Cognitive readiness

I think there is such a thing as ‘cognitive readiness’ but determining that is not something we’re yet able to do well.

For example, I have met children who although not reading at all in 1st or 2nd or even 3rd grade do on go to become proficient readers. Yet if we compare those children to other children while still in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade, they will appear to have a learning difference. With some children, their “ ‘light’ goes on later but it goes on. Not all children are ‘cognitively ready’ to read in the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd grade even though school curriculum expects it of them.

I could see it as possible for a district to deny a child remediation claiming the child is not yet ‘cognitively ready’ to learn the skill. I would disagree with that stance, though, as remediation - done appropriately - could only do good, not harm.

If they do this to you, ask them how they know your son is not cognitively ready? How do they determine that? Even the most sophisticated of brain scans doesn’t reveal that kind of information.

Is is true, though, that your son even without remediation is learning the things he need to - on his own? That would be the good news in the face of the bad news that is a school district denying remediation to your child who should have it.

If your child is cognitively functioning at

There are also some kindergarten tests (visual perceptual, auditory discrimination, drawing, etc) that are generally given to see if children are ready for 1st grade tasks.

If you are still concerned, have these tests evaluated by an objective person who can also observe your child in an academic situation. Or, have someone give new tests.

Hi Sara,

My son is learing because I spend a lot of time and effort determining how to best help him, and then doing it. So when the IEP team sees improvement, they say “See, he was finally ready to learn that!” Sheesh

However he has taught himself excellent coping skills that do mask his disabilities. He looks like he has skills he doesn’t have. Unfortunately, he will start to fail without appropriate remediation, because those mechanisms will only support him educationally for so long.

Lil

This is one of those issues that requires drawing a fine line and re-checking constantly. I have worked with kids who were defined as not “cognitively ready” to read because they couldn’t do half the things on the readiness list — things which included rhyming, reciting the alphabet, and standing on one foot. Well, at least one of the kids had Kleinfelter’s Syndrome, and the other, his brother, had some sort of related genetic problem. Kleinfelter’s causes language disorders, extreme sequencing problems, and physical difficulties. These kids would not be able to rhyme, sequence accurately by pure memory, or stand on one foot, not if you worked on them for ten years. However, they were quite able to learn to read.

Any responsible person setting up a readiness survey will include a number of disclaimers in the instructions telling you clearly that it is important to look at the child as a whole, the total pattern of development; to look at a majority of the skills, not all of which will be mastered at the same time; and to take into account any disabilities. Unfortunately by the time these surveys sift down to the end users in the schools, often all the instructions and disclaimers have been stripped off and the lists are treated as gospel that has to be followed religiously and 100%, which is the opposite of the authors’ original intentions.

On the other hand, yes, a child does have to walk before he can run and crawl before he can walk. Starting reading instruction with a kid who is still mentally in the toddler stage is a recipe in frustration for both the child and the teacher, and takes away time that the kid needs to learn toddler skills.

The problem is getting a reasonably clear picture of how the child is functioning. There are no totally accurate tests, and for kids with disabilities the tests are even less meaningful. There really is nothing that can replace some in-depth teaching and interviewing. This is why teachers are supposed to learn child psychology — pity that most courses are such a waste of time — and take classes in tests and measurements. I have also been terribly disappointed in several school psychologists who didn’t even need to see the child to put out their pre-determined conclusions.

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Ah, yes, Susan

My husband’s IQ tests out at 175 and 171 respectively. When they tested him in high school, they thought he was cheating the first time, and retested him. He told me (with great embarassment and emotion) that he can no longer help our son with his homework because he can’t read the texts with him. Makes my heart break - he’s probably the smartest person I have ever met. He is extremely competent at his profession because his reading for that is limited to several repetitive words that he already recognises.

Lil