For the posters with special ed background

CaptainSerious

Some of you have helped me with some of my issues regarding M's placement, and I really appreciate your imput. I have another question, and was hoping to hear what you think about this. (Cross post from special needs)

When are test-taking accomodations just too much?

My son had a social studies test on Friday and, predictably, bombed it. It is the one class he's mainstreamed for, and although he is receiving extra help, it's not nearly enough for him to learn the all material. The sheer volume of it is too much, especially the amount of vocabulary he's supposed to learn.

We received a call from his child study team manager telling us that they think the reason he failed was because it was time for his speech pull-out, so the speech teacher, and not his classroom teacher or the special ed teacher, read the test to him. They decided to give him another chance at it on Monday.

I just received this e-mail from the mainstream teacher:

Hi Mrs. ____! I wanted to let you know how well M did yesterday. I sat with him to help him retake the Social Studies test. I read each question to him and clarified what he did not understand. I used picture clues to help him remember what words meant. It did not interfere with the understanding of the content that he was being tested on. You may see small pictures on the test or pictures circled in his binder that we used to help him remember. I also used process of elimination with him as a testing strategy. It worked so well with him!!! He had 3 choices for each each question and we narrowed it down to 2 choices. From those 2 choices, we discussed the words, looked at pictures, and eventually he got the answers. He did really well identifying the continents! He had difficulty with Europe, Asia, and Africa, but by using the strategies we taught him, he eventually got it. I was very proud of him! He worked really hard and even when I could tell he was guessing at answers, I pushed him a bit to give an explanation of why he chose that answer. He was extremely proud, and relieved, that the test was over. The best part is.... he only got 1 wrong!!

So here's my question: when are special test-taking accommodations too much? I want my son to do well and gain confidence, but I don't want him just to be pushed along and passed through the grades. I want him to understand what he's taught, and to retain at least some of it. I don't want him to just earn good test scores. I don't care if he isn't able to work at grade-level, as long as he's improving and learning at whatever level he's at. I'd hate for him to just be considered "that special ed student, who we just do whatever we just keep passing," if you know what I mean. It's not uncommon that tests come home marked wrong, then correct, after they gave him a second chance to answer (after telling him which ones he got wrong). Should I be worried about the amount of "help" they are giving him in order for him to score decent test grades?

kmkaull2

It is such a slippery slope and a real problem in special ed.

In my opinion, he was fed the answers to that test. Reading a test orally is fine, and any adult, including the speech teacher should be able to give the test.  It sounds like he wasn't prepared . . . I am not putting that on him, I am putting it on the teachers who should be helping him prepare for tests.  Play games, work with erasable maps, get the kid ready for the test. I am certain those teachers knew he wasn't ready.  When you work with just a few kids, you know them well.  :-)

They could also prioritize what he is responsible for learning.  So if the regular test has 25 questions, M is responsible for learning 75% of the material covered.  Weed out the less important content and make sure he's getting the big picture.  

I think you handle this by talking to the special ed teacher and repeating what you said here--you want him to have expectations and to really retain.  Ask how they can help him study and ask what more (though I'm sure you are working hard already) you can do at home.  I've had this conversations with parents before, and it is always motivating to make sure we're not just nudging a kid along.

  

Mrs.Slick

Are your son's tests accommodated only or are they also modified? 

What are the accommodations he is receiving? 

Jayme S

Just a lurker, but I work as a SPED aide at the middle school. I agree with pp, are his tests and assignments modified? I work with kids who are mainstreamed all day and we modify their work all the time, not to make it easier, but to make them responsible for less memorization. For example, on the spelling packet, the student is only tested on words 1-10 instead of through 20, and in each section is only required to do problems 1-10 again. He's still being tested, and he's still learning, but it's not overwhelming.