annual testing/what does it mean/how to choose curriculum-tested above & below grade

[kim973]

How seriously does everyone take the annual tests that we’re required to give our kids? I have an 8th grader who actually did fairly well despite minimal effort. He scored at the 11th grade level for science and at the 12+ for vocabulary and social studies. What exactly does that mean? He certainly would never be able to handle an 11th or 12th grade text book. We’ve been using curriculum that is several levels below his grade level. He seems to lack motivation and everything takes him so long to do. He also has Asperger’s and some anxiety.

He scored at 4th grade level for sentence mechanics and spelling. What would a good grammar curriculum be to catch him up quickly since he’ll be going into 9th grade? I feel as though we don’t have time to go through the 4th, 5th, etc. grade levels.

I’m what really at a loss as to what curriculum to use for him. Whenever we’ve used textbooks, we’ve rarely get half way through by the end of the year. Yet if he’s testing at a higher grade level, shouldn’t he be able to handle more difficult material?

Thanks in advance!


This will be a cross post.

[Laurie4b]

The answers to your questions largely depends on which type of test your son took. If he took one of the fill-in-the-bubble tests, like the IOWA or CAT, the higher grade levels mean that the average 11th grader taking an 8th grade test, scored the same as he did; in other words, he got nearly all of them correct. He also got the same number correct as the average 4th grader attempting an 8th grade test in mechanics and spelling. So if he took this kind of test, just keep him on grade level for the tests he scored high in.

If, on the other hand, you used an individually administered standardized test such as the Woodcock Johnson or the Weschler, then the grade levels are closer to actual level. In the WJ or Weschler, the child is given increasingly more difficult questions until he misses a certain number in a row, so an 8th grader who is doing well might actually be asked and answer some 1th, 12th or even college level material. If he took this kind of test, then it would be worth considering advancing his grade level (not to 11th or 12th maybe--but a grade or two higher) in vocab, science, and social studies.