PALS and failing to meet 2nd grade benchmarks

[Anonymous]

Our child did not meet the reading benchmarks. We know she struggles with reading, but she has been improving and I assumed she was getting on track. Report card mentions that she didn't meet the PALS benchmarks and now I'm wondering what I should be doing. Anyone else go through this and have advice? She didn't bomb the test and generally she seems to be catching on to reading, but now I'm questioning whether I should be trying to get a tutor or some sort of intervention to jump start the process. Any advice, especially based on personal experience, would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I would request the school do testing -- if you don't agree with the results or think something else is going on, you can also do your own testing with an independent psychologist. But I would start with the school.

I would not wait. The earlier you can get your child help, the better for them.

[Anonymous]

What school district is this?

[Anonymous]

Talk to the teacher and ask specifically what areas she is having trouble with? Decoding? Comprehension?

[Anonymous]

Are you APS or LCPS? FCPS uses the DRA.

[Anonymous]

LCPS

[Anonymous]

Is she getting pulled for extra help in reading with the reading specialist?

[Anonymous]

The PALS test is a rather easy test compared to the DRA. I would look into extra help.

[Anonymous]

google warning signs of dyslexia bright solutions. google LCPS dyslexia SEAC. Request in writing a psychological /educational evaluation stating you suspect your dd may have a learning disability. Start there and let us know what you learn.

[Anonymous]

If you ask for an evaluation, go to wrightslaw.com first to see what you need to do and request.

[girljoe]

I am both an educator and a parent, so here is my take on your situation from both those perspectives.

First as an educator. Children naturally develop at different rates. Our school systems do not take this into account; they lump everyone into one category and there you have benchmarks. I have seen may completely normally developing children fail to meet standards at lower grades only to catch up and go beyond their peers in the coming years. I have seen parents patiently wait for their children to master skills and I have seen parents panic and pursue testing, tutoring, etc. to the extent it became unhealthy for the child. There is a balance between these two extremes. As an educator I would encourage you to discuss your child's situation with her teacher. Her teacher is your best source of information. Testing is great, but the everyday behaviors your child exhibits are more informative than tests and it is the teacher (if this is indeed a quality teacher) that will observe these behaviors. I also caution you about googling symptoms of learning disabilities. It is oh so easy to misdiagnose. That is why professionals study, intern and earn degrees to be able to diagnose learning disabilities.

Now as a parent. My daughter struggled with reading. Struggled!!! She is exceptionally smart, high IQ scores, performed well in all other subjects, had no behavior problems .... she was a model student but was so, so, so slow to read. By 2nd grade I thought I would pull my hair out when it was time to read with her. It was so painful. Her teacher kept telling me it is all a matter of practice. For the love of learning! I'm an educator! I know that! But this is MY kid! Turns out her teacher was right. It was a matter of practice. By 3rd grade she was reading at grade level and by the time she entered middle school she was far, far above grade level and had became a voracious reader. I just couldn't buy enough books for her. What made the difference for her was motivation. We got her a small pocket pet and she started reading to her pocket pet. That poor little animal heard every story in the library. Twice. I also read to both of them sometimes and she would follow along. So the combination of practice and observing my reading did the trick. So my advice as a parent is to see if there is something you can do to increase your child's reading practice, to model reading behaviors, to try to stay calm (which is so hard when other parents are telling you to do something and do it now) and continually consult with your child's teacher.

I hope this helps. I will pray for guidance for you because I know from experience this is a difficult parenting task you are facing.

[Anonymous]

girljoe wrote:I am both an educator and a parent, so here is my take on your situation from both those perspectives.

First as an educator. Children naturally develop at different rates. Our school systems do not take this into account; they lump everyone into one category and there you have benchmarks. I have seen may completely normally developing children fail to meet standards at lower grades only to catch up and go beyond their peers in the coming years. I have seen parents patiently wait for their children to master skills and I have seen parents panic and pursue testing, tutoring, etc. to the extent it became unhealthy for the child. There is a balance between these two extremes. As an educator I would encourage you to discuss your child's situation with her teacher. Her teacher is your best source of information. Testing is great, but the everyday behaviors your child exhibits are more informative than tests and it is the teacher (if this is indeed a quality teacher) that will observe these behaviors. I also caution you about googling symptoms of learning disabilities. It is oh so easy to misdiagnose. That is why professionals study, intern and earn degrees to be able to diagnose learning disabilities.

Now as a parent. My daughter struggled with reading. Struggled!!! She is exceptionally smart, high IQ scores, performed well in all other subjects, had no behavior problems .... she was a model student but was so, so, so slow to read. By 2nd grade I thought I would pull my hair out when it was time to read with her. It was so painful. Her teacher kept telling me it is all a matter of practice. For the love of learning! I'm an educator! I know that! But this is MY kid! Turns out her teacher was right. It was a matter of practice. By 3rd grade she was reading at grade level and by the time she entered middle school she was far, far above grade level and had became a voracious reader. I just couldn't buy enough books for her. What made the difference for her was motivation. We got her a small pocket pet and she started reading to her pocket pet. That poor little animal heard every story in the library. Twice. I also read to both of them sometimes and she would follow along. So the combination of practice and observing my reading did the trick. So my advice as a parent is to see if there is something you can do to increase your child's reading practice, to model reading behaviors, to try to stay calm (which is so hard when other parents are telling you to do something and do it now) and continually consult with your child's teacher.

I hope this helps. I will pray for guidance for you because I know from experience this is a difficult parenting task you are facing.

Thank you. This calms my nerves!

[Anonymous]

Researching signs of dyslexia and making a call for further evaluation isn't "panicking". Dyslexia affects around 15% of the population so in an average elementary school class 1-2 children will have dyslexia.

The bright solutions videos PP mentioned are a good resource geared towards parents to understand warning signs of dyslexia. It isn't intended to diagnose, only a comprehensive evaluation can do that, but it can give parents an idea of whether they should "wait it out" or take the next step and start testing. Early diagnosis is extremely important for dyslexia since kids with dyslexia fall further and further behind without intervention.

Even if OPs DC doesn't have a LD, requesting testing through the school can result in getting her extra reading instruction.

[Anonymous]

OP, we are also going through this with our 2nd grader. We're in Montgomery County though. Our DD progresses, but not fast enough. We've had a tutor and just had our first EMT meeting yesterday. The school and us have decided on further testing. I would recommend that route. This is the perfect time to get a tutor and request the testing. You don't want this to slip into second grade, where it becomes an even bigger problem than it is now. Good luck!

[girljoe]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. This calms my nerves!

I am so happy to help. I know it is hard to stay calm because this is your child we're discussing, but do be calm because that will definitely help.