Otis Lenon scores dropping??

[choirfarm]

I got my daughter's 3rd grade test scores back and overall I am very pleased. In the odd numbered years they give the OTis Lenon.. In first grade she tested 33 percentile for reading, but her Otis Lenon was 127. Obviously that year she tested low in her range for everything because her test scores didn't match her ability. ( Part of the reason we did vision therapy.) So flash forward to this year as a 3rd grader. Her total reading was 88 percentile with her reading vocabulary being 96 percentile. However, her Otis Lenon verbal was 115??? So now of course it says she is high on her ability... I am pleased because most of her test scores are much higher, but why did her Otis Lenon drop so much???

 

Christine

[choirfarm]

bump?

[MinivanMom]

That doesn't sound like such a huge drop to me. The OLSAT is only an IQ screener, so it's not as accurate as an individual IQ test would be. It's possible she was having a very "on" day when she took the 1st grade test and tested near the top of her natural range, but was having an "off" day when she took the 3rd grade test. Her true ability probably lies somewhere in the middle. I'd be willing to bet her 5th grade scores wind up somewhere within that 115-127 range.

[Momling]

I wouldn't worry -- the overall SAI is not known to be particularly accurate. It's supposed to be like an IQ, so either 118 or 127 are above average scores and I wouldn't take it very seriously. Your daughter hasn't gotten less smart!

 

As for the verbal score -- in first grade, she probably was not yet a fluent reader and scored lower in relation to other kids -- or she didn't understand the test directions or what was being asked of her. Now in third grade, she's got the hang of reading and test taking and scored higher in relation to other kids. Either way, the results don't really tell you much other than she's a bright kid and performs fine on standardized tests.