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Anonymous wrote:How high does FCPS test beyond grade level?

In first or second grade, they will test up to one year ahead.

No, starting in kindergarten they will test up to a year ahead.

And there is no means of knowing how much improvement there was for kids coming in at the benchmark.

My son tested at the top benchmark at the beginning of first grade. An avid reader, I'm guessing he is at an advanced 3rd grade level by now. He just got tested (he told me) a couple of weeks ago. It seems the teacher made him read only one little story and then tell it back. He said it was a "baby" book. Then the teacher said that's it, great job. She didn't test him further, so I'm guessing they tested him at the same benchmark he was tested at the beginning of the year.

That can't be the correct interpretation or relaying of the story. To pass that benchmark the child needs to pass both the fiction and nonfiction parts of the DRA and if he was already at the second grade level, that is all written. If he is still orally "retelling," that is not through second grade.

Nope, the first time my oldest wrote on a DRA was in 3rd grade. They will administer orally for all first and second graders no matter how advanced.

I'm the PP, and forgot to say she went to a Montessori preschool so she was reading magic treehouse books in kinder.

That is incorrect. Both my kids who maxed out at the end of the third grade DRA level 28 while in second grade, used writing as the assessment. I'm also a former first grade teacher in the county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How high does FCPS test beyond grade level?

In first or second grade, they will test up to one year ahead.

No, starting in kindergarten they will test up to a year ahead.

And there is no means of knowing how much improvement there was for kids coming in at the benchmark.

My son tested at the top benchmark at the beginning of first grade. An avid reader, I'm guessing he is at an advanced 3rd grade level by now. He just got tested (he told me) a couple of weeks ago. It seems the teacher made him read only one little story and then tell it back. He said it was a "baby" book. Then the teacher said that's it, great job. She didn't test him further, so I'm guessing they tested him at the same benchmark he was tested at the beginning of the year.

That can't be the correct interpretation or relaying of the story. To pass that benchmark the child needs to pass both the fiction and nonfiction parts of the DRA and if he was already at the second grade level, that is all written. If he is still orally "retelling," that is not through second grade.

Nope, the first time my oldest wrote on a DRA was in 3rd grade. They will administer orally for all first and second graders no matter how advanced.

I'm the PP, and forgot to say she went to a Montessori preschool so she was reading magic treehouse books in kinder.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How high does FCPS test beyond grade level?

In first or second grade, they will test up to one year ahead.

No, starting in kindergarten they will test up to a year ahead.

And there is no means of knowing how much improvement there was for kids coming in at the benchmark.

My son tested at the top benchmark at the beginning of first grade. An avid reader, I'm guessing he is at an advanced 3rd grade level by now. He just got tested (he told me) a couple of weeks ago. It seems the teacher made him read only one little story and then tell it back. He said it was a "baby" book. Then the teacher said that's it, great job. She didn't test him further, so I'm guessing they tested him at the same benchmark he was tested at the beginning of the year.

That can't be the correct interpretation or relaying of the story. To pass that benchmark the child needs to pass both the fiction and nonfiction parts of the DRA and if he was already at the second grade level, that is all written. If he is still orally "retelling," that is not through second grade.

Nope, the first time my oldest wrote on a DRA was in 3rd grade. They will administer orally for all first and second graders no matter how advanced.

The original question on this thread just made me realize that I have no idea of the DRA of my 4th grade AAP kid.
I don't think the teacher has mentioned any testing at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How high does FCPS test beyond grade level?

In first or second grade, they will test up to one year ahead.

No, starting in kindergarten they will test up to a year ahead.

And there is no means of knowing how much improvement there was for kids coming in at the benchmark.

My son tested at the top benchmark at the beginning of first grade. An avid reader, I'm guessing he is at an advanced 3rd grade level by now. He just got tested (he told me) a couple of weeks ago. It seems the teacher made him read only one little story and then tell it back. He said it was a "baby" book. Then the teacher said that's it, great job. She didn't test him further, so I'm guessing they tested him at the same benchmark he was tested at the beginning of the year.

That can't be the correct interpretation or relaying of the story. To pass that benchmark the child needs to pass both the fiction and nonfiction parts of the DRA and if he was already at the second grade level, that is all written. If he is still orally "retelling," that is not through second grade.

Anonymous wrote:The thing with the DRA is that many parents think that their kids will test much higher than they do based on what they read at home. Starting with the DRA 28 though, the child has to write the written summary to pass and that halts many kids from passing that level. Many of their reading levels far exceed their writing abilities.

I would think that obscures the the results. Reading comprehension does not go hand in hand with writing

The thing with the DRA is that many parents think that their kids will test much higher than they do based on what they read at home. Starting with the DRA 28 though, the child has to write the written summary to pass and that halts many kids from passing that level. Many of their reading levels far exceed their writing abilities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How high does FCPS test beyond grade level?

In first or second grade, they will test up to one year ahead.

No, starting in kindergarten they will test up to a year ahead.

And there is no means of knowing how much improvement there was for kids coming in at the benchmark.

My son tested at the top benchmark at the beginning of first grade. An avid reader, I'm guessing he is at an advanced 3rd grade level by now. He just got tested (he told me) a couple of weeks ago. It seems the teacher made him read only one little story and then tell it back. He said it was a "baby" book. Then the teacher said that's it, great job. She didn't test him further, so I'm guessing they tested him at the same benchmark he was tested at the beginning of the year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How high does FCPS test beyond grade level?

In first or second grade, they will test up to one year ahead.

No, starting in kindergarten they will test up to a year ahead.

And there is no means of knowing how much improvement there was for kids coming in at the benchmark.

Anonymous wrote:With the DRA, FCPS maxes out at one full grade level ahead. So a second grader would max out at end of third grade (38) regardless of actual reading level. This is a burden issue. And a PP is right in that they are trying to identify children who are below grade level for intervention. A child reading above grade level, *may* get a pullout. But not all schools do this. Ours doesn't have any LA pullouts.

My second grader was recently tested at a 38, but only because the teacher scribed it for her. She has severe ADHD and dysgraphia (and an IEP).

At some point FCPS switches over to Lexile reading assessments vs. the DRA, but I'm not sure when that happens. I just know at some point my older child started getting Lexile scores instead of DRA.

Are the lexile reading assessments better than the DRA?

I can see why kids have trouble with the advanced math. They speed through long division at such a break neck speed, with so little practice it just makes you wonder...

I saw my son being tripped up in some areas and just decided that as smart as he was he was not going to get a solid grasp of the concepts w/o some time to practice them. I was actually really impressed by FCPS for seeing it too. Some kids get a lot of outside tutoring (they are pretty much front loaded going into a class), some kids are just "show me once" types and they really do get it, other kids are very quick but still need practice to feel comfortable/competent/capable with a concept.

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Anonymous wrote:So a kid can be in 6th grade buy reading at a 3rd grade level but still be in AAP if they comprehend an advanced (say a 10th grade level) book read TO them?

Interesting. I did not know that.

No. Unless they have some unusual documemted IEP worthy special needs that requires documented, special accomodations they will need to read to be in AAP.

Nice try at trolling a non issue.

I'm not the one who determines the eligibility for AAP, I was just reading this thread. People were saying that DRA has nothing to do with AAP and I was trying to understand how/why that would be the case.

You do understand that fcps does all kinds of assessments on their students in elementary and most, like the DRA, have nothing whatsoever to do with AAP...don't you?

It is not a difficult concept to understand. Fcps only cares if the kids are on track for DRA level or behind. That is it.

No need to get persnickety. I would just think that decoding and comprehension would fall hand in hand with "advanced reading skills". A 3rd grader who comprehends 10th grade level text (not just decodes - but understands/comprehends the meaning) is not necessarily AAP? I don't really care but I find that to be...surprising.

PP, I agree with you. When my DS was in 3rd grade, he was reading at a high school level. He was an incredibly advanced reader and writer. His math skills, however, were very average - on grade level. He wasn't admitted to AAP. And now we hear that there are plenty of AAP kids who have advanced math skills, but very lacking language arts skills? So why aren't the other kids of kids (like my son - strong lang. arts, weak or avg. math) admitted to AAP as well? Clearly, they aren't looking for kids who are actually "academically advanced". What a bunch of baloney.

Did your son meet the NNAT and Cogat benchmarks? What was his GBRS? That is what they look for when admitting children into the AAP program. This area has tons of advanced kids in either math or language arts, but the tests measure the child's general ability to learn. In my sons class (3rd grade) he has good friend that was recommended by the teacher (did not meet either NNAT or Cognat benchmark score.) The boy was more advanced in reading than my son, WAY more applied academically, straight 4 kid. My son is very average academically, he makes little effort. My son got received very high NNAT and Cogat scores and was also admitted into AAP. After this year, my son's friend is getting pulled out of advanced math because he cannot keep up with the pace. We know his parents well because he is my son's friend and a long time neighbor. His mom told me he is super stressed because the class moves too fast. They got him a tutor, but he is not sleeping because of stress. So now he is in AAP but going to regular ed for Math. Just because a child is advanced in certain things, does not mean he'll be able to keep up with the pace of fast learning.

Also, for what it's worth, DRA levels in second grade do not necessarily predict future levels. Some kids are advanced then others catch up. They are often good tools for identifying kids who are way behind and need intervention or should be tested for LDs. My child was grade level or just above but did really well on the tests (and the WISC), got into AAP and guess what, year as later is way above grade level. He was just a slow starter.

With the DRA, FCPS maxes out at one full grade level ahead. So a second grader would max out at end of third grade (38) regardless of actual reading level. This is a burden issue. And a PP is right in that they are trying to identify children who are below grade level for intervention. A child reading above grade level, *may* get a pullout. But not all schools do this. Ours doesn't have any LA pullouts.

My second grader was recently tested at a 38, but only because the teacher scribed it for her. She has severe ADHD and dysgraphia (and an IEP).

At some point FCPS switches over to Lexile reading assessments vs. the DRA, but I'm not sure when that happens. I just know at some point my older child started getting Lexile scores instead of DRA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How high does FCPS test beyond grade level?

In first or second grade, they will test up to one year ahead.

No, starting in kindergarten they will test up to a year ahead.