OT - First Grade Retention

[mikymouse]

My son just completed 1st grade but is reading below grade leve (DRA8 not 18) and we are considering holding him back. He made steady improvements in all other areas and is just lagging behind in reading and writing. He is one of the youngest in his class and just turned 7 in May. I have read over and over that retention results in only a short term gain. I am really struggling with the decision to hold him back to reinforce reading or let him go to 2nd grade. I can see both the pros and cons of both. Any experience or advice.
He will be receiving private tudoring all years (started this summer) either way. I worry that the work in 2nd grade will be too hard for him with his reading skills below par.

 

[SnowWhite12]

I am a school social worker, and I would personally suggest letting him go on to 2nd grade. But with that I would be consistent with the extra tutoring outside of school, and in school if they have it. If your school is a "reading first school" (a program many have), then they can already provide extra reading help without him being in resource. I would worry more about progressing to 3rd from 2nd (that's when it really gets hard). Also, check in town and see if you have a Sylvan learning center. I have heard great results with them. To me he is not young at all for his grade. Regardless of the Dis debate on the subject, a huge percentage of kids have summer birthdays, which is normal and which is why cut off is not until early fall. However, don't let anyone make you feel bad whichever decision you make. You know your child better than anyone, and I think it is a personal decision.

 

[Whosemom]

I think the kids are still all over the board at that age. And you are being proactive in other ways. I would send him on, unless you see that he is exceedingly immature. And don't go by what you think he should be like. Go hang out where there are kids and really watch. I say that because I think mu kids are acting younger than they should, then I help at school and just say "wow! I guess they are ok."

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[MindyLuvsMickey]

My sister was in a similar situation with her son. He struggled in first grade with reading and writing and was well below grade level. As a special ed teacher, I suggested that the school district do some testing on him but they refused. Instead they held him back for the year. He continued to have problems the second time around and at the end of the year, she and her family moved to a new district. he barely passed the second time but when he got to the new district, they assesed him immediately. Turned out that he has a learning disability. It was no surprise to us. He was given immediate help and has done extremely well since then. In fact, he's made the honor roll 3 out of 4 marking periods last year.

Be persistant and advocate for your kiddo. it's so hard to say what is happening at such an early age.

 

[Nanu57v]

I wouldn't. I teased my brother forever about how he "failed" Kindergarten. Still now when I talk to teens and they say their age and grade, they say "I had to repeat 2nd grade" as a justification for their age. You are correct about the gains being equaled out by 4th grade, and I think you are the right track with the tutoring.

 

[mrs.beast]

retention gains do not always equal out by 4th grade. different studies show different results, statistics can be manipulated to support both sides of the issue. as a teacher, if you really think your child might need to be retained at any time, 1st to 2nd is the best time. by the end of second the friendships are deeper and it will be harder for your child to adjust socially. also, children are more aware of who is "smart" and who is "dumb" by second (low child's words, not mine.) retention can be the best gift you could give your child or it could be harmful. it is all in the way it is approached and done. what you should look at is how successful it is in your specific school. how different will the curriculum be for your child? why are they saying he needs retention? is it developmental or is he just not getting it? unless it is developmental, a change in how it is taught would be needed to make a difference. just doing the same thing over will not make a difference unless your child was just not ready to read at a developmental level. i would make an appointment with the principal, 1st grade teacher (if possible), resource teacher, and 2nd grade teacher if possible) to discuss why specifically he is being retained and what they plan on doing to get him at grade level by the end of his second year of first grade. if the plan does not sound like something that will work for him, suggest one that will (extra support, testing, etc.) at our school we have had parents regret the decision to not retain when their child reaches 4th/5th grade because the work load is too much and the child's self esteem is suffering, and we have had children blossom in 3rd and do just fine. you never know. in my own experience the students who were retained in my 2nd grade, they had made huge growth during that extra year, and were proud of themselves. but, we have a special program for those kids who are retained, it is not just the same 1st grade again. there are special pull-outs for them.

 

[chop456]

First grade teacher checking in. There are some great comments made by previous posters and it is a very difficult decision. Kudos to you for getting him tutoring and being an advocate for him. My first instinct would be to put him through to second grade. I would ask the school what intervention program they have available for below level readers and keep on them to make sure he receives the assistance. Do they have reading first funds? This gives below level readers 30 minutes of reading intervention instruction every day (at least in Wisconsin). What about reading recovery? There are also some good websites out there: starfall.com is great for beginning readers. there is an on-line component and also many reinforcement activities you can download and print. Good luck in your decision!

 

[MM27]

Reading Recovery is a 1st grade program though. They take the lowest performers (from K) for one on one literacy instruction. It's a great program and the gains are amazing.

 

[Becky2005]

My sister was in a similar situation with her son. He struggled in first grade with reading and writing and was well below grade level. As a special ed teacher, I suggested that the school district do some testing on him but they refused. Instead they held him back for the year. He continued to have problems the second time around and at the end of the year, she and her family moved to a new district. he barely passed the second time but when he got to the new district, they assesed him immediately. Turned out that he has a learning disability. It was no surprise to us. He was given immediate help and has done extremely well since then. In fact, he's made the honor roll 3 out of 4 marking periods last year.

Be persistant and advocate for your kiddo. it's so hard to say what is happening at such an early age.

This was going to be my suggestion! IF the only area he is having trouble in is reading & writing but is grasping the concept for all the other areas. I would definitely look into getting him assessed, if nothing else to rule out a reading learning disability. Holding him back will do nothing if it's a disability.

I have an upcoming 5th grader who struggled with reading in 1st grade (actually in Kindergarten too) -- our school has a booster reading program in 1st grade which he went to but that still wasn't helping him enough. He was fine in every other subject, excelled in math, etc... sure enough turns out with the more advanced testing he has a reading disability. Holding him back would have done NOTHING for him. As a matter of fact, even though he is still making progress -- if I had held him back based solely on the reading & writing -- he would still be in 1st grade at 10 years old because it's still a struggle for him. After many years of going to bat regarding the writing, last year he *finally* got approved for Occupational Therapy too but not all kids will need that just for writing. Last year he had an aide in the classroom to help out (there are a couple other kids too that the aide was for), along with resource room teacher & we just happen to have a special ed teacher at our church that offered to tutor him since she was trying out a new program that is supposed to help for dyslexics so it was a win-win -- she got experience & DS got extra tutoring (certainly wasn't going to hurt!).

Just based on my experience, with only 1 subject an issue -- I would want to rule out anything before considering retention. If he was having trouble overall, then it would be another matter.

 

[stacy6552]

May babies arent that late. So I wouldnt chalk it up to age. Our son was evaluated for services because his reading was below grade level. I found it interesting to learn that my son's phonics skills were way above grade level and that he scored low because he didnt use tools like, looking at the picture to help him out. Well guess how much less concerned was I that he didnt rely on pictures.

It could be any number of things...Maybe there's a disability that needs to be identified. Maybe he didnt gel with that teacher or class. Maybe the curriculum doesnt work for him ("whole language" Blahhh). What does the tutor say?

I say send him to second grade and set up a meeting with the teacher right away. Ask for a broad evaluation for LD's and ask for a readig evaluation by a readin specialist.

 

[NVDisMom]

I volunteer in our Reading Recovery Program at my DD's school. We work with children grades 2 thru 5 that are not testing at grade level for reading. In the process I have gotten to know ech one of these kids well. I know each of them strugle with the social aspect of being sent from their class for extra help...many times to a point of hindering them in their efforts to improve. I believe retaining any one of these children would make matters worse. As long as your son is comfortable in that peer group and performing elsewhere in academics I would send him to 2nd grade. The more you read with him, the more he'll improve. Speak with the reading specialist, maybe do some training with her on how to best assist your son in being the best reader he can be. Keep it fun, take lots of breaks, and give lots of encouragement. And know that being at grade level is an average just like being in the 50th percentile for height and weight when you take him to the Dr. Half of the kids are below and half are above. It all will work out in the end. Warning*I am not bagging on teachers in this next statement* Also know that your son may flourish under his next teacher. Not every teacher is the best teacher for every child. Some click...others don't. This may be his year to get it!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

My dd is going into 2nd grade this year, and she just repeated the 1st grade, she was reading below level. Her teachers and I decided half way through the year that she would repeat, this way they wouldn't have to push her so hard to meet the mark. She was completely fine repeating, because she was struggling she was very nervous that she wasn't going to be able to handle second grade. So we repeated and am so glad we did, she caught up in everything, and is very ready for 2nd grade Good Luck.

 

[disneyandme]

When I was teaching 3rd grade, I was brought into a meeting with a second grader that they were recommending for retention. The mother was adimate that she go on despite that fact that we knew she was not going to be able to handle the work load. The following year, 2 weeks into school, the mother requested a meeting. She wanted her put back into second grade and she wanted me to explain it to the child. I made the mom explain it to her and spoke up when necessary. We spoke to both the 2nd and 3rd grade kids about it and their really wasn't much teasing. She flourished in that 2nd grade year and when I got her back the following year she was in the top half of the class. She actually got along better socially with the new kids than the old.
You have to make the decision that is best for your family, but make sure you do it well before school starts.

 

[bjjsword]

We had the same problem with reading in the 1st grade. We thought about holding our daughter back too. She is an early Aug baby, so she also was 1 of the younger kids. Anyhow we pushed on, and it seems like 1 day in 2nd grade something clicked. She now loves to read. She just started 3rd grade 3 weeks ago and so far so good.

 

[mikymouse]

I really appreciate everyone responses... this is truly one of the hardest decisions I had to make and there appears to be so many different results with the kids. After taking everything into consideration, we have deceided to let him repeat 1st grade but our hearts are just broken about it. The teachers told me he would struggle in 2nd grade with all the reading that is required and don't want him to lose his enthusiam for school because the work is difficult for him. I really wished they had a One Plus Grade to help the students reading below grade level but alas it appears no.

He is such a good kid. He worked so well with his tudor and summer school so "he could get ready for 2nd grade". We talked to him and told him that we thought it would be best if he is not one of the youngest kids in his class and he took it pretty well and was looking forward to making new friends. It was the advice of the the school to make it an age thing. I worry that that dosen't really pan out since his birthday is May (suppose to be June)... he is going to be one of the very oldest 1st graders or one of the very younest 2nd graders.

It just seems like one extreme to another. I have this sign in my office that reads "Insanity is defined as performing last years activities using last years methods yet expecting improved results this year." I stare at this every day and think retention cannot be right but we are going to have extra tudoring at home this year which is different plus he is a more mature kid now.. .so maybe a little different.

The school is going to do a muti facueted evaluation to see if there is a learning disability and he had his IQ tested last year and it was high average so it could be a learning disability. If it is a learning disability then the retention will do nothing for him... he will always struggle with reading. Then again ease with other subjects might give him the breathing room to focus on improving his reading. I highly doubt that he has a learning disability he is just working it out on his own terms. He has a track record of making me worry and then exceeding my expectations. He hardely said a word until his 2nd birthday and then he talked non-stop with a very big vocabulary. I know the kid down the street can read very well but he has no comprehension....so it is a very complicated process to get all the components down with fluency.

He did have several programs last year including "Ohio Reads" program, working with the literacy teachers, etc.... and we work with him at home always including the starfall web site that is wonderful.

The best case scenario is that it will click for him and he will jump back up to 2nd grade. The worst case scenario will be he starts to fall behind his younger peers making him feel even worse. Given the two extremes I just hope he is making appropriate progress over the next year.

It seems that everyone that was held back always includes this information when talking to someone.. it is a BIG event. I don't want him to lose confidence so we are trying to make it all very positive. Just praying for a good outcome.