Very poor IOWA scores - need suggestions, please

[diaperjoys]

Our 11yo did very poorly on his IOWA test this year. He's smart, but very focus challenged. 

 

Our primary curriculum last year was Ambleside Online (Charlotte Mason, lots of reading/narrations). He learned a lot and read lots of great material. But his Reading, Language Arts, and Math scores slipped terribly - he is scoring nearly two years lower than he should, and some areas are three grades behind. We have to do something majorly different next year. 

 

Workbook learning has always been a big struggle for him, which is why AO seemed like a good fit. Copying difficulty, losing his place, a few dyslexia symptoms coupled with major focus trouble make workbooks a very big trial. However, there was one area where he scored well this year: spelling. And, we used a workbook (Apples and Pears) for that subject. Soooo, looks like we need more workbooks.

 

I'm looking for suggestions for straightforward curricula that he can jump into, something written to the student, something he can complete at my elbow, something I can accelerate and modify as appropriate so he can catch up. 

 

Things we've tried: medication (couldn't tolerate any of the several we tried), vision therapy (helpful), Dancing Bears (huge progress, completed the whole program), Apples and Pears (one more book to go), nutrition/supplements (several different strategies, nothing yet successful)

 

 

[Davina]

I would take a look at CLE. It is very thorough and there are placement tests for everything.

[EKS]

Did the test scores confirm what you know to be true about his achievement?  In other words, were you surprised by the results?  And did he take the test with appropriate accommodations?  

[shinyhappypeople]

:grouphug: 

 

I am the mom of a struggling learner.  I've made a TON of mistakes along the way.  Some thoughts:

 

If you didn't have the test scores, how would you have described his progress this year?  I wouldn't completely change everything around based on one test score, especially since the scope & sequence of Charlotte Mason inspired curricula, especially with regard to the language arts, are radically different than typical school approaches.  Testing is a tool, not your master (or, at least, that's how it should be).

 

I definitely wouldn't go wholesale back to using workbooks if they were a disaster in the past.  Granted, Apples and Pears is great, but it's greatness is not in the fact that it's a workbook, but the teaching that's IN the workbook, kwim?

 

What are you currently using for math?  

 

 

[Kiara.I]

I agree, that Apples and Pears was a workbook does not automatically mean that all workbooks will be better than what you were doing!

 

It sounds more like specific, targeted work on specific issues might be key--and that might be a workbook or it might be a sheet of scrap paper or it might be jumping on a trampoline while learning math facts!

 

Has he had an assessment? Do you know what specific issues are present? Does he have dysgraphia?

 

Oh, and remember that if he struggles with workbooks but one did well, it might be that he has the capacity to struggle through one... But adding four more would be overload.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[MeganW]

If you agree that the results are probably correct, then yes, I would consider making changes, but if you are completely shocked by these results, I would take them with a grain of salt.  Don't toss them completely - go get another eval to see if they are valid.  Maybe a Woodcock-Johnson or go see a psych who specializes in education. 

If your child is REALLY that far behind, focus on math and language arts hard for the next few years.  All the rest can wait.

 

[fralala]

I'm sorry. Did you administer the test? (I'm just asking because when I administer these tests, I get a pretty good idea of what happened and where we need more work, or whether we need more work. It's the difference between a kid getting something wrong that you've already taught him vs. getting something wrong that he actually didn't know. Or a kid who is trying hard and taking the test seriously or just.over.it. Or whether you even think the questions are good, clear ones.)

 

With that said, what do you use for math, and how is that going?

 

And does he enjoy reading and do it on his own?

[diaperjoys]

To answer several of the questions above...

 

Yes, I was surprised by the test results. I thought he'd do poorly on math, but hold his own everywhere else. 

 

He's had multiple screenings done, and they always come back negative for dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc. We were encouraged not to do further testing.

 

I made the choice to treat him as dyslexic in terms of curriculum, because I was sure something was "off" with reading/vision. So I put him through Dancing Bears (excelled), and Apples and Pears (dislikes, but does very well). We also did vision therapy - he showed huge improvement on the visual tests with the therapy, but we also removed workbooks around that time, so hard to evaluate overall effectieness.

 

In math he's like one of his brothers - understands the concepts, but extremely difficult to memorize facts. He loved the independence and immediate feedback of TT, did fine with that. Now he's doing better with the straightforwardness of MUS. 

 

Yes, he is now enjoying reading, and does it on his own. Not as much as I'd like to see, but it is happening more now.

 

I think a Charlotte Mason approach will still be fine for history, science, bible and geography. But we'll need to use workbooks and direct instruction for anything language arts. I'm not usually big on reading comp. programs, but he scored so low on that I think he might need the direct instruction there, too, rather than the passive approach in CM. 

 

I like CLE, but the pages are visually full, and the intense repetition makes it hard to accelerate one concept for a "catching up" learner. I'm hoping to find something that is more visually simple, the language arts version of a MUS page. 

 

 

 

[fourisenough]

I really like the Detective series from Critical Thinking Company. It's a workbook, but not your run-of-the-mill time-wasting, busy work workbook, if ykwim. We've used the Reading Detective, Science Detective, and History Detective books at different levels. I do one book per year. The nice thing about science and history is that they cover content areas, too. You might also consider their Word Roots books. A kid who struggles with comprehension might also need work with understanding how words are made and what their parts mean. Best of luck. As someone else said up thread: don't let the test scores be your master. Sounds like many things are going well.

[Kiara.I]

How are his physical skills?  Is his balance good, is he athletic?

At his vision therapy, did they test for retained reflexes?  How about Irlen syndrome?

[diaperjoys]

How are his physical skills?  Is his balance good, is he athletic?

At his vision therapy, did they test for retained reflexes?  How about Irlen syndrome?

I don't remember everything they tested for at vision therapy.

 

Physical skills, though, are exceptional. He is enormously capable at anything athletic. At age 9 he easily played up on the 11-12 year old baseball team, and was one of the strongest players on the team. He's like that with anything that has to do with a ball or any kind of physical skill.

[shinyhappypeople]

I encourage you to take a look at Winston Grammar.  It has visual and kinesthetic components and is supposed to be great for kids with dyslexia.  It's very difficult for my kid who "can't word" (her phrase), but it's also the only program that has come close to helping her understand grammar.

 

Traditional programs are unlikely to work.  If they were going to work they would have done so the first (or second, or third) time you tried, right? 

 

I wish you all the best.  I know how frustrating and overwhelming it can be.  You're doing a good job.  You're listening to your son and trusting your gut.  You've got this!  :grouphug:

Edited May 17, 2017 by shinyhappypeople