My daughter is in 5th grade and has had an IEP since 2nd grade for a processing delay and dyslexia. Initially this turned her life around, easing her frustration and eliminating her behavior problems. She began to read and started to catch up with her peers.
This year she still struggles with very simple math, still cannot memorize facts, cannot spell, does not retain information, forgets important homework, etc., yet this grading period she received almost all A’s. She is definitely not an A student, based on what I see at home. Is she truly being prepared for middle school? Are they going to push her through, so she still doesn’t know 2x3 when she graduates?
She is definitely not an average kid and does not think like the others, and definitely needs help, but the work I see her do at home and on her papers from school is NOT “A” work. The school is defensive and insists that she is meeting her IEP goals, which we went over in detail prior to school starting, and they are following the IEP to the letter, but I’m confused about how she could be making A’s when her writing looks like a first-grader did it.
I know I just need to get her tutoring or other specialized instruction to improve her skills, so I’m just ranting here, but it seems like our schools are cranking out graduates ill prepared for college or life in the real world.
Are there others who feel the same?
Liz
Re: Re: Re: IEP inflating grades artificially?
Hi Liz,
My daughter has Nonverbal Learning Disorder (a rare disability), has also been in special education since third grade, is presently in the fifth grade, and they do the same thing with my daughter. They tell me my daughter’s disability is the opposite of Dyslexia. Her problem is the right side of her brain does not function correctly, if at all. Dyslexia is a left side of the brain problem. The school also inflates my daughter’s grades. I think they do this to pasify the parents and give the child some hope.
I can tell you I personally know a girl who is presently a senior in High School who also has Dyslexia. She cannot read, add or subtract, count money, still doesn’t know her multiplication tables, can’t divide, etc. and they are giving her a diploma this year. Imagine that? It is definitely true. I worry the same as you that if I let the school handle all my daughter’s problems that she will not be able to do any of the above either. That is why, I work with her at home whenever it is possible on what I know she struggles with. I don’t tell the school I’m doing it because they actually get angry over it. They don’t like the way I teach sometime but that is too bad. They take the money they get for teaching your child, but I don’t know what they teach to be honest with you. That no child left behind law, is just something they like to say not actually do. I’m sorry, but that is how I feel about special education. It does take stress off of the child, but I certainly have not seen much improvement in the two years time they have been working with my daughter and it sounds like you haven’t either.
I can tell you one thing I think would be beneficial for you, I bought a program for my daughter called Times Tales off the internet (just google it) as another parent who had a child with NLD told me to get this program. I did and this was when my daughter was at the end of third grade. The information I received in the booklet says this helps children with Dyslexia. I wasn’t sure it would help my daughter because she was not dyslexic but I tried it anyway. I can tell you it was the best $35.00 I ever spent. My daughter knew all her times tables by fourth grade and it took me about a month to teach them to her. It was easy and fun and is for any child who struggles with this. It is for the times tables you have to memorize, the ones there are no rules for. It is silly stories that help you remember the times tables and it works it really does. The school wanted to know how I got my daughter to remember all of them. I ended up showing the school the program. They looked it over, sent it back home, and said they don’t teach that way. Hello, who cares how she learned them as long as she did learn them and my daughter did. She learned them so fast my head was spinning. By reading your post, I thought of this for you.
Hope it helps,
[Modified by: jewels on February 25, 2012 02:55 PM]
[Modified by: jewels on February 25, 2012 02:57 PM]
[Modified by: jewels on February 25, 2012 04:16 PM]
Hi Liz and welcome here,
You wrote that the school is insisting that they are meeting the IEP goals.
But it seems that the goals should be:
1: Can memorize facts.
2: Can spell.
3: Can retain information.
4: Remember important homework.
So these are the goals that they need to meet.
Also they need to have a clearly defined method to demonstrate how these goals are being met, also to monitor progress towards them.
I’ll attach a link to Wrightslaw, which is an invaluable resource, to help with getting schools to comply with their legal responsibilities and obligations.
[url]http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/progress.index.htm[/url]