When 1 is not Best

We had the kids parent-teacher conferences a few weeks ago.  Overall, they went fine.  I should put conferences in quotes because the teachers really talk to us for about 13 of the 15 minutes and then ask at the end if we have any questions. 

We learned Jacob is still very good at math, his reading is improving (he has discovered Magic Tree House books and others that he likes).  He is still working on the mechanics of the classroom - lining up properly, getting his assignments in his notebook, etc.  Second grade a big shift from "teacher-done" tasks to "student-done" tasks - like the assignment notebooks.

We learned that Allison needs to be kept away from pens (she has an OCD need to smear the ink), she passed her math test and is really doing well in the social skills group.  They also said they were impressed with her work this year, that they'd seen great (but still inconsistent) gains in handwriting, and that she was working much more diligently this year than past years.

Apparently that diligence and hard work did not spread to her achievement test.  The teacher pushed a paper with her "score" on it and said "don't be alarmed - we don't think this is representative of her ability at all."  The autism teacher said that she had noticed Allison going through the computer test "very quickly."  We believe that she may done the equivalent of a pretty randomized selection of bubbles on a scantron test.  When the test score came home - we could see that the raw score they'd given us at the conference aligned with the 1% of AASD students in her grade.  She scored - raw score - lower than she had at the start of second grade.  So from second grade on her scores had trended upward (in sort of a sinusoidal pattern - they take it three times per year) only to plummet in 4th grade back to square one.  Good grief.

When asked - why - of course Allison says she "didn't want to take the test."  Clearly.  How do you convince a kid that it's important when there is no immediate feedback , no positive benefit, and that child doesn't have an inherent desire to please those around her or a desire to try her hardest if there is no benefit to her?  It's the definition of "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink."

Oh well.  We all know that she can read at a fourth grade level.  She pounds out an Ivy&Bean book in an hour or so, and tells jokes about it so I know she comprehends the story rather than just the words.  In fact, she reads over an hour a day.  I don't know how to convince her to demonstrate that knowledge - or to demonstrate it on passages that are less appealing to her (subject-wise). 

But she was recommended, and I signed her up, for Club Read, which is an after-school computer based reading program for kids in 3-6th grade.  They get treats and snacks and earn a party by passing a certain number of levels. Some of her friends have done it in the past and hopefully it'll be at least a good experience to get used to reading off the computer screen.

It should be interesting to see the results of the state-mandated testing which begins next Monday at 8:45am.  You know - after the kids have been off for 5 days.  Also, they test in the morning on November 1st - the morning after Halloween.  Good planning!