TKDmom Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Grrr. I didn't realize my evaluator was not a homeschooler (friend of a friend). She gave him the public school assessment for entering first grade. Ok, no problem, I thought. Afterward, she told me he had atrocious spelling. :glare: These were the spelling words: jumped space edge page boat He spelled them: jupt spase ej paje bott Of course he reversed his P, B, and S, but that's normal for a 6yo, right? Do these words seem unrealistic for a kindergartner? I sure thought so. I was expecting CVC words, not these. She signed off on the evaluation, which is all that mattered. But I'm feeling a little bit "mama bear-ish" about my boy, now. Ok, I'm trying not to rant, so I'll just stop. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 they want a graduated K'er to spell those? Yeah, my kids couldn't do that. Shoot, I don't even start spelling until 3rd gradish :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Grrr. I didn't realize my evaluator was not a homeschooler (friend of a friend). She gave him the public school assessment for entering first grade. Ok, no problem, I thought. Afterward, she told me he had atrocious spelling. :glare: These were the spelling words: jumped space edge page boat He spelled them: jupt spase ej paje bott Of course he reversed his P, B, and S, but that's normal for a 6yo, right? Do these words seem unrealistic for a kindergartner? I sure thought so. I was expecting CVC words, not these. She signed off on the evaluation, which is all that mattered. But I'm feeling a little bit "mama bear-ish" about my boy, now. Ok, I'm trying not to rant, so I'll just stop. :tongue_smilie: Those are ridiculous spelling words for a rising 1st grader. Edge? Come on! My rising 2nd grader couldn't spell those. I don't think my rising 1st grader could read a few of those words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 they want a graduated K'er to spell those? Yeah, my kids couldn't do that. Shoot, I don't even start spelling until 3rd gradish :tongue_smilie: Those are ridiculous spelling words for a rising 1st grader. Edge? Come on! My rising 2nd grader couldn't spell those. I don't think my rising 1st grader could read a few of those words. EXACTLY!!! I'm pretty sure I was teaching DD to spell words like edge after I pulled her out of ps in 2nd grade. Thank you for validating my feelings. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I wouldn't expect a K'er to necessarily be able to read those words, much less spell them. My almost 7yo would definitely have missed one or two of them, and, according to standardized testing, she spells well above average. I wonder if maybe his spelling was atrocious compared to everything else? If he is a fluent reader, etc perhaps she expected all his skills to be about the same level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I taught public school kindergarten for 10 years. Yes, those words are too difficult for most rising first graders. I wouldn't worry about it at all. His invented spelling shows a good grasp of phonics. The spelling will come later. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 That does not seem right at all! I do not think that was realistic for a rising 1st grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 My 7 year old can read all of those, but wouldn't spell them right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Ok, I have to add to the Hive this is absolutely ridiculous. Not much more to be said about it. That's absolutely, unquestionably, developmentally inappropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Get a different evaluator next year! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 Ahh, thanks for the support everyone. I'm almost calmed down enough to go back to entering lesson plans into HST. :D I was sitting across the room from her, realizing that she was asking him (over and over) to spell "edge", and I just had to bite my tongue. I peeked at his paper, he had written "ej" and probably didn't understand why she kept saying the word to him. Afterward, I tried to be very calm as I explained that schools only expect "substitute spelling" out of kindergartners. Which he did very well, I think. ;) Next year I will definitely seek out a homeschooler to do the evaluation, rather than subject them to a ps teacher's idea of the proper "standards". Ugh. I pulled my kids out of school to avoid stupid tests and developmentally inappropriate standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Definitely developmentally inappropriate. I'm another one with a first grader who could read those, but probably not spell them. He did a good job picking sounds that fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I wonder if she gave him the test for kids leaving 1st grade. I would have asked to see the word lists for the other grade levels. I would have been furious if she wouldn't sign his evaluation based on those spelling words. That's crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Amber* Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 My DD is a rising first grader (she did K in ps) She can't even read those much less spell them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I thought you might find it reassuring if I asked my daughter to spell these same words. She is starting K officially this fall, but for the most part, she operates on what I think of as the level of a child who has finished Kindergarten. She wasn't willing to venture a guess on "space", but for the others, she came up with: jumd ege paj bot She hasn't received any spelling instruction, but all of those words are ones she would normally be able to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfinbaby Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I would be shocked if my dd could spell those words. We completed VP Phonics Museum K and I don't think some of those blends were even part of the program. I think that's 1st grade work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Sounds nuts to me too. My son went to PS for K and 1st grade. None of the standard first grade spelling words were that hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Wait, she gave him a spelling test for the evaluation? Is that standard? We had our first evaluation earlier this year, and all our evaluator did was read my blog, flip through DS's portfolio of work, and check off my book list and field trips. She didn't test DS at all. I think those words are too advanced for a graduated K'er. My graduated K'er would have spelled them exactly the same way your DS did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Ahh, thanks for the support everyone. I'm almost calmed down enough to go back to entering lesson plans into HST. :D I was sitting across the room from her, realizing that she was asking him (over and over) to spell "edge", and I just had to bite my tongue. I peeked at his paper, he had written "ej" and probably didn't understand why she kept saying the word to him. Afterward, I tried to be very calm as I explained that schools only expect "substitute spelling" out of kindergartners. Which he did very well, I think. ;) Next year I will definitely seek out a homeschooler to do the evaluation, rather than subject them to a ps teacher's idea of the proper "standards". Ugh. I pulled my kids out of school to avoid stupid tests and developmentally inappropriate standards. Now you've got all of us riled up too! No public school teacher or official in their right mind would expect a Kindergarten child to spell those words! That's just ridiculous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfletcher8091 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 My daughter went to public school for K and when I went in for a Parent/Teacher Conference in the spring, her teacher showed me a sample of her work, I cannot remember the exact words, but they were words about like the ones you mentioned, and she had spelled them about how your son had. The teacher told me that she was spelling them phoenetically, which was exactly what she was supposed to be doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 My husband teaches first grade. He says that is utterly ridiculous. There is no way he'd expect that from a rising first grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoife Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 most PS kids don't even learn to read until 1st grade. My DSD couldn't even read those words at the end of first grade let alone spell them. Even now at grade 3 she would have trouble spelling them. I think that was either the wrong test or someone who is not friendly to homeschoolers period to give a K kid those words as a spelling list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 It seems unrealistic to me. My kids are having their year end evaluation redone in August. Although my kids schol books were approved in the fall and we had 2 evaluations during the year the facilitator gave them VERY low marks and claimed their books were not grade level after all in teh year end review. Although Austin got 80-90s for everything in Language arts except for composition she gave him a C in LA and said he needed remediation in reading comp and spelling(though in teh paragraph previous she said his reading comp was at grade level). She did not account for the fact the kids have disabilities or the horror/life changes that affected our year. At least the principal agreed with me and is having a separate (objective) person come in to reassess. One of the things that bothered him and me the most was she wrote on their evaluation that if I bothered to teach virtue and character training they would be good kids. Umm no a) they have disabilities and b) she has no clue what virtues/character traits I work on enhancing in my home. I have already switched boards for the fall BUT I did not want those comments stuck in their permanent record that gets sent from baord to board so we are having the new evaluation done. Sometimes the expectations of the evaluators are far too lofty imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 That's more the level expected in the 2nd or even the beginning of 3rd grade Scott Foresman spelling book I have on my shelf, and it's a PS series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I've had 4 PS k'ers and they never did anything like that. They were working on 3 letter words and if spelling made phonetic sense they were good with it. I think your examiner is nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJCMom Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Could it be that she didn't necessarily expect him to spell the words correctly, rather to see how he attempted to spell them to see if he has a good grasp of phonics? In my mind, the way he spelled them shows that he understands the phonetic concepts that he should know up to this point. Maybe the evaluator was just confused? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystika1 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 One of the things that bothered him and me the most was she wrote on their evaluation that if I bothered to teach virtue and character training they would be good kids. . If someone would come into my home and say that about my kids I think I would have exploded....... :cursing: Does she think that those topics are covered in public school??? NOT! She should not be allowed to evaluate children. Sincerely, Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Wow, all I can say is, thank goodness I live in Texas and don't have to get my kids evaluated!! That is just ridiculous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Seriously?! That is just nuts! I would have been all over that 'evaluator' for that! Those aren't words that most soon to be 1st graders know. Grrrr! People like that make me so angry. :rant: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Pip Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I have a friend whose 3rd grader had spelling words like "rhyme" and "illustration". Sure, every day words like those (*sarcasm*). I don't put a lot of stock in public school ideals for spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 FWIW, the woman who was doing the evaluation does not do this professionally. The requirement in FL is that we have a yearly assessment performed by someone who is a certified teacher. This was a friend of a friend who is a teacher and agreed to do the eval. I think she just pulled some placement tests off the web so that she could see how ds compares, since she doesn't teach K. Here are the guidelines that tell which test to use (he got the one billed for 6 yo). And here is the actual test. I was amazed spelling would even be on this assessment. And I was annoyed that her common sense didn't tell her it was too hard for K. But I'm not upset anymore--she doesn't do this for a living. Next time I will make sure to find someone who has more experience with doing these evaluations. Sorry to get everyone else riled up! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 FWIW, the woman who was doing the evaluation does not do this professionally. The requirement in FL is that we have a yearly assessment performed by someone who is a certified teacher. This was a friend of a friend who is a teacher and agreed to do the eval. I think she just pulled some placement tests off the web so that she could see how ds compares, since she doesn't teach K. Here are the guidelines that tell which test to use (he got the one billed for 6 yo). And here is the actual test. I was amazed spelling would even be on this assessment. And I was annoyed that her common sense didn't tell her it was too hard for K. But I'm not upset anymore--she doesn't do this for a living. Next time I will make sure to find someone who has more experience with doing these evaluations. Sorry to get everyone else riled up! :001_smile: She messed up. Mastery on the Advanced Phonics test places them in 2nd grade, not first! The Basic Phonics test was the appropriate screening tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaLee Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Okay, I agree that those words are too hard for a kinder, but my son did get a test like this at the end of his kindergarten year in ps. His teacher called it a "monster" test because the first word the kids were given was monster followed by about 5 more equally long/difficult words. She said that they didn't expect the dc to be able to spell the words, but gave some other reason why the give the test. Something about hearing the phonics and translating it to paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 (edited) She gave him the public school assessment for entering first grade. Ok, no problem, I thought. Afterward, she told me he had atrocious spelling. :glare: Never mind. I see now that she had no experience testing K'ers. Edited July 24, 2010 by zaichiki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imhim Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 These words are much harder than the spelling bee list my first grader had last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Now I know why so many schools aren't performing well on tests. It's because the tests are ridiculous. Those are phonics rules that would not be taught in any Kindergarten program I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 By the way, I just googled "first grade spelling words" to see if I could find a list of common ones and to see what might be on that list. The lists were things like: an can man ran ten pen hen in pin pond fun run at sat cat that pot got put gut mug dug The "bonus" words were stuff like: land spin flat trot ...then again I looked at the first five lists. There were like 30 lists for 1st grade spelling and apparently they got harder as they go, because I peeked at list 30, which I guess would be for the end of the year, and it had words like: stem stamp nest street stand grass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinF Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Wow, all I can say is, thank goodness I live in Texas and don't have to get my kids evaluated!! That is just ridiculous! Me too! I have a friend that teaches 1st grade locally and she gave me a copy of their First Grade Priority Word Spelling List all an and are as at be but by can do does for from get go goes had has have he his in is it me my not of on one or put said saw she that the there they this to want was we were what when with you your Those aren't the only words they work on but are the ones that they want every child to be able to spell correctly by the *end* of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 She messed up. Mastery on the Advanced Phonics test places them in 2nd grade, not first! The Basic Phonics test was the appropriate screening tool. What she said. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekmom Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 My sister's kids DID have extremely difficult spelling words in K in ps. But, you have to remember, they are learning TONS of "sight words"- they're on the walls, they're in the hallway, they hang from the ceiling, they are taped to every object in the classroom, etc. They are EVERYWHERE! The kids memorize the words; there's no "phonics" in spelling for the most part for these kids. Personally, I think that's why hs kids are usually weak in the spelling dept. in the younger years - bc they spell phonetically. Ps kids have been taught to memorize the word as a whole- to read it and spell it as a whole. I wouldn't worry that your child didn't do well on the spelling; give yourself a pat on the back for doing such a good job with phonics! - He'll thank you for it when he's way ahead of the ps kids in reading/writing later on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shusband Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 my rising 2nd grader would have misspelled most of those. I'm not doing any spelling with my k'er next year. Summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Wow! I just gave my first grader (6yrs) her first spelling test. Her words were bit, hit, set , wet, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 She signed off on the evaluation, which is all that mattered. But I'm feeling a little bit "mama bear-ish" about my boy, now. Ok, I'm trying not to rant, so I'll just stop. :tongue_smilie: Your state requires evals for Ks? Yow. I did the ITBS (not required) for K, and it had no such thing as spelling those words!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Wow. Around here, most K'ers don't even end the year reading anything but CVC words, if they're reading at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Okay, I didn't read all the posts, but those aren't even standard first grade spelling words. DS1 just finished first grade and he was always given the challenge word list, but the regular list was stapled behind it, and there were never any words like jumped or edge on the regular 1st grade list! Boat, maybe toward the middle/end of 1st, but not the beginning! Expecting a Kindergartener to spell those is ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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