Failing the SOL- what happens?

[Anonymous]

PP stated above “the next year found out child was being placed in special ed pull out for math”
That simply cannot happen without the IEP process which the parent is an integral part of. PP wasn’t talking about retake remediation.

There there are actually a number of accommodations available for sped students:
Small group or individual testing
Read aloud for math tests
(RARE) read-aloud for reading
Math aids for the math test (real money, hundreds chart, base ten blocks, graph paper)
Frequent breaks during the tests, every X questions
Specific prompts to cue attention and focus
Repeated instructions

I’m a current teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC failed a math SOL in ES. Do not count on FCPS to do anything! We didn't find out until Summer. The next year found out child was being placed in special ed pull out for math. Child had no documented issue and school did not test. We then decided to find her a tutor to evaluate and work to get back on grade level. Best thing we ever did!! Stayed with a tutor through ES. Child ended up taking calculus senior year! FCPS is a good school system, but you cannot count on it to help your child if there is no documented issue. Special ed pull out was not the way to go as there would be not accommodations at the next years SOL.

If you child failed by more than a few questions, they do not notify you until summer because the student does not qualify for a re-take. Yes, the special ed pull out for math was to remediate since the child failed by enough that they did not think it was just a fluke. What accommodations would you even want for the next SOL exactly? Special Ed kids don't get accomdations for SOLs other than the test can spread out for more days.

In your case, sounds like the school did exactly what they should have done-provide remediation and extra support. Good for you for hiring a tutor. Not everyone can afford that, but even those who can afford it sometimes won't. The SOL test let you know your child had struggles. If it were not for the test, you might not have hired help. Well done school and parent.

There is a lot of misinformation here. If your child fails with a score below 376, they can not retake. Only scores from 375-399 are eligible to retake after some remediation. Your child would never be “placed” in special education pull out without your permission, not to mention an IEP. Additionally, there are various accommodations for students with IEPs, which vary depending on the specific disability.

Typically students who fail are tracked to receive interventions the following year (not necessarily special education services). And also possibly additional test preparation help prior to the next year’s test. For example, looking at the questions before reading the passage, using proof paper in math, etc.

I don't see any misinformation and I taught. Often those getting remediation are indeed with the special ed students. it doesn't mean they suddenly get an IEP and are labeled special education, but remediation is for those who fail-both those in special ed and those in regular ed. Also, keep in mind a lot of special ed students pass and some get pass advanced so those kids aren't getting remediation.

375-399 basically just means the kid missed passing by roughly 1-3 questions.

There are few accommodations available for the SOL unless you are willing to have your kid do the ped and paper test and even with that there is not a laundry list-just a few options.

PP, as a current teacher, I want to clarify. A score of 399 is missing by 1 question. A score of 375 is a completely different story. That could be 8-10 questions, depending on the test and subject matter.

I also disagree with your assessment that remediation is reserved for special ed students. That just isn't true in my school district and the two contiguous districts. Students with IEPs and 504s may be getting their own remediation with Special Ed teachers; however, students without IEPs and 504s definitely are getting remediation with instructional specialists. This is becoming more and more important with the growth model and schools definitely are making a move to improve supports for students with low skills because the benefit to the school can be so great.

I also think it is important to distinguish between remediation and intervention. A lot of folks use the terms interchangeably but the meaning within a school system can mean quite different things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC failed a math SOL in ES. Do not count on FCPS to do anything! We didn't find out until Summer. The next year found out child was being placed in special ed pull out for math. Child had no documented issue and school did not test. We then decided to find her a tutor to evaluate and work to get back on grade level. Best thing we ever did!! Stayed with a tutor through ES. Child ended up taking calculus senior year! FCPS is a good school system, but you cannot count on it to help your child if there is no documented issue. Special ed pull out was not the way to go as there would be not accommodations at the next years SOL.

If you child failed by more than a few questions, they do not notify you until summer because the student does not qualify for a re-take. Yes, the special ed pull out for math was to remediate since the child failed by enough that they did not think it was just a fluke. What accommodations would you even want for the next SOL exactly? Special Ed kids don't get accomdations for SOLs other than the test can spread out for more days.

In your case, sounds like the school did exactly what they should have done-provide remediation and extra support. Good for you for hiring a tutor. Not everyone can afford that, but even those who can afford it sometimes won't. The SOL test let you know your child had struggles. If it were not for the test, you might not have hired help. Well done school and parent.

There is a lot of misinformation here. If your child fails with a score below 376, they can not retake. Only scores from 375-399 are eligible to retake after some remediation. Your child would never be “placed” in special education pull out without your permission, not to mention an IEP. Additionally, there are various accommodations for students with IEPs, which vary depending on the specific disability.

Typically students who fail are tracked to receive interventions the following year (not necessarily special education services). And also possibly additional test preparation help prior to the next year’s test. For example, looking at the questions before reading the passage, using proof paper in math, etc.

I don't see any misinformation and I taught. Often those getting remediation are indeed with the special ed students. it doesn't mean they suddenly get an IEP and are labeled special education, but remediation is for those who fail-both those in special ed and those in regular ed. Also, keep in mind a lot of special ed students pass and some get pass advanced so those kids aren't getting remediation.

375-399 basically just means the kid missed passing by roughly 1-3 questions.

There are few accommodations available for the SOL unless you are willing to have your kid do the ped and paper test and even with that there is not a laundry list-just a few options.

PP, as a current teacher, I want to clarify. A score of 399 is missing by 1 question. A score of 375 is a completely different story. That could be 8-10 questions, depending on the test and subject matter.

I also disagree with your assessment that remediation is reserved for special ed students. That just isn't true in my school district and the two contiguous districts. Students with IEPs and 504s may be getting their own remediation with Special Ed teachers; however, students without IEPs and 504s definitely are getting remediation with instructional specialists. This is becoming more and more important with the growth model and schools definitely are making a move to improve supports for students with low skills because the benefit to the school can be so great.

I also think it is important to distinguish between remediation and intervention. A lot of folks use the terms interchangeably but the meaning within a school system can mean quite different things.

Interesting about the scores. If you look at old SOLs a difference between 375 and 400 seems to be just a few questions, but I assume with the CAT it is now different? I think every school does it differently with remediation (in other words helping someone catch up and fill in gaps) and I noticed even year to year our school does it differently. It is usually at our school just a small number who fail. They are grouped together sometimes in a morning work group and that usually consists of those speced kids who failed and those regular ed kids who failed. A number of the special ed kids do pass, but sometimes if they had a low pass, like say 400 or 425, they may join that group the following year to fill in gaps. Often these groups at our school are pull-out groups. They are not called "pull-out special ed" because they are not limited to special ed.

[Anonymous]

PP, I think it depends on the test. I just went to the VDOE website and looked at 4 different 2014 released tests for math. The difference, within the re-take eligible band of 374-399, was 6 questions. So that is a maximum of 6 questions to go from not passing to passing. I did not look at reading or any other subjects. While it sounds like it would be easy to remediate 6 questions, teachers are not given the direct question, only the standard with a slight indication of the concept missed.

I agree that schools seem to do their remediation differently. It is still a new process for all of us and we're all working hard to get the best fit. At our school we've found that the process is dramatically impeded when we have a new administrator. It is unfortunate but it is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Recently, my child has failed an Sol. But they are in middle school. What happens then? Any after school activities or additional help or Something? It was the math Sol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently, my child has failed an Sol. But they are in middle school. What happens then? Any after school activities or additional help or Something? It was the math Sol

It varies by school, but I think they are required to do something, just not sure what the minimum criteria is. Call and ask of your child will be getting any remediation. If not, find out county regulations. i think part of "no child left behind" is you can't just ignore when a student fails a standardized test.

[Anonymous]

My DD failed the SOL this year. Because she failed the reading SOL by a narrow margin, we were notified immediately that she qualified for an automatic retake. She took it and passed after some special SOL prep class for two weeks. We found out that she also failed the math SOL but by a wider margin. She didn’t qualify for a retake and we only found out when scores were send home at the end of the year.

Seems odd to notify parents when a kid almost passes but now when a kid really bombs it.

FWIW DD is dyslexic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my kid failed the Reading SOL. Not by much, but failed nonetheless.

What happens in school? Do they track these kids differently? This is in elementary school.

What’s up with bumping all the VA public school threads? Bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD failed the SOL this year. Because she failed the reading SOL by a narrow margin, we were notified immediately that she qualified for an automatic retake. She took it and passed after some special SOL prep class for two weeks. We found out that she also failed the math SOL but by a wider margin. She didn’t qualify for a retake and we only found out when scores were send home at the end of the year.

Seems odd to notify parents when a kid almost passes but now when a kid really bombs it.

FWIW DD is dyslexic.

Does your daughter receive any support from the school for her dyslexia?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I'm a sophomore and I missed the 400 mark on the Chem. SOL by a few questions and my school offered me an expedited retake.

In HS, for kids who started 9th grade least year and before, kids need 7 verified credits for the Standard Diploma, and 9 for the Advanced. After this year, though, the requirements are being changed for kids who enter 9th grade next year and after. You only need 5 verified credits regardless of which diploma you choose to do.

Also, starting next year, you don't have to take unnecessary SOLs. For example: if you passed the Algebra 1 and Geometry SOLs in Freshman and Sophomore year, you don't have to take the Algebra 2 SOL in Junior year unless you want to, because you've already fulfilled the requirements for your math verified credits. Of course, for new 9th graders starting next year, they only have to take one math SOL since the only need 5 verified credits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the school in which I work, we do track student scores -- all student scores. They help us to make more informed decisions about instruction and intervention with specific kids. Even if your kid would retake and pass, she would still be on our "watch list" unless the pass score is significantly above the cut off.

As PP has alluded, this isn't a "bad" thing. It will ensure that she is given more attention in her area of need, whether that is reading support or test prep. Yes, it's sad that attention is given to test prep, but this is the reality of the public school society in which we take part.

Is it true that the kids are grouped by how they did and then distributed into classes for the next year? For example, each 5th grade class gets X number of kids who did very well and X number of kids who failed to balance things out? And then the classes are refined based on individual teacher skills and student needs as well as by students who can and can't be in class together?

[Anonymous]

Our elementary school put all of the kids who had failed an SOL together

[Anonymous]

Need to do away with, a child with Cerebral Palsy or any disability should not have to take just give them a regular diploma. Too much stress on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Need to do away with, a child with Cerebral Palsy or any disability should not have to take just give them a regular diploma. Too much stress on them.

That doesn't make sense. Every student earns the regular diploma, they don't just give them to some students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my kid failed the Reading SOL. Not by much, but failed nonetheless.

What happens in school? Do they track these kids differently? This is in elementary school.

Nothing. Nothing happens. They might give your child extra math pull outs, but they are not effective.

- Mom of a child who has failed the math SOL and the math SOL retake the past two years.