I am back seeking help with reading problem again......

I have taught a lot of kids your son’s age. We put them through the standardized tests at the end of every year. THe good news is that those scores *do* come up. THe bad news is that it is *slow* to happen and the test scores always seem seriously behind what we *know* the kids can do. A lot of this is the nature of the tests — as you realized, our kids know a *lot* more orally than they do written.

Our kids also know a lot more for reading when it’s not in the contrived kind of reading that the tests have — and that’s not even considering filling in those bubble sheets which can be a real trial in itself.

You are seeing solid progress. Don’t jump ship. Keep rowing — it’s still faster than trying to swim.

The kid probably knows he’s got a reading problem. Remind him that it’s just one part of learning and being smart. The CAT test focuses on EXACTLY the stuff he has trouble with — so that’s like taking a great baseball player (or whatever he’ll identify with) and *only* watching how they slide into second base, IF that is the thing they do worst.

The sixth grade comprehension test is patently unfair to him. The idea behind a comprehension test is to see what you can understand from reading — but it *assumes* that you can read it. So giving him reading three grade levels higher — that would be like handing you a text in Urdu. Would it be a good measure of your comprehension? I think not.

I think you’ll find that the scores on those tests may have gone up anyway — look at percentiles and standard scores, *not* grade levels, which really don’t mean much on a good day and statistically aren’t useful for measuring progress. (If you want help understanding ‘em, let me know.)

Please, keep working on those reading skills — if RR and earobics have been working, keep it up. You might want to check out the yahoo group on teaching older kids to read for a *lot* more good ideas (it’s called MSSLathome) and games and things. Email me and I’ll dig out the whole address.

You can find some vocab and comprehension stuff at my site, Resource ROom — and it’s worth spending some time on it, but I’ll wager that the *main* issue is reading accuracy, and it really does take a lot of time and work to catch up for some kids (despite the claims of some programs to be instant victory for everyone). It does happen and it’s worth the work.

I agree with Sue. Keep working on the RR and Earobics.

Meanwhile, if you have the time, you may want to add Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com) to your program. You can get everything you need for $80 or less (minimum is the book and video). This program works on strengthening the underlying skills involved in academic learning — things like directionality, visual sequencing and short-term memory, auditory short-term memory, etc. The reason I mention time is that the program requires 1/2-hour per day of one-on-one work with the child. You have to be willing to stick with the program for 6 weeks before seeing significant improvement, but most kids do improve substantially with this program. A program like this helps automate some of the processes involved in reading — for example, left-to-right tracking with the eyes. Poor readers typically devote a huge portion of their attention to processes like this which are automatic in good readers — attention which is then not available for comprehension. If you can improve the automaticity of these basic functions, comprehension improves too.

I would also recommend the book “How To Increase Your Child’s Verbal Intelligence” by Carmen & Geoffrey McGuiness, the authors of Reading Reflex. The book contains many fun exercises that strengthen all aspects of language development, and the book is very inexpensive. This approach really pays off later, with big gains in reading comprehension when reading finally becomes automated.

Mary

That is totally, totally inappropriate.

The CAT used to have a placer test that aimed you at a grade level range, and then you took the test in your functional level. If your son is reading at a Grade 3 level, he should be doing a Grade 3 CAT test, period.

IF he “topped out” of the comprehension on the level that his reading vocabulary put him in, THEN you might consider testing him at a year or two higher in comprehension. But first try him where he’s at.

How would *you* do if someone said “OK, you’re over 30, so your age cohort has done PhD’s and post-doctoral study, so we will test your reading level on these PhD theses in advanced psycho-linguistic theory and semiotics, geophysical science, and sociobiology?” That’s ridiculous, isn’t it? So why is your son being tested against the upper level of students in his age cohort, when he hasn’t yet studied that stuff? He WILL get there given good support, but he isn’t there yet, and one of the best ways to cause failure is to rush too fast through the foundations.

I have lots and lots of good material which I’m more than willing to share, including some formal and informal tests. Unfortunately photocopies and mailcost money so I have to ask for my costs back, but if you’re interested just email me.

Victoria

I purchased the test from Christian Liberty Academy.They said I should test him at the level of grade not where he is reading.But I agree with you…it is totally unfair to him.Thanks to all for your imput.I think I will try adding some unit studies on a subject he likes and see if that helps.

Unit studies are really an ideal way to get a kid who’s behind in a specific area learning at his level. Include *some* reading ****at his level*** about it, but mainly go with his strengths. Remember it’s much, much better if he learns 5 things that make sense and tie together than if you give him a worksheet with 20 vocabulary terms that he’ll struggle through and learn precious little from.

Work at the reading as a separate endeavor. If I had weak legs, I would work on strengthening them — I wouldn’t try to learn to walk on my hands — but I’d find a way to get where I needed to go while I was making them stronger, whether car or wheelchair.

There are some excellent websites with unit studies ideas on them. *Many* of them are heavy on the reading side so you would have to adjust accordingly (start with “teachwithmovies.org” — it’s a *great* site for connecting movies with learning). IT’s really, really easy to make the false assumption that our smart kids will somehow “Get it” from reading because htere’s some mysterious osmosis… there isn’t. IF they learn some from the reading (and it’s really above their level), they could learn a *lot* more other ways.

Do not let the test get you down. If they did not give you the test for his skill level or the next level(ie: 3rd or 4th) then the test is not valid.

As for my son, I have seen a great deal of difference since he has started vision therapy and we use the Phonics Game program. His special education teacher uses very old readers. (I remember them when I was a little girl.) We also have keep my son at a lower level this year for the purpose of review and setting the skills at the lower level and not push and let him progress at his own rate. Since I started home schooling my son in September 2000 my son has progressed 2 levels.

Don’t give up and don’t let school put to much stress on the child. I have seen undo stress cancel out progress. Keep going and do not use standard testing. There are other ways of testing a level of performance that are not as stressful.

God Bless You and Hang In There.
D. D.

My teenage LD child is also reading on a 3rd or 4th grade level. I don’t worry about tests. I have recently ordered some books off the internet that I think will be a lot better. I believe that the main thing for LD children is not to get discouraged. All learning can’t be measured. Also, tests are not the only way to determine how he is doing. If he seems to be progressing then he probably is! Good luck.

Nell