Closing the gap: how much progress should a student make in a year in special ed?

[Anonymous]

If my child is 2 years behind grade level in reading, is it reasonable to expect more than a year's growth with intervention? If not, he will always be behind. School says we can only expect a year's progress in one school year. At this rate, he will never pass grade level SOLs in reading and writing. Any thoughts or advice? He doesn't qualify for summer school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my child is 2 years behind grade level in reading, is it reasonable to expect more than a year's growth with intervention? If not, he will always be behind. School says we can only expect a year's progress in one school year. At this rate, he will never pass grade level SOLs in reading and writing. Any thoughts or advice? He doesn't qualify for summer school.

Many children make more than one year's progress over the course of a year with intervention, but it's not reasonable to expect them to learn at a faster rate than normal. What is reasonable is to expect that they not fall further behind. You may find that as the gaps in his learning fill in that he will surprise you because although he's being instructed on content 2 years below, he's being exposed to grade-level materials and some of that will absorb as his skills develop.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, this is impossible to answer as it depends on the individual student.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 6:14. This was also the subject of the recent Supreme Court decision -- it has to be more than minimal progress but I think "closing the gap" is not realistic. The purpose of Special Ed is not to catch a student up and reunify them with the class.

[Anonymous]

It is hard to tell without more information. My DC passes SOLs with a reader and a scribe.

In what grade is your DC now? What kinds of interventions is your DC currently getting both in school and out of school? What are the reading issues that your DC experiences?

[Anonymous]

Some students will close the gap if there is a key problem that is finally addressed. I wouldn't say it's typical but it can happen.

[Anonymous]

My dyslexic kid closed the gap and is now at grade level on average for reading - still well below in some skills, above in others. It took years of intensive private tutoring.

[Anonymous]

"Catching up" and not falling further behind are difficult when cognitive impairment is the issue. Otherwise, there isn't necessarily a ceiling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with 6:14. This was also the subject of the recent Supreme Court decision -- it has to be more than minimal progress but I think "closing the gap" is not realistic. The purpose of Special Ed is not to catch a student up and reunify them with the class.

I'm not sure how meaningful this will be as it is not very concrete. It says that school must provide students with opportunities to make meaningful, appropriately ambitious progress.

Schools can provide opportunities, but the student may not participate.
What does meaningful mean?
Who decides what appropriately ambitious is?

[Anonymous]

OP,

FAPE is to provide access to education--not success. It's an impossible question to answer, but you can't leave it all up to the schools. If you can't afford a tutor, you wouldn't be the first parent who tries to teach themselves something so they can teach their kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my child is 2 years behind grade level in reading, is it reasonable to expect more than a year's growth with intervention? If not, he will always be behind. School says we can only expect a year's progress in one school year. At this rate, he will never pass grade level SOLs in reading and writing. Any thoughts or advice? He doesn't qualify for summer school.

What are his difficulties in reading? decoding, phoneme, RAN, comprehension...?

[Anonymous]

Basically, all the advice and comments seem reasonable. As a teacher, I have learned certain parental actions will best optimize a child's achievement. Are you giving your child at home positive encouragement, a quiet place to work, and a scheduled time to do his work and do you have open communication with your child and teachers? Letting our children know they all have "gifts" often helps them to achieve more, too Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

Starting in first grade we had a tutor for ds twice a week. By the beginning of third grade he was 11/2 years behind. In February of that year something clicked and by June he was on grade level in his reading. You just never know what will happen and when.

[Anonymous]

A student with LD should be able to catch up with proper intervention. The only reasons I think a student cant catch up are ID, moderate TBI or if a student is taking medication that affects performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A student with LD should be able to catch up with proper intervention. The only reasons I think a student cant catch up are ID, moderate TBI or if a student is taking medication that affects performance.

You can appropriate interventions and still not be caught up to grade level. It all depends on how severe the LD is. My dyslexic kid is several years behind in reading level and we go to a SN school.