MCAS and Effective Progress

[invisibleink]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping someone has some insight about MCAS results and effective progress.  

I received my son’s 2018 MCAS score report, and although he just barely made “meeting expectations” on ELA, his writing score was over 40% lower than the grade average for the state / district, and is over a 40% drop over the previous year.  His ELA growth was in the 22%tile (district avg was over 45%).  Based on the scores on the questions, it doesn’t look like he scored above a 2 on writing for any of the essays.  The test was computer based, so handwriting was not a factor.  

His cognitive skills are high average to above average.  His 2018 neuropsych testing showed above avg sentence writing, but they did not test essay composition (I have no idea why as this is where we know the difficulty is).  Earlier testing showed a 22 pt gap between his verbal index and his WIAT essay score, but it was still average.  He still has clinically significant scores for EF.  His grades, of course, are good.  His teacher last year said that he “responded” to teacher feedback, and benefitted from talking out his writing plan with her.  His main strategy for writing is to start typing, and “organize” as he goes along.  I was hoping that his unprompted writing would show growth last year, but that does not seem to be the case.

My son is on his 3rd year being on a 504 plan.  There is another eligibility meeting scheduled, and in the past I have been told that they have no data that shows that he is not making effective progress.  Is this enough for the district for finally take notice?

Thanks for your time!

[jisp]

invisible ink/ I apologize for not knowing all the details about your son's situation. I am curious what grade he is in? What is personality is like (ie: does he enjoy math/science, is he into sports, does he hate school, his he curious about learning, does he have friends etc....) When you say you would like an IEP rather than a 504 are you thinking there are specific services you would want for your son, such as one on one tutoring for writing, assignments and work load adjusted, different instructional methods etc....? Where do you see or imagine your son in the future? What are his hobbies? What gets him excited?

I ask this as somebody who sits on the other side of the special education process and is a parent of your adults. I think it is important to balance fighting with the school over getting your child what they need and also allowing your child to just exist and be a child and grow and develop and supporting them in the best way possible so that they excel. That does not mean letting the school walk all over you or not provide your child services. But it does mean that I think parents need to enter into eligibility meetings with realistic goals and ideas about what they want from the school.

I also feel as though the MCAS is NOT a diagnosistic test. I am not sure what one can say or not say about any individual child's test results. The test was designed to evaluate entire districts and schools and therefore the results of any individual child is probably not statistically significant.

Finally my youngest child was above average and yet struggled with writing and organization horribly. One thing we did was give him a year off of school. During that year he worked with a tutor who had him make cartoons (as our son liked to draw) about what he wanted to write an essay about. It was an interesting technique because cartoons do not necessarily have to be sequential and this technique not only helped our son organize his writing but also inspired him. These days our son is a musician/mixed media artist and what is he working on? An animated cartoon story/essay set to music that will hopefully be an installation some day.

[invisibleink]

Hi there,

My son is in 7th grade, and enjoys math and science, and enjoys playing in the band. He really struggled last year with the demands of school, and told the neuropsych that he hates school. This year is off to a better start, and he is in all co-taught classes. He is not into team sports, but does martial arts. He has a few stable friends but is not accepted by the larger peer group. He struggles with organization, social skills, completing complex assignments, and basic tasks like finding information and copying. He has a hard time understanding main idea and reading social cues. He is passionate about learning and wants to do well, but struggles with doing. He likes role play activities with his friends. He likes doing projects since they don’t involve as much writing, but fine motor challenges can make those frustrating too. He has adhd, a neurodevelopmental disorder, anxiety, and vision / visual processing issues.

I think he needs services to help him with writing, organization / academic support, and social skills. It doesn’t seem that the typical strategies are working for my son in these areas. Based on learning style questionnaires he filled out, he is a primarily Kinesthetic learner that did not show any inclination for visual learning, so he might need different instructional approaches too. Most of the typical strategies for writing and organization are visual, and talking out a plan with someone else, or relying on prompts, doesn’t allow someone to be very independent.

My son wants to go to college and be an engineer. My goal for him for him to go out into the world being more than a walking encyclopedia of information, and for him to meet the practical performance demands of college and life independently.

I know MCAS is not a diagnostic test. However, it is what the district keeps attaching to eligibility decisions as the basis for determining effective progress, along with his report card. Diagnostic tests have been “considered”, and both I and the district agree that he has disabilities that make him eligible.

I wish I could have the clarity you have now, being able to look back.

[healthy11]

I'm not in MA, so I can't address MCAS issues, but for others who may be able to assist, here's a link to one of your previous posts that gives additional information: millermom.proboards.com/thread/14544/leveled-class-placement-bright-disabled

[jisp]

So first remember he is only in 7th grade. The good news is you have time on your side. The bad news is your son is in middle school and for some reason middle school teachers love to think of their charges as being more responsible, more mature and they feel like it is their job to prepare these kids to meet the demands of high school. I will tell you that in my experience any bright kid could stay home from middle school and play video games and watch the history channel for those years and enter high school and still be just as prepared. In my opinion middle schools would do a much better job teaching kids to learn to love learning and develop their own internal motivation rather than try to pretend they can somehow prepare these young teens for being high school overachievers. More students are probably turned off to school and learning in middle school than in any other time in a child's school career.

But back to your challenge and what you feel your son needs. I am going to ask a blunt question. It is a question I would ask if you called me to be your advocate: Does there exist a teacher at the school who could imagine would work successfully with your son to give him strategies for writing and organization and academic support? Is there a program where there are other kids who are like your son that you could see your son joining successfully? This is tough, because even if your son were to qualify for an IEP the question is what and who would implement the program you feel would work for him. In some cases the answer is the school simply does not have the resources or the staff to meet your son's needs. Now I know IDEA says that should not be a reason for denying a child services. But the hard reality is that public schools can not always come up with the resources to meet every child's needs and in some cases when you have a bright LD child the school can end up doing more harm than good with a band-aid approach to addressing a complicated child's needs.

When I talk to parents of complicated kids I love to start with what they love and do well in. Your son likes Role Playing Games!! That is GREAT. Because Role playing games and the skills used in playing them can translate into writing and organization. A skilled tutor or even you can use Role playing to teach your son some of the skills you feel he lacks. But I doubt that person is somebody who is working in your public school middle school. You can also use projects that do not depend only on small motor skills to teach him those skills as well.

But here is the BIGGEST bit of advice I can give you. Do NOT let your kid develop a hatred of school or learning because of middle school. Let him know grades in middle school are not relevant and do not matter. If he struggles with home work tell him to put it away and go outside and play and use his large motor skills. Encourage him to practice his instrument as much as possible. Expose him to music, literature and museums and big ideas. Instead of having him write an essay for a history assignment have him create a role playing character that would exist at that time in history. Maybe go to a museum and see a work of art from that time in history and have him look at it and talk about it with you. Watch movies and documentaries that are educational and don't feel guilt if your son is not getting A's and B's in 7th grade.

Meanwhile rather than trying to fight the school I would look into seeing if you can find a cognitive therapist to work with your son. McLean hospital has residents who are less expensive than other private clinicians. A good cognitive therapist will work with your son to learn how to learn given his specific learning style. It is sadly something public school are just not able to offer. And that is mostly because they are so focused on short-term outcomes and tests like the MCAS that they spend all their time trying to pump knowledge into children's brains rather than helping them learn how to acquire knowledge.

Sorry to sound like a cynic. But I recently became a grandmother and honestly talking to friends who are teachers and parents who have kids in schools these days, I am seriously wondering if I want my grand-daughter to go to school at all of if it will be at all possible for me to homeschool her. I think school has lost track of what it's purpose is and I sometimes wonder if it doesn't do more harm than good to children's ability to succeed in higher learning.

[healthy11]

Jisp, I don't want to hijack this discussion thread, but congratulations to you and your family on the arrival of your new granddaughter!