for betz67
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-16-2008 - 9:49am

I totally kwym Lainie. We tried to talk the IEP team into separate testing for Weston last year (beginning of 5th grade). Also asked to have his taken on the computer. But NO! they thought we should let him stay with the class because "most kids take the test better w/ their own class" and "he's working above grade level so this test shouldn't be a problem for him at all" HAHAHAH!! He had a major meltdown the first day of testing-- crying stimming, interupting the entire class while taking the test. Finally they moved him to the media center, to one of the quiet study rooms to finish. Actually, it was a very good thing that we did this because we finally had all the administrators on our side when we did the transition to middle school.

IEP testing accomodations we've written into IEPs for our various children include:

Taking the test, esp any written portions on the computer (but fill in the circle portions can also be done on the computer-- after this year we'll see how our 3rd grader does and if it isn't good we will write this into her IEP because she has issues w/ visual tracking)

Taking the test in a smaller group or by one's self

Having all test questions read aloud

Extra time

more breaks in testing (we even had them give smaller portions of the test booklet to Warren so he wouldn't feel overhelmed by the sheer # of problems he still had to complete)

It actually shouldn't be a problem to get them to give these accommodations because the standardized testing usually reflects more on the school and No Child Left Behind, so the better your child does on testing the better the school looks.

I think getting the accommodations is important, learning to take tests is a vital skill for our kids, so by making them comfortable in taking the test increases their likelyhood of doing well on tests down the road.

My oldest son, ADD-nos on an IEP in 10th grade, has a resource class he attends every other day. They've been working on test taking skills all year because he had to take the PSAT this year, a preview to the ACT (can't remember what that one was called) and next week will take the state high school exit exam for the 1st time.

Betsy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2005
Wed, 04-16-2008 - 2:52pm

I wouldn't hesitate to opt out of testing if my DD was stressed about it.

But, as a former teacher it makes me cringe. I have no idea how things work in other states, but in CA the schools have to test a certain proportion of the students - if they don't the scores don't count, and it gets reported as if the school did not meet it's goals for how much "progress" students in the school were supposed to make that year. Not testing a certain portion of the kids on IEPs can result in the scores for special needs students being invalidated so it looks like all the sp ed kids failed the test. Grrr... the rules are so stupid...

I guess my point is that next year, if accomodations can make the testing go OK, it's better to test than not (but I would never sacrifice my kids wellbeing for a test if that is what it came down to).

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2007
Wed, 04-16-2008 - 4:50pm
I totally agree with Lainie. Sometimes the school needs proof that matters to them before they will make accommodations. I was not able to get them to consider a computer for writing in place of handwritten work until my ds failed to meet the state goal for writing. AFTER, they bent over backwards to provide it during the regular class work and had it written in the IEP for the state mastery tests. With my son I tried to relieve the stress by saying " I don't care how you do, do what you can do and don't worry about it." The school counselor commented that he stimmed like crazy that week but we all got through it. I would like to opt out of the fitness test that is required every year. The children are forced to run the mile. My son comes in second to last every year (the boy who comes in last suffers from cancer and a host of other physical limitations) and it's a humiliating experience all around. While the idea of it might sound good on paper, it is very disheartening for a child with disabilities.