Kindergarten "summer school" - long, sorry *UPDATE*

[DisneyBabies]

We had an issue come up with DS today and I wanted to see what others think.

In our school district, we don't have traditional summer school. We have Extended Learning Days several times during the school that is supposed to get kids caught up before they get too far behind. When I registered DS5 for kindergarten, I asked the lady at the school about the extended learning days and she said that extended learning days don't apply to kinders.

We have been in school less than 2 months and we ask DS's teacher on a regular basis if there is anything we can do at home to make sure DS is learning what he needs to and she always say to just read his books each night (and let me say that she is a wonderful teacher, we are very happy with her). We thought at the begining of the school year that we had MAJOR homework every night but it turns out that was 1st grade homework not kinder homework , so kinders only have 100 book challenge reading until halfway through the year. We also sing with him and talk to him about his day, he counts in the grocery store, and we practice writing, cutting, coloring in the lines . . . all those things we always did to interact with him. We have thought that he was doing well and was progressing the way he should. And he seemed to be with all the things he tells us he does at school. He can spell his first name and is learning his last. He knows and can write all his letters (upper and lowercase). Knows all the months in order and knows the corresponding month number and can write the date using numbers with a little help. He "reads" by looking at the pictures to tell the story and is begining to learn to sound out words. He can say his numbers up to the 70's and is doing well writing his numbers (according to his teacher).

Well, 2 weeks ago they did Measures of Acedemic Performance testing on all the students. We got a letter from the school district today that he needs to go to Extended Learning. They said he was in the lowerquartile in ELA (language arts) and/or Math which means he is not meeting grade level standards . I've tried to find out by looking on the website what the kindergarten requirements are, but I can't find anything. So, my first question is this: What is a kindergartener supposed to know less than two months into the school year that my DS would already need "summer school" for?

The form we have to fill out to accept or decline the Extended Learning Days says that "I understand that inadequate progress relative to state academic standards and failure to attend Extended Learning Time may affect promotion this year and in the years to come." Now my second question: According to the bolded part, are they really saying they would hold my DS back if I don't send him to Extended Learning and he doesn't progress enough for them?

I guess I am just wondering if he is really as far behind as the school district thinks he is. Why didn't we know this before now? We work with him on various things everyday . . . what else can we do to help him?

 

[Stacerita]

I would get a meeting with the school to go over this. Only 2 months in does seem like a short amount of time to decide what the child will need come summer.

But if he is behind and having issues, and its something that he can not catch up on, I wouldn't hesitate to hold him back. My nephew who is extremely bright just couldn't deal with Kinder. SIL and my brother pulled him out, worked with him on stuff, he grew up a bit, then went back the following year.....he did outstanding and has excelled ever since.

 

[clh2]

I know these notices come at as a shock...

Try talking to the teacher, and find out "what's up".

Right now, we are about 1.5 months into school. Especially in kindergarten, the kids are just about getting used to the daily routine. This is compounded if they are in all-day vs. half-day. (If kids aren't used to a full-day routine, i.e from a day-care, they sometimes have a little bit harder time when they now need to go all day.)

I would try to get really specific information on the test. Occasionally, kids are just plain bored with what is being asked on that type of test, that they just don't care and do poorly.

The other thing to consider, it seems like some kindergartens practically want the kids already reading basic words by the time they get to school. Or, starting to try to sound out words.

Find out more about the test. (YEP - I am very suspicious of standardized tests - for a number of reasons.) Maybe part of the test was following directions, and maybe he misunderstood some of the directions. I would also inquire as to who was adminstering the tests. IIRC, whe DD was in K, the tests were adminstered by a mom, one at a time, so the results were somewhat based on how the mom that was there.

Find out exactly where the "test" has determined there to be defiiciencies. Try to come up with a plan to correct the deficiencies. I don't know...I would be leary doing an extended learing situation. The kids...already have a long day. Kids still need to be kids.

If you are still with me...I am not a formal educator, I am just a mom!

 

[Magic Mom]

I wouldn't get too stressed over it. Just talk to the teacher and ask her about it. Maybe you son was having an off day the day they took the test. MAP testing is done on the computer, maybe he didn't understand the format and was afraid to ask. They take the MAP test again during the year so he has plenty of time to learn what he needs to learn. At the end of 3rd grade, DD's MAP scores were on the low side. At the beginning of 4th, they increased dramatically and we didn't really do much over the summer to warrant the change. My guess is she had an off day when they tested at the end of 3rd grade.

 

[DisneyBabies]

Thank you so much for the replies. I am just very confused and very concerned about this. We had planned to take the kids to visit my family during the Extended Learning Time because the lady at the school said it wouldn't affect DS, and we've been talking about it for weeks, but I guess we'll have to cancel now.

I would get a meeting with the school to go over this. Only 2 months in does seem like a short amount of time to decide what the child will need come summer.

But if he is behind and having issues, and its something that he can not catch up on, I wouldn't hesitate to hold him back. My nephew who is extremely bright just couldn't deal with Kinder. SIL and my brother pulled him out, worked with him on stuff, he grew up a bit, then went back the following year.....he did outstanding and has excelled ever since

I have written a letter to his teacher and put it in his folder for her and she will get back to me tomorrow, most likely by phone. They aren't saying he needs summer school, they are saying he needs to go to the Extended Learning Time that is Oct 26-30 when all the other kids are out of school.

I will not hesitate to hold him back if he needs it, but I'm just not sure why they think he is behind because I'm not sure what he is supposed to be doing that he is not. Does that make sense? His teacher says he is doing great, but this test says he is not.

I know these notices come at as a shock...

Try talking to the teacher, and find out "what's up".

Right now, we are about 1.5 months into school. Especially in kindergarten, the kids are just about getting used to the daily routine. This is compounded if they are in all-day vs. half-day. (If kids aren't used to a full-day routine, i.e from a day-care, they sometimes have a little bit harder time when they now need to go all day.)

I would try to get really specific information on the test. Occasionally, kids are just plain bored with what is being asked on that type of test, that they just don't care and do poorly.

The other thing to consider, it seems like some kindergartens practically want the kids already reading basic words by the time they get to school. Or, starting to try to sound out words.

Find out more about the test. (YEP - I am very suspicious of standardized tests - for a number of reasons.) Maybe part of the test was following directions, and maybe he misunderstood some of the directions. I would also inquire as to who was adminstering the tests. IIRC, whe DD was in K, the tests were adminstered by a mom, one at a time, so the results were somewhat based on how the mom that was there.

Find out exactly where the "test" has determined there to be defiiciencies. Try to come up with a plan to correct the deficiencies. I don't know...I would be leary doing an extended learing situation. The kids...already have a long day. Kids still need to be kids.

If you are still with me...I am not a formal educator, I am just a mom!

Rory was in Head Start for 2 years because of a speech delay, so he is used to all day school and he loves it, so I don't think that is the problem.

We haven't even been sent the results of the testing yet, so I have no idea what the actual results were. And I'm not sure when we will get the actual results, but I'm assuming the school has copies, so I'm going to try to get the information from them. We just got this letter from the school district today and it came out of left field for us. We thought he was doing well and his teachers know if he needs more help all she has to do is say so and we will help him at home or if we can't, we'll find someone who can. And frankly, I'm feeling a little threatened by the statement in the registration form that said he may be held back if we don't send him to ELT and he doesn't progress to where they want him to be at the end of the year (and it doesn't say where they want him to be, so they could just randomly decide that he doesn't make the cut and hold him back).

 

[DisneyBabies]

I wouldn't get too stressed over it. Just talk to the teacher and ask her about it. Maybe you son was having an off day the day they took the test. MAP testing is done on the computer, maybe he didn't understand the format and was afraid to ask. They take the MAP test again during the year so he has plenty of time to learn what he needs to learn. At the end of 3rd grade, DD's MAP scores were on the low side. At the beginning of 4th, they increased dramatically and we didn't really do much over the summer to warrant the change. My guess is she had an off day when they tested at the end of 3rd grade.

Our MAP testing was done over a 2 week period and each day the kids would take a small part of it. DS loved taking the tests, he came home every day talking about how he got to "play" on the computer again . I'm just not sure why they are using the MAP testing as the only criteria to determine if a child needs to go to ELT. I mean, he's already learned a lot in the 2 months we've been in school, but I'm not sure what they think he should know already that he doesn't.

 

[kidzmom3]

My take on the letter: They are not threatening you, they are telling you the truth about their school districts policies. They use this test to determine some level of academic achievement. If your child does not achieve this level, they offer you help (in the form of this elt). You can decline the help. But, they want you to be aware that your child must somehow achieve this predetermined level. The consequence of not reaching the level, may be retention.

 

[Ephany]

When DD was in kindergarten last year, her teacher had a list of state standards she had to show us at the beginning and end of the year, as well as at every conference. It had everything the kids were expected to know to 'pass' kindergarten and as the year progressed, the teacher would fill in the areas where DD had met the standards. I'm not sure where you're located, I just googled 'Georgia kindergarten standards' and our website popped up.

Edit: Ok, it looks like they've changed the format, but here's ours
https://www.georgiastandards.org/st...Kindergarten-Georgia-Performace-Standards.pdf

 

[Cindy B]

As for what kindergarteners are supposed to know... all states have set curriculum standards for each public school.

Try googling your states Department of Education website or curriculum standards kindergarten (insert state).

Kindergarten is not what we remember. Now they expect students to read write and in some cases do multiplication-- forget simple adding and subtracting! Gone are the days of simple coloring and nap time.

Ask for a simple breakdown of the tests. This is probably what they call a benchmark test. These benchmark tests tell the teacher and other interested parties about what students need to learn.

 

[taylor3297]

Ok I am an educator and I am appalled that kindergarten students are given a test so soon! Please go have a conference with the teacher and an administrator about the results of your childs test. I could go on and on about how standardized tests are not used correctly but that is a whole different issue.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

From what you say, it sounds like he is doing well. Perhaps he didn't understand the test.

I have never heard of a kinder being sent to summer school (or equivilant). Both my brother and sister were held back at Kindergarten level.

One had an LD and the other just wasn't ready to be promoted. It didn't kill them to be retained.

I would be curious as to what specifically the exam tested the children on and the types of questions they asked and the manner in which they asked them.

My daughter has been tested since K and has always met standards--so I am puzzled as to why your son didn't meet the standards if you don't notice anything at home. Leads me to believe it might have been a misunderstanding or perhaps a vision issue or something.

Right now--it is ONLY October. Far too early to talk about catching him up in Summer school--he NEEDS to be caught up NOW.

I certainly would speak with the teacher and discuss what you can do NOW to help your son.

What they can do 8 months from now is totally useless. There is plenty of school year left to address whatever occurred that caused your sons test results to be flagged.

But in the end, if he gets held back--it is not as big of a deal as it seems.

My siblings have grown up to be productive members of society.


ETA: misread about the ELD--October--they really think they can catch a kid up in a week??? I don't think that is fair to your son to do that and I would decline the offer.

 

[HamTown]

Our Kindergarteners do PALS testing and some other measurements at the beginning, middle and end of the year. It is not unusual for kids to do poorly at the beginning of the year and then max out their score at the mid-point of the year. There are no retention conferences (or conversations for that matter) until March or April at the earliest. Some kids take a while to "click".

Definitely talk with his teacher face to face and make sure you see the test results and have someone talk through them with you.

ETA: We do have a few K's retained each year at my children's elem. school. Most of these are parent requests or kids that still haven't mastered all their letters, meaning really, really far behind.

 

[quentina]

In our area, we do extended school year...extra help after the year has ended. My daughter has gone for the past 2 years and she is repeating 1st grade this year.

Is it beneficial....too be honest, I am not sure. I do know that she had a great time.

I think this program is for making sure that they don't forget what they learned more than teaching anything new.

 

[Cindy B]

The OP is failing to mention that this isn't summer school per se, but an extended time at the end of this month.

If the student isn't making the benchmark at this present time, a quick extended session at the end of this month makes sense. Of course they can't predict what the student will learn in June, but they can pretty much see what progress a student can do in the month of October.

The title of the thread is inaccurate. This is for an extended time in October presumably to prevent summer school later. The student action committee (or whatever the district calls it) put the OP's student on a 'watch' list because he in essence failed the benchmark test.

I would personally take the October session. If you refuse, the retain or not conversation will keep coming up and they will make that decision. If you take the October session, the school officials will see that you are willing to try and it will give you leverage as a parent later.

 

[DisneyBabies]

Thank you for all the replies everyone. I am going to see if I can google and find out what the state kindergarten standards are.

The OP is failing to mention that this isn't summer school per se, but an extended time at the end of this month.

If the student isn't making the benchmark at this present time, a quick extended session at the end of this month makes sense. Of course they can't predict what the student will learn in June, but they can pretty much see what progress a student can do in the month of October.

The title of the thread is inaccurate. This is for an extended time in October presumably to prevent summer school later. The student action committee (or whatever the district calls it) put the OP's student on a 'watch' list because he in essence failed the benchmark test.

I would personally take the October session. If you refuse, the retain or not conversation will keep coming up and they will make that decision. If you take the October session, the school officials will see that you are willing to try and it will give you leverage as a parent later.

Just to clarify a few things: I put the "summer school" in quotes on the title and explained what I meant in my first post. We don't do traditional summer school. We have extended learning weeks during the year where those children who need to atttend school for a week while the others are out on vacation.

We were informed that all the students were taking this test, but no one told us this test would determine whether DS had to go to ELD. And how can he be doing so well in class but fail this test? We don't even know what the children were tested on so I'm not sure what benchmarks they are using to determine who needs more help. As I said before, we haven't recieved anything that tells us how he scored on the test, all we have gotten is this letter from the district that says he (in essence) failed the test.

We will definately send him for the week if his teacher recommends it. I am sending a letter to school tomorrow to find out what is going on since she has said he is doing great.

Our Kindergarteners do PALS testing and some other measurements at the beginning, middle and end of the year. It is not unusual for kids to do poorly at the beginning of the year and then max out their score at the mid-point of the year. There are no retention conferences (or conversations for that matter) until March or April at the earliest. Some kids take a while to "click".

Definitely talk with his teacher face to face and make sure you see the test results and have someone talk through them with you.

ETA: We do have a few K's retained each year at my children's elem. school. Most of these are parent requests or kids that still haven't mastered all their letters, meaning really, really far behind.

We do the same here with the testing and I think they should. I thought the first test shows where the child is starting the year at, the second will show if they are lagging behind (ie if they need to start getting extra help), and the third to see if the extra measures are working and if not get even more help. But they are using DS's first test to say he needs help already when they haven't even explained what they tested him on or what he is supposed to know that he doesn't.

I will hold him back if that is what he needs, but I want to make sure that it isn't just a matter of him not being a good tester. Shouldn't all of his school performance be taken into account or do they just not do it that way anymore? DS is my first child in "real" school, so I have no idea what to expect.

 

[IDoDis]

It's possible that another child's data could have been entered incorrectly under your DS's name in the computer. I've seen it happen before -- throws the parents into a panic-mode when come to find out, it was a different kid's scores.

When DD was in the 6th grade, her first report card came home with straight A's except for Science which was a D-. I was like DD was really upset and had no idea why she received that grade. I called the teacher who then checked the info on her computer. She said she was one line off when entering DD's grade and have given DD the grade for the student who was actually listed under DD. After entering 150 grades, I could easily see how a mistake could happen.

 

[Cindy B]

No, not all school performance is taken into account. In later grades (in my state it is 3rd and up) all that matters is the comprehensive state assessment scores.. the NJASK. If the student fails the math, language or science portion-- that may not retain them for the grade, but it will definetely "track" them for ability grouping in higher grades.

My district does not have summer school either, but students that are falling behind do get Title I or Enrichment sessions. These students fall into many categories and are in different classes based on their need: ESL, Special Education, At-risk of failing, etc..

It isn't an advertised or well known summer school but it is available for students that need extra help. In fact, most districts around here don't have traditional summer school.


Since this seems to be your first, I will say the school won't tell you which test mean what and what every outcome will be. Sometimes they will tell you and sometimes they won't. Some teachers won't tell you if this benchmark or standards test means this or if it is just a practice test. It will drive you crazy if you try to figure it out. I have one in high school and one in middle school and now the only things that count are the NJASK scores.

They do usually test three times in non standardized years: one preliminary, on mid year and one end of year. Your student seems to have issues with the preliminary test. Here's one thing to remember: some districts create their own "standards" test which may be more difficult than the state standards. My own district is like that-- the district feels that the state standards are too low, so they create their own higher test which highly exceed state standards. So one thing to ask is what is the districts policy on benchmarks and standards? Are they basing it on a national, state or district wide policy? And if so, which one and is a copy available to review?

 

[golfgal]

I would call the school today and set up a meeting with his teacher to see what the problem is. It could be an error but it might not be either. I think you should be very happy that the school is being proactive in trying to get the kids on track in kindergarten and not waiting until things become a huge problem.

My first response was going to be that sometimes kids just don't want to take a test one day but if the testing was over a 2 week period, that generally doesn't happen. I know when DD14 was in kindergarten she wouldn't say the alphabet when they were doing their early year screenings so she got a zero for that-the teacher called us at the end of the day to tell us we would be seeing that zero but not to worry as DD was walking out of the classroom at the end of the day singing the alphabet song

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

He may not have understood the test. He might not be ready to read (boys are often not ready at 6). Or does the school get more money somewhere for having him in this program?

Good luck. Being a mom is tough one sometimes.

 

[lajones81]

Ok I am an educator and I am appalled that kindergarten students are given a test so soon! Please go have a conference with the teacher and an administrator about the results of your childs test. I could go on and on about how standardized tests are not used correctly but that is a whole different issue.

The first time we give MAP is to our second graders in the spring of their second grade year! I also can't believe they are testing Kindergarten kids so soon!

It's possible that another child's data could have been entered incorrectly under your DS's name in the computer. I've seen it happen before -- throws the parents into a panic-mode when come to find out, it was a different kid's scores.

When DD was in the 6th grade, her first report card came home with straight A's except for Science which was a D-. I was like DD was really upset and had no idea why she received that grade. I called the teacher who then checked the info on her computer. She said she was one line off when entering DD's grade and have given DD the grade for the student who was actually listed under DD. After entering 150 grades, I could easily see how a mistake could happen.

In our district, MAP is an electronic test. Difficult for a mistake to be made since the students have to log in.

However, we use the computer for our MAP tests. Good point re: entering grade. I will admit it's happened to me (and my kids)!