Question for Former/Current School Administrators

[Lovin Learnin]

I am a perpetual lurker. So much so that I READ the entire thread for lurkers but did not post. lol! Currently we afterschool but in our hearts my daughter and I would love to homeschool. We talk about it constantly but the truth is, my son just left for college and my family needs my salary.

 

Here is the background. My daughter 8 3/4 and just started 3rd grade. She is very advanced in the verbal areas. Always has been. The district we are in has informal enrichment available through 2nd grade (teacher rec and achievement test scores) and two formal programs (reading and math) which begin in 3rd grade (teacher rec, test scores and cognitive skill index scores (CSI). Fourth through 8th grade is a gifted program with more stringent entrance requirements. The district uses the Terra Nova test.

 

C spent kindergarten in a reading group of one because there were no other children in a school of nearly 300 kindergarteners at her level. In first grade they grouped her with two other girls but she did receive enrichment. Second grade was more of the same. Now in 3rd grade we inquired about the reading enrichment program (we know she didn't qualify for math) only to be told she did not make the cut. When we asked why we were told her CSI was not high enough. What??? Here are the requirements for the program:

 

reading percentile 95 or above (must meet this)

CSI 120 or above (must meet this)

AND two of the tree below:

reading level above 30

writing sample

teacher recommendation

 

Ok. So when we questioned where she fell short they responded that she met all of the above except CSI score, where she scored a 114. I knew right then they were lying.

 

I wondered when we got her score report why they did not include her CSI since I always got that score for my son, but I didn't question it because I work with stats in my job and knew that even though her non verbal score was considerably below her verbal score, she still surpassed the 120 requirement on her total score and far surpassed it with her verbal score. In other words, I had already figured out her score for myself.

 

We respectfully questioned the validity of the score and asked them to resend her report with the score included on it. I explained that I work with stats and know that C's score surpassed their requirement and far surpassed it verbally. The enrichment teacher responded that she was given strict guidelines for entrance into this program and if we have a problem with that we should contact the principal. She never addressed the discrepancy. That was Wednesday and the principal has yet to respond. Our entire exchange has been via e-mail.

 

I know that all of her previous teachers recommended her for the program because they have told me. Last May, the enrichment teacher "hinted" at being excited having her again for 3rd grade (formal announcements went out last week) and introduced us to the gifted teacher for 4 through 8 grades when we ran into them at a play C was in.

 

Is it possible for the school to alter her CSI for the score report? I know that test fraud occurs, but the way I understand it I think it's usually changing answer sheets before the tests get scored. My worry is that they have a way to print the score of their choosing on her report. Wanna make it 110? How about 105? kwim?

 

Bottom line is if they send her score report with any score other than the one I believe it should be based on a standard bell curve with a mean of 100 and a SD of 16, we will obtain a lawyer. I think the lack of response from the school is them working frantically behind the scenes to do damage control at this point, but I want to rest assured that they do not have some deceptive way of changing that score. Why would anybody misrepresent a child's score to her parents? What is the legality of that? We live in a high income town with lots of professionals. I guess our family does not fit the profile of the other families with kids in this program.

 

Finally, please pray that we can find a way to bring this child home.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I have no idea, but I hope you get answers. It sounds awfully strange. Bumping this up for you.

[Lovin Learnin]

I'm hoping someone, maybe a teacher, will know if schools are given the ability to manipulate scores after the test has been graded.

[lauracolumbus]

I'm sorry, but I'm not really qualified to answer either, but I thought I'd tell you what I would do.

 

First, I would approach them in person and act as if we were on the same team--wanting the best for your dd.

 

Second, if this didn't work, than I would call your State Bd of Education.

 

Third, I would get a lawyer involved.

 

And I'll be praying for you and your family.

 

Laura

[talexand]

I would definitely not accuse them of anything. They will get defensive and your chances of getting anything fixed will go down. Talk to the principal when he/she calls. Call her to remind her that you are waiting to hear if its been longer than you like. But make sure you are friendly and say that you think there is a mistake. I'm not saying back down, maybe suggest they repeat the test or take teacher recommendations into account. Definitely advocate, but if you attack them, they will be in the defense and they will be trying to find ways of backing up the decision istead of ways to check if she should qualify after all.

 

I know at my child's school they have made mistakes a couple of times over putting kids it the advanced math program. I think it is probably the teacher who recommends them just not being thorough with her paperwork. At any rate, both parents I know whose child this happened to had it straightened out quickly although nothing was promised over the phone. One had to have additional assessment done. But they certainy never got a response like you did either.

[adams101]

We moved about a year and a half ago. Both dc have always been in the gifted program. After we moved, they had to be retested to make sure they met this school's standards. Ds was accepted, dd wasn't. It was because the ITBS tests didn't get sent off, so they didn't have them back yet and sent me a rejection letter. I pitched a fit. Their program is no where NEAR the one they came from. They waited until school let out to send me the notice. When school started up last year, they had the ITBS test, and she was in the 99th percentile. They decided she needed to be tested more, and did it without telling us first. DD came home with a major headache because they had tested her ALL DAY! Dh called the school, and they did one more half day of testing. If all they were waiting for was the ITBS scores, why did they need more tests? She eventually got in, but it was a major joke. By March, she was begging to skip a grade. Because of space issues, 5th-8th go to middle school. I was NOT putting my 9yo at middle school. So, here we are...homeschooling. I know several families who took thier dc out of that district this year.

[tex-mex]

As a former schoolteacher, I am very familiar with entrance requirements for the gifted program. In CA, where I taught, it was only open to 4th grade and up. And you had to had 3 consistent years of 95th and above standardized scores. The CSI I am not familiar with, however.

 

One thing I do know is if the CSI is administered like any other type of standardized test... it is impossible to change a score once it has been reported. And if some tampering has occured -- in my experience, I have seen educators been severely dismissed with teaching credentials revoked. It is a very serious accusation. In my opinion, if I were still a teacher... it is not worth it to tamper with results.

Edited September 12, 2009 by tex-mex