School District Not Wanting to Test

[Second Time Around]

I have a question that I need quick information about testing responsibiliites.

 

Background:

 

17yob received full neuro/ed testing (privately) around age 10 and was found to have many learning issues that required remediation. At the time he was completely unable to read or spell 3 letter words without tremendous difficulty. We did vision therapy, OT, Brainskills, Tutoring. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he received Speech therapy under First Steps around age 3 since he had not started to talk. This was discontinued, because he was meant to graduate into the Public school system and at the time we hoped instead to go with a private tutor (but financial problems intervened). However, he did graduate properly out of the later tutoring/therapies when he was 10. Before tutoring, he scored below age-level in every category except logic and reasoning (+7.1). His lowest score was Auditory Analysis which was recorded as -5.9. After tutoring etc. he scored at or above age level for everything except spelling (-3), Visual processing (-0.9) and Processing Speed (-1).

 

He is now a junior. He still struggles with Language arts but functions fairly decently. His math and science scores are also decent, but he still takes much longer than average students to complete his work. He received two "A" grades from Veritas Press high school courses last year - Latin II and Geometry. I think he might get a "B" for pre-calc. (also Veritas) but early days. Note that Veritas does not require timed exams. He is also getting high 80's for an AP Biology course taken at a local high school. He is, even though this might be counterintuitive for a kid with LA issues, doing a Great Books online course and keeping up well even though he jumped in mid-way. So he has gone from not being able to read kids' books at 10 to reading Plato etc at 16/17 and is generally a voracious reader whenever he has the time. He took the PSAT in October and received 59 reading, 62 math and 54 Writing. He is still worried about the upcoming SAT however, since he knows this will be more challenging and he will tire easily. The essay is also very daunting to him.

 

We moved state this fall. It was uncertain whether we would or not, and when that might happen, and this factored in to my reluctance to go to my local school district last year to request a re-evaluation. We did not have the funds to pay for more private testing. However, as soon as we arrived in the new state, I approached the local school district to request testing in order to see if he needed accommodations while taking the SAT and AP exams. The local school, a case worker, a social worker, and his biology teacher came to a meeting with me, looked at the documentation I provided from the testing and tutoring 7 years ago, and immediately agreed that he should receive accommodations of time and a half for all examinations. They told me verbally that they would also look into applying those accommodations to his SAT and AP exams, which he would sit at the same high school. They also (eventually in December when I bugged them) drew up a 504 plan for him. They felt that re-testing was unnecessary on the strength of the documenation I had provided and the testimony of his Biology teacher. However, when I came to create a College Board account for my son, I was told that as a homeschooled student, the school could not apply for accommodations on his behalf, but that I needed to fill out an application. Looking at the application I noted that testing needed to have been done within the past 5 years. So I went back to the school, the case worker, the school district etc. and told them that College Board would require a recent (within 5 years) test to establish proof that he needs accommodations.

 

Here's my question (!). The school district tells me that since he is taking an AP class and got decent scores on PSAT that there is no need to re-test him. However, they did say that they would try to hold another meeting, look at all his academic test results throughout the years (note, new state requires annual testing for all home school students, but prior state did not - so I do not even have annual external testing results for them) his PSAT results and his AP class grades. Is this all valid? I really do not want to be a mother who tries to unfarily tweak the system to her child's advantage, nor fleece fellow tax payers into paying for unnecessary tests. However, as a mom of a child who has had very clear learning issues throughout his life, that have taken heroic efforts to remediate (and which haven't reached complete normalcy - especially in areas such as expression and spelling) I want to make sure that there are no lingering issues that still need attention before high school ends. I would like to think that homeschooling has been so hugely successful that all his learning issues have been completely resolved, but I'm not convinced that is entirely the case. I do think he still has processing issues that slow him down relative to average students.

 

So I'd be really grateful for your thoughts on this. Should I just drop it and assume he is completely remediated? Should I try to push for testing via the School District, or is that a road to nowhere? Is private testing my only option at this point? And would pushing for accommodations end up simply in creating an unnecessary stigma for my son? Should I just let it go, and accept that we have accomplished a lot already, and now its time to sink or swim in the real world?

 

Thank you so much for reading through all this!!! I need to act quickly since the deadline to apply for the AP exam accommodations is in February.

[Ottakee]

They might be required to do the testing if you request it in writing. Each state is different though.

 

This issue is why I do encourage testing at regular intervals--every 3 years or so.

 

Some people will suddenly try to apply for special adaptations for the ACT/SAT, etc. without a prior history of special needs so that looks suspicious................so they might be thinking, well he did fine for the past 7 years and didn't need follow up testing so he must be OK.

[Pen]

I am lacking my direct info and exact website names just now, alas. But, look up Wrightslaw website which has a lot about laws pertinent to disability issues that I think would be relevant. Try the HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) also for more information--though less is disability related and more with regard to all sorts of issues for homeschoolers. I read an excellent book on this a few years ago by a lawyer, but cannot recall either his name or the title, only that it exists.

 

Perhaps he can be considered concurrently enrolled at the school and thus allow the school to apply for accommodations (as it sounds like they are willing to help do that?), rather than listing him as homeschooled?

 

You can write a letter to school district requesting (demanding) testing--I think they have to respond by a certain time by law, but it might not be in time to meet your AP deadline. It also might not be something that would help for the accommodations needed...in general I think the testing required is to determine whether or not a child would qualify for IEP help, and it seems like yours is doing better than that. And it might work better to try to work collaboratively with the school to fullfill the requirements the AP is placing--if that is possible.

 

Could you contact the person who did the testing at age 10 and get a letter or something that would help you now without full testing being done?

 

It sounds like what he mainly needs is extra time on tests, and maybe that much can be gotten in writing from someone either at the school or from the private former tester, to the extent that you'd have something to turn in to AP by Feb deadline.

 

In the meantime this is useful for many of us--I did not know that testing like AP would need test results from within 5 years. My ds's will be older than that when we get to that point too.

 

If your ds really does have a problem that would be helped by accommodations then I think they make sense. (One would not expect a bright, but blind student to be able to take a test without accommodations, and doing so could mean not allowing that person to be able to become something they can do very well, so long as there are accommodations, for example.) If he doesn't need them though, then there is some stigma sometimes, like it or not, and no reason to then to push for it. You could try some practice exams and see how much of a difference it makes if he has an accommodation during the practice. Supposedly, even though everyone thinks that more time (for example) would make a big difference to all students, it actually only makes a minor difference for most students (who more or less swim at about the same level either way) as compared to students with LD type issues where it can be the difference between really soaring or totally sinking.

[Second Time Around]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I guess the trial test times is a good place to start. I could probably contact the original tester, but I'm not sure if that will convince College Board? College Board is also the one that is demanding that this all comes from me rather than the school since he is only enrolled in once class there. When we first tested, we wanted to do it privately since we were concerned by all the controversy about homeschooling kids with special needs at the time we were educating our son at home. At the time we just didn't want too much of government looking over our shoulders. I knew that ds was making progress, but I didn't want others finding fault in that progress or telling us better ways of accomplishing it. It was *very* expensive though (and all the private therapies we had to pay for on top), and I can't see us paying for it every 3 years or so. This is my very first experience dealing with public education system, and it is looking like we would have probably been better simply re-testing privately ourselves. At least that way we would quickly know if there are lingering issues, or if he really is ready to simply take his place with the rest of his peers. You get what you pay for, I suppose.

 

Thanks again for all your suggestions!

[Dmmetler]

Regardless, GET the testing, even if it's expensive now. Not only does he need documentation for the AP exams, but if he's going to need long-term supports, he needs that documentation in hand to take to the college SSD office and get supports in college, to get accommodations on professional testing or GRE exams, and a 504 to transition into the workplace.

 

You may find that vocational rehabilitation (different names in different states) will help, but probably not until he officially graduates high school-they'll sometimes get involved in transition planning for high school students, but that's a service that gets cut first when budgets are tight.

[EKS]

I think you'll get a better evaluation privately. It sounds like your son is very bright and is compensating fairly well for his LDs. Public school evaluations don't take into account how much of a struggle it is for a bright but learning disabled student to work to anything close to his potential. Their report will likely not be very convincing for the need for accommodations. Also, my understanding is that the College Board wants to see a very specific set of tests, especially for extended time accommodations. It is important that the person doing the evaluation be familiar with testing for College Board accommodation requests. And in your son's case, you also want this person to have experience with very bright/gifted but learning disabled kids.

 

Honestly, you may not be able to get him evaluated by a qualified person in time to meet the February deadline.

 

On the other hand, you may be able to go through the school where he is taking the AP Bio course. If he is receiving accommodations for that class, they could apply for accommodations for you. I would pursue this avenue first.

[Pen]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I guess the trial test times is a good place to start. I could probably contact the original tester, but I'm not sure if that will convince College Board? College Board is also the one that is demanding that this all comes from me rather than the school since he is only enrolled in once class there. ...

 

 

Probably would not hurt to contact original tester and see if you could get some sort of long distance and limited follow-up and something that would give you a current date to use. The answer might be no. But if it is yes, that could be of help. Are there any clear rules available from the College Board? I would think there must be such, and that having those would also help.

[Second Time Around]

A friend found this for me, which I felt was a very interesting read. Also the comment section below it.

 

http://www.applerouth.com/blog/2006/04/27/extended-time-and-other-accommodations-on-the-sat-and-act/

 

I actually found someone with a cancellation - so she could do the testing on February 6th and get something written up for me in time to send it in by the Feb 21 deadline. She tells me she is very familiar with the College Board requirements. I will try one more time talking with the school, and the school district. If not then I'll have to come up with the $1700 to have him tested privately. Husband is groaning under this unexpected expense, though. We honestly thought it had all been taken care of last September. But hopefully it is a good investment for him to know himself and how best to approach his future prospects.

 

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

[Pen]

Thank you for that link! The non-bell-shape curve for accommodated test takers is interesting food for thought.

 

And good luck to you and your son!

[EKS]

The non-bell-shape curve for accommodated test takers is interesting food for thought.

 

 

A bimodal distribution is exactly what I would expect from this population of test takers, and I'm guessing that the College Board was not alarmed in the slightest if they understood what they were dealing with.

 

The high peak would include the accommodated test takers who knew the material and were actually helped by their accommodations. My son is in this population; his ITBS scores (core total) went from the 63rd percentile unaccommodated to the 99th percentile with accommodations. The low peak would be a combination of those who didn't know the material and/or those who did know the material but could not show it because the accommodations were not helping for whatever reason.

 

Frankly, I think the best thing to do would be to allow people to take as long as they need to complete high stakes tests.

[Second Time Around]

Just a quick update: I had a meeting with the School District, and this second time they had completely changed their tune and said that he could receive testing. I think the woman who originally talked to me just went away and did a bit of homework since she came back saying that the processing deficits that my son was found to have usually don't just go away. So hopefully I have helped pave the way for the next kid who presents with this kind of situation. A home school mom in the area who has a child with LDs assured me that the person who will be doing the testing is excellent, so I canceled the private testing. The downside is that this won't be done in time for AP (unless the school can help with this, and they said they would try when they present all the other students with 504 plans). However, based on his midterm exam, he seems to be doing well with that exam for now anyway. And at least any testing and accommodations should be in place by the time he takes the next SAT exam. My biggest priority, however, is just to see where we are all these years later, and what best approach to take for final/post-high school years.

 

Thanks to all who responded!

[Tiramisu]

Just getting caught up on this thread.

 

I want to reassure you that standardized test accommodations are confidential, as are accommodations in college.

 

We did not get the testing done in time to get accommodations on the SAT. Dd did well with college acceptances and merit awards anyway. However, she was very close to the cut off for higher levels of merit scholarships. Had we pursued NP testing earlier, there is a change that dd could have received better scholarships. In any case, the recent evaluation showed that she does have a need for additional time, and at least we have the documentation we need in case she needs it in college.

 

I'm glad you were persistent and are going forward with the evaluation. I wish you the best of luck.

[Second Time Around]

Another update. So ds was tested via the public school system - that sacrificed his AP exam this year which only private testing would have possibly salvaged. His AP teacher, however, has not been giving him his accommodations because she knew he wouldn't be receiving them on the AP exam, and she believes he'll be okay.

 

And oh my goodness, he certainly needs accommodations. Well below average on Reading, math and writing fluency (7-12 the percentile) and "extremely limited" processing speeds and "alternative rapid naming" scores - all at 1st percentile. Superior Verbal Comprehension and high average perceptual reasoning. Other than the fluency, his academic skills were high average to superior, scoring average for letter-word identification. FWIW he is also ranks one of the highest in his AP bio class with steady A's, and also receiving A's so far in pre-calc. (via Veritas Press) and B+ in Great Books (via Great Books Academy). He sat the SAT in January and received 640 for math and around the 530s for the other two components. This without accommodations.

 

So first, let me get the question out of the way, because some of you know it is there: ought I to feel guilty or personally responsible about any of this? You know, because no parent throughout history ever questions whether they should have done things differently! Should I have been drilling him more, as I did in the early days of therapy with Brainskills et al, during elementary school? And are there things he should be doing now to improve those processing skills (the tester did not recommend much beyond accommodations for exams, use of calculator, word banks etc. unlike the private tester a few years back who outlined which therapies and avenues to pursue)?

 

Now I have that off my chest (sort of), I just wanted to thank everyone again for their support and suggestions. I suppose I should probably move on over to the Special needs forum, because my next question is college related. The tester recommended that he attend community college for two years in order to help him learn how to deal with the college workload. I was curious to know thoughts about that from those of you with kids who have similar issues. But this is possibly the stuff of another thread. Thanks again!

[PeterPan]

Someone else will jump in with more wizened advice, but I'll just say I don't see how you can feel guilty when you did the best you could. That's all you can do. Next, the dc is performing STELLARLY, all things considered. Is it definitely too late to ask the College Board or whomever for accommodations on that AP? I'd at least TRY.

 

There's a book "Colleges That Change Lives" and a website of similar name. I'm not saying he should go to one of those, but the principles of how they chose for that list might give you ideas of characteristics to look for. I don't think it necessarily has to be a CC, though obviously that's one way. If the school is *small* so he doesn't fall through the cracks and has teachers for freshman classes who actually speak ENGLISH (so he can understand them) and a fabulous Student Resources department (which you should go VISIT), then that should in theory work. At least that's what I'm encouraging my dd toward.

[Second Time Around]

Thanks, OhElizabeth. I guess rationally I understand everything you mention, but knowing and understanding it doesn't always remove the emotional question mark!

 

Yes, I do have that book, and I even directed my son to read it. We are looking at a small environmental college that is about 30 minutes away, and very supportive of students with special needs (the admissions director has his own diagnosis, so he understands. But it is private, and so we would need to get the sticker price down to something a bit more affordable for our budget. The public university is very tempting in terms of price and possible grants that almost pay for tuition for his major since they cannot get enough students to match local job vacancies. But I understand what you're saying about not getting lost through the cracks in such a large university.

[Tiramisu]

I replied to your other thread, but I'll jump in here, too.

 

I think if you have a small, local college option, I think that's probably a very good choice. His SAT's will only go up and I would be surprised if he didn't qualify for merit aid.

 

Instead of feeling guilty, you should feel very proud of yourself. You have obviously done a wonderful job with your son's education. With the grades you mentioned, he doesn't only have the smarts, but also an excellent work ethic. With low processing scores, kids have to work much harder, and he obviously has. You have taught him well in terms of both education and character. You deserve a big hug and a pat on the back.

 

:grouphug: