Not sure how to assign a grade for my 10th grader with dyslexia

[tallmom]

I have a tenth grade DD. She has pretty severe dyslexic symptoms. She reads at about a 6th grade level and needs significant help writing essay type answers. She also needs a lot of support to finish her assignments. I'm planning on working 1:1 with her this year and not assigning any independent work that will be graded. I'm struggling with how to grade her work. For example: we will be using Susan Wise Bauer's The History of the Medieval World and the accompanying student guide. Last year, I read the text to her and dictates the guide questions. The guide has four section per chapter, three requiring written answers and one is maps. She is still learning how to express her ideas in full sentences and so I need to coach her in order to complete those sections. I doubt we will finish every question. The map section may also need to be tailored as she is slow getting them done. How would you grade a student with these challenges?

 

PDF sample of the lesson is here: https://welltrainedmind.com/p/study-and-teaching-guide-for-the-history-of-the-medieval-world-pdf/

 

 

[EKS]

I would only use the parts of the guide that your daughter can do well.  I would completely change the expectations for written output.  For example, when my dyslexic son was in 9th grade, I just had him write summaries for his output in American history.  Scale each assignment so that it is in line with what she can actually do.  So if she is still working on writing (or dictating) coherent sentences, start there, and very gradually over the course of the year make things more difficult.

 

But you were asking about grading--once you've come up with a plan for what she needs to do, you can come up with a rubric for how well she needs to do it to get a certain grade.  You may like reading the book Grading with a Purple Crayon--it talks about using rubrics to help kids improve their writing.

[OneStepAtATime]

What EKS said... :)

 

On a side note, I was going to toss a few questions at you.  I might have additional suggestions but wanted some clarification.

1.  Has she had official evaluations?

2.  What have you used to remediate reading?

3.  Is she planning to go to college?

4.  Can she type?

5.  Are you in a State where you have to report?

6.  Can she take an extra year to graduate while you help her improve in her weak areas?

 

And welcome to the LC board!  :)

[PeterPan]

What happens to her ability to answer questions and discuss if you drop the reading level?  Even with it as a read aloud or audiobook, it may be the level of language is too complex.  When she's having that level of difficulty, I would want an SLP eval at this point to see what is going on.  Your time might be better spent working on language, rather than working on HoMW.  Or use HoMW on audio (assuming she enjoys it and profits from it) and use something simpler for language work. Or use videos.

 

My ds has needed significant language work and continues to, so it's just one of those things I mention.  If your dd had the CASL or CELF or something similar in her evals, that would give you some scores.

 

There are also some books and publishers aimed at dyslexics who use simplified language, more creative responses, etc.  Personally I think some of them are pretty well done.  Walch Power Basics would be one to look at.

Edited August 5, 2016 by OhElizabeth

[OneStepAtATime]

In case you are interested, as OhE said there are resources that are for High School students reading at a lower reading level.  You might look at resources from this site (but don't buy from there since you can usually get the same stuff cheaper used through Amazon or Abe books) for High School level material at a lower reading level...

 

http://www.wieser-ed.com/

 

There are tons of resources here and many of them you can see the actual pages on that site.  The AGS textbooks are colorful and have two types.  The AGS Alternate versions are High School level texts for kids with a lower reading level but functioning at close to grade level with comprehension/understanding of the content.  The AGS Foundation texts are at a lower reading level and have more basic content.

[Hilltopmom]

I'm late to this party. But my bright 10 th grader struggled with HoTMW.

 

I do highly recommend the resources available through Weiser :)

[katilac]

Almost every mainstream textbook I have bought for high school includes ideas for alternative assessments, so it is not unusual at all to alter and completely change assignments. 

 

You can google for ideas, and I would also ask her if she has ideas/preferences on ways she can demonstrate that she has mastered the material.