Testing mom?
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Anonymous
I had never prepared DC for iready or any other test because it didn't make sense to get them prepared. On the first iready of last year, DC scored xxx with 95th percentile. On the second iready of last year, DC scored very close to xxx with 70th percentile. DC mentioned they were not taught a lot of things asked on the test in the class. That indicated that other kids in the class knew the concepts in advance. With enrichment classes, none of these tests have remained equal for everyone. The least I can do this time is to make DC a little prepared with the type of questions. Not much time left anyway though before the first test of this year. |
Anonymous
... but why? Look, the first test and second test in a given school year cover the exact same content. The fact that the score barely budged suggests three possibilities, all of which may very well be true: a) first test was on a "good" day for him b) second test was on a "bad" day for him c) he learned very little additional content that year. That latter being possible for a child coming in at 95th percent who isn't getting much in the way of education in the tested material, either self-directed or from parents, or who gets ignored by the school because they're trying to shore up the performance of worse students, or because learning things is contrary to whatever dumb educational practices are being implemented by the teacher, or because there was a lot of disruption in class. Don't waste time on supplementing iReady in particular, spend your time teaching your kid his multiplication tables. |
Anonymous
Stop blaming "enrichment classes." Not every student who is accelerated has been taking outside classes to get ahead. A LOT of families are spending quality study time with their kids teaching them new things and reinforcing previously learned things. For example, tons of kids learn decimal math at home before its taught in school because they see it in their day to day lives and ssk their parents what it means. Good parents take the time to teach them. Half the kids in my DC's class already could understand decimals before the teacher got around to it, and our school does not have a Kumon culture. If your kids are curious and ask you about things they havent yet learned in school, why wouldnt you explain it to them? You expect parents of curious kids to say "No Larla I can't teach you anything before your classmates learn it from the teacher because it will throw off the i-Ready percentiles." |
Anonymous
First, I don't see a reason for lashing out at all. A child learning at home solely based on curiosity and parents spending time to answer questions is great but not at the same level as structured enrichment classes that are specifically designed to get the child one to two levels up. Unless of course if the child is Isaac Newton from birth, then that's a different story. There is no blame game with enrichment classes. They are absolutely fantastic and helpful. For those who can't afford or those whose children already have too many activities such as swimming, sports going more than 4 times a week, adding one more class is not a healthy idea at that young age. For that category of children, it is important that they get some familiarity with the types of questions asked on tests in the school. These tests may seem really small to some people but their outcomes directly or indirectly shape a lot of things in the students' near future. |
Anonymous
| Some of us started enrichment classes because the school work is not challenging for our kids. DS did not start RSM until 4th grade. He has asked to return every year since because he likes the challenge. |
Anonymous
| I believe that the iReady is nationally normed so the number of kids taking outside classes shouldn’t be large enough to influence other kids percentiles in FCPS. |
Anonymous
Whatever you need to tell yourself to feel better. Outside classes are only a part of the "problem" with big chunks of a class being ahead of grade level. Academically enriched home environments are the main cause. If your family is prioritizing other activities, that's fine, but don't kid yourself that it's just the rich pushing their kids ahead by paying for outside tutoring outside the home. Weekend homeschooling is a thing. |
Anonymous
iReady is an adaptive test that tests on a range of material including some that is well above grade level. As a PP said, it is nationally normed. A drop from 95th to 70th percentile is huge, especially if the 2nd test is over the winter and not the spring (some schools test only twice not thrice a year). At 95th percentile, your DC knew some of the above-grade material. At 70th percentile, your DC, I'd guess, knew significantly less of the above-grade material and their mastery of at-grade material has gone down. Were you given the long or short form of the iReady results? I would request and study the long form thoroughly to see what's up. I'm not a big fan of testing, but it was helpful and reinforced what I suspected was going on with our DD's math progress - she went from high 90s percentile (fall) to 81st percentile (spring, no winter test). We had just moved and I was not feeling good about how she was learning math. I started working with her in math outside of school and her percentiles are back up to the high 90s again, but more importantly, I can tell she has a much better grasp of the concepts. |