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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Yes, it was Spanish so mix of grades and teacher didn’t realize he was one of the kids supposed to be at the SOL. It was when he went to his next class, which was for his grade, that someone noticed him.

He is in 8th grade but this is his first year in this school and he’s only been going there since March (so maybe been there in person 12-14 times?). He doesn’t really know how things work or his way around since everything is so regimented and there are no assemblies and everyone wears masks etc. But sure, blame my kid for not knowing what to do or where to go for something he’s literally never done, when the school employs a testing coordinator and about 20 counselors and administrators. [/quote]

Not the PP, but also confused. I'm just not sure I understand why your son knew to go to a class but didn't know to ask the teacher. You told him he was going to the SOL testing site for tht day but he just went to class? And didn't say anything for an hour?

Did someone tell him to go to class? [/quote]

This is definitely not in the DC area if it’s true. There are not groups of some kids taking SOL‘s and some kids not where they go to their regular class. What an administrative nightmare that would be! Those not taking SOL‘s are all watching a movie together, etc.[/quote]

Its APS. This is from one of the eight million emails they sent us:

"Testing Days for Hybrid Students

Students enrolled in the hybrid instructional model should attend school, like a normal school day. We do not have a modified testing schedule this school year and students are expected to attend their normally scheduled classes once testing is complete."

I don't know why it is so hard to believe that a middle school kid would walk into school and slip through the cracks. That is my complaint. The school has been obsessed with sending the parents emails and calling us constantly about the SOLs, but none of the communications said anything about what would happen once the kids got to school -- there was nothing about "go to X classroom" or "go to entrance 6 and look for the signs" or whatever, and no adult in the building seemed to recognize that he was an 8th grader who should have been in testing. The 6th and 7th graders did not have SOL testing that day (they do different grades on different days, I assume because they must use the auditorium or gym or something) so there were lots of other hybrid kids in the building going to classes.

In elementary he just went to school and took the SOL, I guess I assumed it would be the same in middle school and the students would not be [i]responsible for getting themselves to the test location[/i]. It's not the SATs. It never occurred to me to tell my son to raise his hand or ask someone about it because I figured the school would be ALL OVER IT -- they have been bombarding us with phone calls and emails for weeks and weeks. That is why I am so annoyed. They kept haranging [u]me[/u] with reminders, but apparently didn't tell us anything useful other than the DAY, and then managed to have a system that missed my kid so now he is supposed to do a makeup the third week of June which is the dumbest thing ever. 
[/quote]
Which middle school?  Ours has been modifying the bell schedule on testing days so kids don't miss class to take SOLs (unless they run over the anticipated testing time), and I know others have done the same.  This is something that should be standardized policy at the central administration level, not left up to individual schools to mess around with.  [/quote]

Must be Gunston or Swanson.  All the rest have posted SOL calendars, and none of them fit OP’s story.  Gunston did have only the 8th grade reading SOL yesterday, so that could be it.  Swanson doesn’t have their calendar publicly available so no way to check, but I have heard parents say their communication has been a shitshow this year.

Either way, agreed that this was a poor choice by the administration to force kids to miss substantive live instruction for SOLs, and it should be set by central policy so individual schools can’t do this.[/quote]

Also, it look lien yesterday was the first SOL for 8th graders at Gunston, so that fits with OP’s kid not having taken an SOL at school before to understand the procedure.

I’m sorry OP.  It sounds like poor planning and communication by the school administration.  I wouldn’t both having my kid make it up either.[/quote]

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