My daughter is in the fourth grade and her teacher wants to have her tested for learning disabilities. At the beginning of the year her reading level was 2.6-3.6 and she is now at 3.6-4.9 so she is making progress. She shows signs of reading comprehension problems. If given a test orally she does make a higher grade than if she has to read the test herself.
I did have her tested at Sylvan Learning Center and reading comprehension was a problem area. They wanted to work with her for a number of months and it would have cost me nearly $4000. I found lots of websites for reading comprehension and I believe this has helped her some.
I also think part of her problem is she doesn’t know how to study. She has never really had to study for tests and now she has several tests each week that she must prepare for. I try to show her how to prepare for tests like studying 3-5 vocabulary words a night rather than try to learn them all the night before the test.
I know my daughter can do much better than what she is doing if she would apply herself and if I spent more time helping her. Should I give the school permission to have her tested or just spend more time helping her myself to see if she improves? She is not going to fail the fourth grade but I feel she could be an A, B honor roll student instead of making Cs and Ds also.
Thanks in advance,
Tammy K
Re: Should I have my child tested?
Yes, when an obviously bright child is having difficulty
you should look into testing.
Finding out where she needs help will also help you
help her.
You can spend a lot of time pounding sand down the
wrong hole - there are more specific things you can
be doing, and in less time, with better results if you
know what you are shooting for.
Anne
Re: Should I have my child tested?
Tammy,
When I was first approached about having my son tested in kindergarten I couldn’t believe it and was apprehensive.
I understand you are probably surprised at the suggestion that your smart child could be having difficulty that requires testing.
Go for the testing. It it is their idea it is their expense. If she does need some extra help the school can provide it and you can bank the $4,000 the Sylvin place wanted.
LOL
Re: Should I have my child tested?
Absolutly have her tested. It could save you both a lot of frustration. While she probably doesn’t know how to study, most 4th graders don’t have great skills in this anyway. I think it is great that the teacher has taken enough interest to initiate this process.
I have a 9 year old boy who has very similar problems. He will score less than 50% in comprehension if forced to read silently to himself. He will score virtually 100% when he is allowed to read aloud to himself. He is barely within the average range in terms of written expression. He has difficulty with testing in all subjects and gets grades below what he should. We are working with the school to determine if there is a learning disability and identify a course of action. Our school is very willing to make appropriate adjustments to allow him to succeed (which could include being allowed to take tests orally). You can always do something privately at a later date if you are unhappy with the progress she is making at school. Good Luck.
Re: Should I have my child tested?
I feel that if you know that your child can make better grades, I would help her study more at home. I would also wait till maybe next year and if she starts out on a” bad note” I would then have her tested. You can also get lots of computer education games and other material to help from the internet and at your local bookstore. Hope this helps! Nancy
YES! NO question about it, have her tested!…..Testing will pinpoint her actual weaknesses and fromt here you can focus on that.