About the tears of a severely dyslexic child over failing the FCAT test.

[madfloridian]

This moved me so much because of my experience with students who simply have a different mode of learning.

Years ago I taught two brothers with IQs in the 150s and 170s....neither could read a word. They were brilliant in so many other ways. They would have failed the FCAT unless someone would have administered it orally to them. Then they would have aced it with their comprehension skills and their math skills.

There used to be accommodations given for such students, but not now I guess. We are in the zero tolerance era where the test is our God.

From the Miami Herald:

FCAT delays also weigh heavily on students

In Florida, a student's annual performance is judged by one single test on one single day.

The FCAT test defines, among other things, whether students pass from third to fourth grade and ultimately whether they graduate from high school with either a standard or special diploma, or whether they will eventually have to take the GED elsewhere. All of this can determine their income range for the rest of their lives.

Not only is it risky to place so many eggs in one basket, it is also unfair to evaluate all students with the same measure regardless of their disabilities (though there are some accommodations), income level and social circumstances.

Margaret Cox, special education teacher at Henry F. West Laboratory Elementary School in Coral Gables, remembers a third-grade student with severe dyslexia. Even so, no changes were made except for extended time to accommodate his specific disability. He flunked, of course, but he did not have to repeat the grade because he had already been retained in kindergarten.

``This boy cried so much it broke my heart,'' she told me. ``He could not read the material, but if the text had been read aloud to him his strong comprehension abilities would have allowed him to pass.''

Cox has seen students who in the days prior to the test have lost their hair, suffered emotional breakdowns, vomited or developed psychosomatic symptoms. This accommodation is not allowed in the reading FCAT exam.

One size fits all learning...the new education policy.

More on this from Schools Matter blog which quotes The Herald. I think the Miami Herald changes the link after a few days, but the blog link will be good longer.

FCAT child abuse

A test to measure the learning achievements of students is important. But a one-size-fits-all exam cannot define their intelligence, especially if they are stressed. There are other alternatives to evaluate children's progress throughout the year.

A student's value is much more than a grade on a test. That is why this FCAT imbroglio -- and its emotional consequences -- calls for a more human approach to public education in Florida.

If we want our future leaders to be innovative and empathetic, we have to start training them early, making students aware that we value -- besides their academic knowledge -- their creativity, perseverance, responsibility and initiative.

[Oregone]

1. Did they run up his face?

Ok. Totally out of place! My family always tries to laugh at things to deal with them (all males in immediate family have or have "grown out" of dyslexia)

Ill pray to dog for forgiveness

Oh, yeah, about the FCAT, total BS. What a mess this all is.

[guitar man]

23. Hey, my wife is severely dyslexic!!

I just read your post to her and she lol'd :)

[Oregone]

29. Im glad she had a palindromic response

"lol"

:)

Laughter may not be the best medicine, but its certainly not a bad one.

[guitar man]

34. yes it is

I've been with her for almost 20 years now and have watched her struggle. She is plenty intelligent and has learned how to be very crafty because of it, but she has certainly learned to laugh in the face of it. She often transposes words in the middle of a sentence and sometimes the result is unintentionally hilarious. When she realizes what she said sometimes she will just howl with laughter as will I, along with her. :D

[msongs]

2. sounds like he is qualified to be secretary of education nt

[Oregone]

3. LOL

Can he dunk?

[KamaAina]

4. Actually, Arne's game is built around his jumper

:P

[madfloridian]

5. We were told not to use the term dyslexic. Called it SLD or learning disabled.

In reality whatever you call it the child has to be normal or above intelligence to even be considered.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[madfloridian]

13. I don't know why. That is what we as teachers were told..

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. Because the word is being misused

In reality you make a good point though. I am going to help a student learn to read regardless of what label is placed upon him/her.

But if you are literate enough to read and write legibly you probably aren't really dyslexic.

[LWolf]

53. Misuse:

There are many kinds of visual processing problems that can result in being diagnosed with a learning disability.

Dyslexia is one specific kind of processing problem, but the term is often used as a general catch-all for others.

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. Dyslexia is actually a very rare medical condition

And since educators are not doctors, we can't label students as dyslexic. Most often, they have a learning disability in reading.

I have taught sped for 17 years and have had only one student who was dyslexic.

[bobbolink]

56. Thank you for explaining this.

Question: In the movie Erin Brockovich, she is portrayed as dyslexic, and obviously she worked really hard to overcome her reading problems.

Would you be able to say if you think she was dyslexic, or that maybe it was misused in her case?

In any case, she fascinated me with her diligence.

[proud2BlibKansan]

64. Yes she probably has a learning disability in reading

But I seriously doubt she is really dyslexic. Most true dyslexics can't read or write above a very primary level. And it is very rare.

[bobbolink]

67. Thanks for explaining that. From the "extras" with the dvd, I really admired what

she had worked to overcome.

[proud2BlibKansan]

68. The disabled have many gifts

Think of Helen Keller and her enormous talents.

[bobbolink]

69. Absolutely! My fave quote of all times......

The Gift of the Poor
The people with the best sense of what is essential to a community, of what gives and maintains its spirit, are often doing very humble, manual tasks. It is often the poorest person - the one who has a handicap or who is ill or old - who is the most prophetic. People who carry responsibility must be close to them and know what they think, because it is often they who are free enough to see with the greatest clarity the needs, beauty and pain of the community.
- Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, p. 262

[proud2BlibKansan]

70. Wow. That's beautiful.

Thanks.

[bobbolink]

71. Yeah, he's been my favorite author for over 20 years.

That book, Community and Growth, is my bible, and I subscribe to his daily email.

He is the founder of the L'Arche communities.

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/larche/

And, here is a well-known author, who was a member of Vanier's community:

"Bridging the Gap Between People

To become neighbours is to bridge the gap between people. As long as there is distance between us and we cannot look in each other's eyes, all sorts of false ideas and images arise. We give them names, make jokes about them, cover them with our prejudices, and avoid direct contact. We think of them as enemies. We forget that they love as we love, care for their children as we care for ours, become sick and die as we do. We forget that they are our brothers and sisters and treat them as objects that can be destroyed at will.

Only when we have the courage to cross the street and look in one another's eyes can we see there that we are children of the same God and members of the same human family."

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

[KamaAina]

6. This is exactly what I was talking about the other day

Accommodations MUST be offered to students with disabilities. It's not just a good idea, it's the law. Specifically, IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and the ADA (whose 20th anniversary is Monday!).

Is FL one of those states (like HI) where they just don't seem to realize that this applies to them??

[madfloridian]

41. Yes I remember our discussion.

I was not sure what accommodations were made. Looks like only extended time frame is allowed. It really upsets me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. They do offer accommodations but they are limited more every year

When we first started this high stakes testing nonsense, we were allowed to excuse kids with severe learning disabilities and other disabilities from the testing. After a couple years, we had to test them all but we could read the test to them. Now we can't read the Reading test to them anymore. But they've never told us the kids can't read the test out loud to us so that's what I do. We are allowed to prompt them on one word per sentence. But I am sure that within a year or so we won't be allowed to do that anymore.

[Recursion]

7. I'm torn on this

I mean, we say that reading is a fundamental skill that every student has to be able to do to be "qualified" or whatever. Certainly for most jobs you need to be able to read. But not everyone can read. It's not their fault. It doesn't mean their lazy. But the fact remains that some very bright people still can't read, and however bright they are it's going to be a problem down the line for them.

If we have tests that are supposed to more or less gauge a student's ability to do tasks we expect of a fully functioning citizen (I'm not sure if that's why we should have tests, but it seems to be the dominant narrative) then, well, somebody who needs a test read out to them is simply less able to do one of those tasks (ie, read a written passage and understand it) than someone who doesn't -- even if that same student would comprehend the spoken passage better than I could comprehend the written one.

What do we do with a smart student who has a disability that keeps him or her from reading? Or doing math? If the test gauges actual ability levels, and reading is an ability we care about gauging, shouldn't the results reflect that? If not, why are we gauging reading in the first place? Why not just have the passage read to the whole class?

If a test is a metric of a student's capabilities in various tasks, and a student's disability prevents him or her from doing that task effectively, isn't it a problem if the test doesn't reflect that?

It's why it's so stupid to have these tests be make-or-break. Obviously we need to do something so a bright dyslexic kid isn't shut out of school. But if we're going to have tests at all (and I'm not convinced we should in the first place), it also would seem perverse if they didn't reflect the disability the kid does have.

[madfloridian]

8. I am not torn at all. A single test dictating everything?

My mind is completely made up that we are on the path to an education in which there is no allowance for creativity or differences in learning.

But then it is your right to be confused.

[Recursion]

9. I'm not torn at all about a single test dictating everything

I thought I made that clear (apparently I would fail a writing test).

[madfloridian]

12. This statement:

"If a test is a metric of a student's capabilities in various tasks, and a student's disability prevents him or her from doing that task effectively, isn't it a problem if the test doesn't reflect that?"

If a child can't read, and many learning disabled truly can not....they can't take the test that would reflect that unless it is read to them.

I have taught so many children with such severe problems in one area, but who were still able to function well in society if given a chance.....that I assumed people would understand.

Apparently my writing skills are lacking.

[Recursion]

22. Or we're writing around each other

If a child can't read, and many learning disabled truly can not....they can't take the test that would reflect that unless it is read to them.

My argument is something like this:

If the purpose of the test is to gauge a student's ability to comprehend a written document, then the student can take that test, but will fail it.

Maybe that's not the purpose of the test. Maybe the purpose of the test is to gauge a student's ability to understand a passage in English, whether written or spoken. But if we actually care about their ability to read physically written texts (and a lot of people do -- like I said however bright someone who cannot read written text is, that disability is going to be a huge problem for them getting a job, going to college, etc.), then having a student read to measures a different skill, one we for whatever reason decided we weren't as interested in measuring.

If we didn't attach such ridiculously dire consequences to "failing" a test (I put "fail" in quotes because it's a silly way to look at it: you accurately measured your ability to read, or do math, or whatever; it succeeded in that), this wouldn't be such a problem.

[madfloridian]

24. There are many sections to the test. None are allowed to be read.

Which is very sad.

[Recursion]

26. I totally agree all the *CATs are stupid tests

If that is getting lost in the noise here I want to make that clear.

[madfloridian]

27. Thanks.

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. I can read the tests out loud to my kids

Not the Reading test. But we are allowed to read all other subject area tests out loud to them.

[madfloridian]

50. It should be that way.

In fact on reading comprehension, it should be allowed to be read to certain special ed.

[bobbolink]

16. What about spelling? Is that an important skill that willl qualify or disqualify people?

"It doesn't mean their lazy."

[Recursion]

25. Of course it is, and when I type quickly I'm a horrible speller

So if there were some test to judge someone's ability to accurately type quickly, I would do badly.

[bobbolink]

28. So you have a small, a VERY small, taste of this kind of nonsense.

[Recursion]

31. What nonsense?

I would do badly on it because I do badly at the skill it measures. That's important to know. That's a test's job. What's "nonsense" about that? I do a lot of programming so typing accuracy is important; if I have a problem at that (and I do) it's something I and my educators would need to know.

[bobbolink]

33. The nonsense (and tragedy) of being totally left-brained.

[Oregone]

20. "to do tasks we expect of a fully functioning citizen"

My father remains severely dyslexic and struggles to read just about anything. He has owned and operator his own businesses for 4 decades, employing many other fully functioning citizens. During this time, he has innovated, invented, created incredible art, earned great recognition in his field, and amassed millions utilizing his talents. Id take a gander that he is a "fully functioning citizen" (whatever the fuck that really means).

I can only say Im glad a test didn't mark him as a moron at an early age, work to take money away from his school and teacher for failing him, threw him into an educational caste-system, and created a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. Though, I imagine it would of been nice if his special needs were recognized and sufficiently met at that time.

[madfloridian]

10. The unrecs are fast and furious. The zero tolerance has taken hold.

We are now officially in one size fits all mode.

:shrug:

You know what? These are children, they are not little robots that can be programmed. Yet we are falling for this crap all the time now.

The word accountability used to mean something...now it does not.

It used to have depth of meaning, now it is a catch phrase for education reformers.

[BuelahWitch]

14. It's sad that people would unrec a post about helping the learning disabled

Just because they feel it puts their hero in a bad light. Very immature.

[TommyO]

15. I can't understand how anybody could unrec this thread

[madfloridian]

21. I could see it was in less than zero territory...

when I put it in my journal.

I expect them when I post, just because of what I post about. But this is about a kid who is crying because he is different.

And that is what the "reformers" won't admit....they no longer allow for differences.

I understand the unrecs, but it makes me sad.

[bobbolink]

17. I regret that I have but one recommendation to give.

This story tears at my heart, and it is demonstrating clearly how far DU has deteriorated that so many would be so heartless as to unrec this thread.

SHAME!

[lpbk2713]

18. They are our greatest resource.

Just FYI: I gave this a rec when it said 4. After I recced it 4 was still displayed.
Some a-hole thought this was worthy of an unrec.

[madfloridian]

38. Before it leveled out....

I saw 5 happen before my eyes. I think for some now it is an automatic thing.

[Mariana]

19. My daughter, who hasn't the slightest hint of a learning disability,

is very bright, AND tests very well, used to become physically sick from the stress before test day in Texas. It was deliberately exacerbated by the school faculty. They went on for weeks telling these LITTLE KIDS how very important this test was, and how if they didn't do well they'd be letting their teachers and their fellow students down. I can't even imagine what it's like for a kid who has difficulty on account of a disability.

Fuck these tests. They're bad for everyone.

[LibertyLover]

32. I dread this year of school -

my daughter will be going into 3rd grade and for the first time has to take the MCAT. This past year, as a 2nd grader she was made to go out and cheer the 3rd graders on as they filed into the room to take the test. She was very upset about that and I don't want to think about how the stress the school lays on prior to the test will affect her. It's disgusting. I really wish NCLB would be terminated.

[madfloridian]

35. Yes, they have those test pep rallies here also. It is sickening.

They even have cheers they do at some schools about the FCAT. Principals have their heads shaved in rallies, they get dunked in water, some allow students to throw food on them.

[bobbolink]

39. Those are all facets of the corporate "Positive Thinking" sickness.

Barbara Ehrenreich did a good job covering that in "Bright-Sided". A damned good read.

[madfloridian]

42. Yes, I hear she did a great job.

I have not ordered it yet, but plan to do so.

[bobbolink]

52. On education, she focused on the college-level. Obviously, she could have said a lot more

about elementary and secondary level, from what you are reporting.

At least by reading what she has detailed, we can recognize it whenever we come across it.

This is soooo sad.

[LWolf]

54. Most of us would like to see the end of high-stakes testing.

That's what leads to the attention focused on tests and the pressure put on students; if they DON'T score well enough to make AYP, the whole school is threatened.

Unfortunately, the pressure is being increased under the new administration.

[Starry Messenger]

36. k & r

[madfloridian]

37. FYI a student had to have an above average/gifted range IQ to be considered.

To be in special education classes as Specific Language Disabled, another term for dyslexia, a high score on an IQ test was a requirement for further testing.

Often these are students which so much to offer, but they can not present their case in written form.

In our area the IQ requirement was 130 which is borderline high average/gifted.

Just saying.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. Are you sure about that?

The national standard that has been adopted by every state I know of requires an IQ in the average range (85 to 115) and a discrepancy in achievement. In my state it's 21 points. So if a student has an IQ of 100, he/she has to have a standard score of 79 or lower on an achievement test to be considered to have a learning disability.

[madfloridian]

49. Yes, I am sure. It was on the IQ test.

Not the extended testing. I believe they used the (correct me if am wrong..been a while) Stanford Binet for the initial IQ then would refer for further testing if it reached 130.

I had it round and round with guidance and testing folks over the stupidity of it.

I don't know the present policy, but I know what it was then.

[proud2BlibKansan]

51. It's not just stupid, it's a violation of federal standards

[madfloridian]

40. A homeless gifted student worries about her test scores.

More from the Herald.

" ``It worries me not to know my FCAT grade,'' whispered 11-year-old Riccy. ``This has been a tough year for me because we lost our home and we had to live in a shelter for three months. If I get a low grade, it affects me, my confidence drops and I don't like it.''

In Florida, a student's annual performance is judged by one single test on one single day. But that specific day Riccy was living with her family at a Salvation Army shelter.

Riccy is a gifted student and senses that the emotional turbulence of her current lifestyle could be reflected in her FCAT scores. Thousands of the state's children have similar experiences or special needs, and the anxiety created by the results of a test that can determine their future tends to exacerbate the tenuous situation they're going through.

This year, the anguish was compounded by the delay in the FCAT scores, which could also turn out to be inaccurate. Five school districts have found anomalies in the learning gain curves, which would affect the grade of several schools and, indirectly, their students' self-esteem.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/20/v-print/1737918/fcat-delays-also-weigh-heavily.html#ixzz0uLuGRzwP

[bobbolink]

72. Thank you very much for posting this!

This is so very upsetting.... I hope more people decide this needs action!

[Odin2005]

48. Jesus, that is just fucking CRIMINAL!

:grr:

[LWolf]

59. I wish it were.

I wish it were up to teachers what to assess, how to assess, and how often to assess students. Based on the needs and goals of the student.

And, even more, the high-stakes need to be removed. Assessment does not have to be stressful, and it isn't, when there is no threat attached, and when the content and format is appropriate to the student.

Instead, it's not only not criminal, it's the highest law of the land in public schools.

[Odin2005]

62. Agreed.

Being someone with a disability (Asperger's Syndrome) I'm thankful I graduated in 2004, before the worst of this BS started.

[LWolf]

66. Asperger's is beginning to be more widely recognized,

and better served, but we still have so far to go. I've served, and advocated for over their time in our school. My very first was a young boy I worked with K-5. He did a good job schooling me about how to best help him, and those like him, find success, and I still miss him and remember him with love.

Our students are people. Children, or adolescents, or young adults, average, gifted, or disabled (or both,) the current policies are not serving them well. :(

[LWolf]

55. I'm thinking about the celebrations we had this year

for a few of my students with learning disabilities in the area of reading and writing.

Some of them actually met the benchmark on the standardized tests.

The biggest celebrations, though, were for the successes of some who didn't.

They never will. Their disabilities are severe enough that they need more accomodations than are allowed on standardized tests.

But they grew MORE than most of the rest of their class. That's not failing.

[madfloridian]

57. Students with a learning disability were among the most interesting I taught.

The class would cheer for their small victories as if they were their own. I learned from teaching them.

[LWolf]

58. Yes.

People are individuals. They are not standardized. Success in a classroom happens one person at a time, and is determined by individual, personal benchmarks.

[sabrina 1]

60. So many children are going to suffer as a result of this ignorant

notion that you can educate children by testing. I have had brilliant students also who had some minor learning disability which made taking tests very difficult for them.

The politicians and businessmen who are running the educational system are actually participating, maybe unwittingly, or uncaringly, in abuse.

There are also children who can read anything, sometimes starting as early as three years old, but cannot comprehend what they are reading and need very skilled teaching to help them over that hurdle. They too will be harmed by this insane testing mania.

I could list so many different kinds of issues that will cause children to fail under the cynically named NCLB.

Businessmen should not be in charge of educating children. All they can do is cause harm. Education should be left up to educators.

Most famous educators believed that children should not be tested at all until at least the third grade. They should be TAUGHT. My European friends who are teachers in private schools eg, are not required to test students until they are at least nine years old. They test very well at that point, because they KNOW THE MATERIAL and way more than any test requires them to know. Children with LD are accomodated as to how best they can be tested.

Testing is not teaching but how would Arne Duncan know that, or care if he did? He needs to be removed and the whole educational system needs to be saved from both his and Bush's interference.

[madfloridian]

61. A very strong AMEN to all you said.

:applause:

[sabrina 1]

65. Thank you, and thank you for keeping this issue

visible. Most teachers I know have either quit or are heartsick at they are required to put their students through.

[Odin2005]

63. +1,000,000,000,000

:applause:

[Jefferson23]

73. What a shame. I hope his parents explain to him who the know nothings really are.

This kind of bullshit angers me.