Accommodations not honored on PARCC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think 7th grader needs to get with the real world and stop treating him like a snowflake

You obviously have no experience with kids (or adults) who have a disability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

If this kid's IEP says he needs a small group, that means his doctor thinks that's best for him. There's clearly a medical reason for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

If this kid's IEP says he needs a small group, that means his doctor thinks that's best for him. There's clearly a medical reason for it.

OK but what could that medical reason be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

If this kid's IEP says he needs a small group, that means his doctor thinks that's best for him. There's clearly a medical reason for it.

OK but what could that medical reason be?

Ask a doctor. I don't know because I'm not a medical professional. Why are you questioning it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

If this kid's IEP says he needs a small group, that means his doctor thinks that's best for him. There's clearly a medical reason for it.

OK but what could that medical reason be?

Ask a doctor. I don't know because I'm not a medical professional. Why are you questioning it?

Small group testing is usually an accommodation for students who are easily distracted or have extended time. It doesn't have to be a medical reason. My DD in college gets to take her tests in a testing room in the student disabilities office where each student gets their own carrel to sit in. She says it helps her a lot because she has ADHD and gets distracted taking tests in large lecture halls plus if a student gets extended time they need to be in a separate room during testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

If this kid's IEP says he needs a small group, that means his doctor thinks that's best for him. There's clearly a medical reason for it.

OK but what could that medical reason be?

Ask a doctor. I don't know because I'm not a medical professional. Why are you questioning it?

Small group testing is usually an accommodation for students who are easily distracted or have extended time. It doesn't have to be a medical reason. My DD in college gets to take her tests in a testing room in the student disabilities office where each student gets their own carrel to sit in. She says it helps her a lot because she has ADHD and gets distracted taking tests in large lecture halls plus if a student gets extended time they need to be in a separate room during testing.

I don't mean to offend, but if your daughter has ADHD, then isn't her accommodation derived from a medical reason?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

If this kid's IEP says he needs a small group, that means his doctor thinks that's best for him. There's clearly a medical reason for it.

OK but what could that medical reason be?

Ask a doctor. I don't know because I'm not a medical professional. Why are you questioning it?

For my general knowledge since it doesn't make sense to me. I'd have the same reaction if I were told about an IEP that said they could only take tests on Tuesday and Thursdays but not on Mondays, Wednesday or Fridays.

Anyway, a subsequent poster gave a good explanation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think 7th grader needs to get with the real world and stop treating him like a snowflake

This, at some point a race has to be run and you can’t IEP slow away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think 7th grader needs to get with the real world and stop treating him like a snowflake

This, at some point a race has to be run and you can’t IEP slow away

For some kids (like mine) school isn’t a race with winners and losers. He’s not competing against your kid for slots at Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.
He’s just trying to learn the material and show what he knows with a brain that doesn’t work like everyone else’s.
Yeah, his schoolwork was slow- probably because his low muscle tone made handwriting difficult. That’s why the IEP team gave him “double time” on tests etc.

I’m happy for you that your kid is far and away ahead of mine. Really. I hope he/she goes far in life. But don’t begrudge my kid the things that help him get through school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think 7th grader needs to get with the real world and stop treating him like a snowflake

This, at some point a race has to be run and you can’t IEP slow away

The brain doesn't finish developing until early 20s, with major rearrangement in the early teens. The purpose of accommodations is to provide supports during this time period with goal of independence by the time brain is done. You don't tell a late walker to get with the program and just walk already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade child is supposed to be in a small testing group but for the last two days he has been in a PARCC testing group of more than 30 students. All of the students have small group testing accommodation and some of the kids are huge behavior problems. Who do I contact about accommodations not being honored?

Can someone explain why the size of the testing group matters? What is the difference between taking a test with 4 other kids in the room or with 30 other kids in the room?

If this kid's IEP says he needs a small group, that means his doctor thinks that's best for him. There's clearly a medical reason for it.

OK but what could that medical reason be?

Ask a doctor. I don't know because I'm not a medical professional. Why are you questioning it?

Small group testing is usually an accommodation for students who are easily distracted or have extended time. It doesn't have to be a medical reason. My DD in college gets to take her tests in a testing room in the student disabilities office where each student gets their own carrel to sit in. She says it helps her a lot because she has ADHD and gets distracted taking tests in large lecture halls plus if a student gets extended time they need to be in a separate room during testing.

I don't mean to offend, but if your daughter has ADHD, then isn't her accommodation derived from a medical reason?

Psychiatric disorders such as ADHD are actually physical differences in brain functioning, so are definitely medical. However we still have this separation of mental versus physical, which is a very damaging holdover from olden days when we didn't know how the brain worked. This leads to all sorts of taboos and contempt for psychiatric patients which really should have disappeared by now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think 7th grader needs to get with the real world and stop treating him like a snowflake

This, at some point a race has to be run and you can’t IEP slow away

For some kids (like mine) school isn’t a race with winners and losers. He’s not competing against your kid for slots at Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.
He’s just trying to learn the material and show what he knows with a brain that doesn’t work like everyone else’s.
Yeah, his schoolwork was slow- probably because his low muscle tone made handwriting difficult. That’s why the IEP team gave him “double time” on tests etc.

I’m happy for you that your kid is far and away ahead of mine. Really. I hope he/she goes far in life. But don’t begrudge my kid the things that help him get through school.

People who haven’t dealt with the prospect of their kid not being able to graduate without the services and accommodations provided in an IEP just don’t get it. My son is perfectly capable of functioning well in a trade type of job. He’s not going to college. He’s not going to manage a business. But with a high school diploma, he was able to get full time work in a job that offers health insurance and paid sick leave. Without the services and accommodations, he’d likely be on public assistance. Trust me, he is anything but a snowflake. Nothing comes easy and he has worked harder for his job than kids that make it to Ivy League.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think 7th grader needs to get with the real world and stop treating him like a snowflake

This, at some point a race has to be run and you can’t IEP slow away

For some kids (like mine) school isn’t a race with winners and losers. He’s not competing against your kid for slots at Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.
He’s just trying to learn the material and show what he knows with a brain that doesn’t work like everyone else’s.
Yeah, his schoolwork was slow- probably because his low muscle tone made handwriting difficult. That’s why the IEP team gave him “double time” on tests etc.

I’m happy for you that your kid is far and away ahead of mine. Really. I hope he/she goes far in life. But don’t begrudge my kid the things that help him get through school.

People who haven’t dealt with the prospect of their kid not being able to graduate without the services and accommodations provided in an IEP just don’t get it. My son is perfectly capable of functioning well in a trade type of job. He’s not going to college. He’s not going to manage a business. But with a high school diploma, he was able to get full time work in a job that offers health insurance and paid sick leave. Without the services and accommodations, he’d likely be on public assistance. Trust me, he is anything but a snowflake. Nothing comes easy and he has worked harder for his job than kids that make it to Ivy League.

Amen! (I’m a counselor.)

[Anonymous]

Well, perhaps if we weren't making Pearson a monopoly and we respected the expertise of stellar teachers- AND we upped rigor across the board, we wouldn't have to worry about these tests.

Why can't people see that WE are offering to make money for these companies by selling our kids?