My daughter has been in a inclusion setting and they have been allowing her to take test without the aid assisting her. We wanted to see if she could do the work on her own. When the MCAS comes around ….she is unable to pass. It is very fustrating.
Her next MCAS test is months away but I dread the scores that come in the mail. Here are my questions…Is she not being taught the proper material ? Is she panicing? Is the test so confusing with multiple answers so close? Is it the test, my child or the teacher ?
I question the test. This test can make or break you. If you fail..no college..If you fail no diploma..I love how they say in the younger grades that the scores do not matter. Then you reach 8th grade and then they do matter.You have 5 chances to retake the test. Hopefully, by the 5th each child makes the passing grade.
Another question…With states having budget issues and money not being allocated…How can communities prepare the children when they can not afford anymore teachers?
Re: daughter akes honors but can not pass MCASas
I’ve known lots of kids who know a whole lot but they simply aren’t going to convey it on a standardized test. The fragmented questions — even the bubbing in the circles — and a bunch of other factors make them significantly more diffiicult for LD kids.
It makes for reallytough choices for parents of LD kids. Do you sacrifice invaluable teaching time to prep for the test — and know that it might not work? Do you check the fine print and see if there’s an option to not take it at all? (I have a feeling that history — and admisisons folks — will be very kind to parents who are that forward-thinking… as with abolitionists…) Do you become a homeschooler for that year? Private school?
Re: daughter akes honors but can not pass MCASas
We have the state testing in NC, too. I hate it for my students and I fear it in the future for my youngest child. Kids are supposed to be retained if they do not pass the test in 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade. Kids on IEP’s can be moved on up, but what good does that do if you ultimately have to pass the exit exam?
In response to Sue, basically you can pull out of school and not take the test, but you’d have to finish up and get a homeschool diploma, because you can’t get a regular diploma in NC without passing the test. Formerly, LD math kids could exempt the Algebra I requirement, but we don’t see how that will be possible if Algebra concepts will be on the math section of the exit exam.
All I can hope is that my little one is young enough that LD parents will have time to get exceptions to the laws passed before it effects her possibilities of graduating. But I’m looking at homeschool curriculum just in case.
Janis
Re: daughter akes honors but can not pass MCASas
It first deserves to be said that it’s fair to question these kind of tests. Check out www.fairtest.org - the point of their organization is to question these tests.
The taking of standardized tests is a skill unto itself. I have met students of pristine excellence who yet can do poorly on these tests. I’ve also met students who do poorly in class but do very well on the tests.
You don’t say what your daughter’s learning issues are. It may be that her learning issues prevent her from scoring well on the test but any student’s scores can usually be improved with tutoring specific to the test. You can likely find tutors who will work with your daughter one on one to help her pass this test. You could also likely find test preparation material, sample questions and the like, on line for this test and help your daughter yourself.
Good luck.
regional group joins anti-MCAS coalition
I bought the Boston Globe yesterday-January 26th. An organization of New England college admission and high school counselors have joined a coalition of groups opposing the MCAS examination as a graduate requirement for Mass high school students.The article goes on to explain more but Hopefully, this is the start of something wonderful.
Re: daughter akes honors but can not pass MCASas
Not to be rude but my daughter was classified as a slow learner LD but with much support she is no longer . She is a child with LD that has an IEP and does wonderful at school.
She was also classified in the elementary grades( by teachers only) as ADD-ADHD-DYSLEXIC and many more. As a parent, I brought her in and out of Children’s to properly label her LD. What a surprise—CAPD.
As a parent, She was tutored in Wilson and math privately…Why..The teachers could not understand her learning style.Hence..labled a slow learner.
Now you say..more tutoring for a High Stakes test. Why not promote high standards instead?
Re: daughter akes honors but can not pass MCASas
Slow learner is an educational term that covers students with IQs between 70-85, typically they do not qualify for special ed. and receive no services. The high-stakes testing issue is really a political one, not educational. It is strongly supported by Bush and other Republicans and I think the way to change it as a graduation requirement is through the political process. I would hope everyone lets their state legislator know how they feel on this issue. In Mass. the Education Reform Act in 1993 was passed overwhelmingly, and this is what started our high-stakes testing.
I too live in Massachusetts and my 6th grade son faces the math MCAS this year; what I see in school though is that the teachers make a huge effort to prepare the kids for the test, there is a MCAS summer school in our town and many families(including ours) have used private tutoring for the MCAS.
What grade is your child in? If this is 10th grade I’d run to the guidance dept. and make sure the student was in all the tutoring sessions allowed; if not, just don’t make a big deal of it, it’s only high-stakes for 10th graders. I actually think the test makes the school more accountable for teaching bright LDers so they can pass the test; the kids who lose I think are the “slow learners” who might have been classified for years as LD. Romney seems to be toeing a hardline about the MCAS, I wouldn’t expect any political changes.