What grade? Eval issues.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Ds seems to be doing well considering all of our problems. Whenever he sees a dr or has any kind of eval done, they're really stuck on his grade and i cant answer it.

 

He will be done with the cursive HWT book in about 4 weeks; i think this is generally a 3rd grade skill.

 

His writing outside of handwriting is non existence so lower than k or preschool.

 

Math- he's more than 1/2 way through MM 1st.

 

Reading- Not a clue. We're working through the phonics page lessons.

 

Science is just reading and exploring bugs and stuff, and watching some videos.

 

Geography-we're working on locating the continents on a globe and paper.

 

Sign language- he knows abc's and a few other signs.

 

When i tell an evaluator that he's all over the place, they ask what grade his hs papers say. In pa i dont have to assign a grade. He's just his age.

 

If he was in ps, he would be doing poorly in 3rd grade. If he start ps in pa, he'd be in 2nd grade. If i hs'ed from the beginning, he'd be even more spread out!

 

So in the future, how can I respond to this question in a way that removes the follow up questions asking the same thing?

 

I do not want testing and such to focus on grade.

[wapiti]

Testing with evaluators usually focuses on age, so that your child's performance can be compared to age norms. That's how weaknesses would be identified.

 

It depends on the context of the question. If the doctor or evaluator is just being chatty/conversational with you or your child, then I'd give the grade level for age and leave it at that. On the other hand, if they're trying to get at whether there is a developmental issue going on that they need to consider in their evaluation - which is sometimes the case for odd medical issues - I'd give the grade for age that he'd be if he were enrolled on time in PS, with the caveat that he's working significantly below grade level for math (and reading/language arts? if that's the case). Eta, content subjects - science, geography, etc. - and the sign language would not be relevant.

 

Maybe I misunderstand what sort of evaluations you are referring to? I was assuming evaluations for some sort of learning issue, special need, or medical issue, in which case you would want the doctor to fully understand the current situation with your child's learning.

[FairProspects]

If they can use the WIAT, the evaluation for work goes by age not grade level, but if the evaluators are using certain tests like the CogAt, I believe they need a grade to know which test to give. Can't you just give them the grade he would be by age? They are just looking for a starting point for testing, and many PS kids are all over the map with their skills too.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

The last time it was brought up was at the autism research center. Other than really pushing public school, they could not let it go that he wasn't "in a grade" and just kept restating the question.

 

I guess i will call him second grade if it comes up. His birthday is in October so he's a young 8 and i think way too young to call third grade.

 

It was also an issue at the dentist (why in the world does it matter here!), eye dr, behavior services, etc. It's just been really annoying.

[dancingmama]

When we did testing I explained that DS was 4th grade if he were in public school or 3rd grade if we would have held him back (he has a summer bday and probably would have done so) and that he's working somewhere between 2nd-4th depending on subject. What they really wanted was where to start so 3rd grade (the grade he would have been if we had put him in PS) but working at a 2nd grade in reading and 3rd grade in math would have been sufficient. They really don't care about science and social studies for the most part unless it is significantly different (for example a kid who may have a strong science understanding and be 4 or 5 grades above).

[wapiti]

The last time it was brought up was at the autism research center. Other than really pushing public school, they could not let it go that he wasn't "in a grade" and just kept restating the question.

 

I guess i will call him second grade if it comes up. His birthday is in October so he's a young 8 and i think way too young to call third grade.

 

It was also an issue at the dentist (why in the world does it matter here!), eye dr, behavior services, etc. It's just been really annoying.

 

If it doesn't matter for the service involved, just state the grade for age (which in this case would be grade 2). Often they just really want to know age.

 

For eye dr and behavior services, I can imagine the grade level of his actual performance may be relevant to the evaluation, in which case I'd say that he's in second grade though his performance is not on grade level (in math or language arts) if that is the case.

[PeterPan]

With a fall birthday like that, you use the lower grade (in most states, cuz cutoff is Aug/Sept). So he's a 2nd grader unless you hold him back for academic or developmental reasons.

 

The issue comes up socially all the time, because people ask. Might as well sort it out. The handwriting book doesn't matter. It's math and reading, the basics, and where he fits in socially.