Hi Katherine,

How typical the pattern!  The public schools here ( and probably  
elsewhere) require "triennial" testing for IEP's.  Seldom do I EVER  
see a re-evaluation of cognitive skills.... but rather more  
achievement tests to see where the current level of functioning is.   
We now know that  "IQ" is not static... much of it ( the verbally  
based tests) being based on acquired knowledge.  In the past year, I  
have had two third grade students referred to me who were first  
assessed in kindergarten by the public schools.  I was quite surprised  
( and pleased) that the assessments were done so early.  The referrals  
were  made by classroom teachers who noticed the children were not  
progressing commensurate with their peers in areas such as rhyming,  
phonemic awareness, naming letters and sounds, etc....

Both of them in kindergarten were  within the "average range"  in most  
of the cognitive  tests given by the school district, except perhaps  
the CTOPP, short-term memory sub-tests,  and for one the VMI.  The  
"overall IQ was dead average".  On "achievement tests" they were also   
"dead average" with their peers.... in the 50%ile range, not the  
25th.  One was clearly "superior" in spacial awareness.  Both had  
discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal IQ scores.

IEP plans were put into place and students were given resource services.

Fast forward three years:

While not both  at the same level, the triennial re-test showed their  
achievement scores ( in general) still at K-1 level, maybe grade 2 in  
some areas for a couple of them.
In addition, they were having behavioral problems in school.
Teachers were saying that while they were "very sweet kids", they were  
not able to keep up with peers.  Their teachers were clearly  
compassionate.
The teachers were all, in my opinion, doing their best to help these  
children learn in other ways by providing them "classroom partners",  
parent volunteer helpers, individual help... all the usual things a  
classroom teacher can do.
The parents were also very  concerned ( so much so that at this point,  
they had hired me to help their children).

When I  suggested  a full "outside evaluation" from a highly reputable  
clinic here in the Bay Area of CA, this is what was found:

The overall IQ scores had dropped from the "average range" to the  
"borderline range".  These children were now considered "borderline"  
and clear candidates for a special day class ( according to the public  
school district).
While they had "average" skills when compared with their kindergarten  
peers, they now had "borderline" skills as compared with their third  
grade peers.

This was not "stalling out at 3rd grade".   How many adults have you  
seen in adult literacy classes that "stalled out at third grade"....  
and never got started again?  In my opinion, "stalling out at 3rd  
grade" is more likely the result of "moving the fourth grade  
curriculum down to third grade in order to get the students ready for  
it!" ( Yes, this IS what I hear)...  and it  ( the stall?) happens  
with many kids who might not be have a problem at all with  
developmentally appropriate curriculum.

Regression, on the other hand is very real.  It is imperative to be re- 
evaluated on both the cognitive scales, as well as the achievement  
scales.  As Brant points out, this is where we evaluate "processing"  
and it provides the differential diagnosis.  While students may be  
making progress in their reading skills, they may still be regressing  
against their peers.  In other words, they are measured against some  
"norm" of age or grade peers.  Sometimes, even when the student is  
making good progress, the peer / norm "average"  indicates that  
average peers  made  faster progress and the struggler continues to  
test behind the group.  Testing "at grade level" is not necessarily  
the same as "making progress".  The good news... if your daughter IS  
making progress, she will eventually catch up!  There is no "rushing "  
possible... you must go as slow as necessary and as fast as possible!   
It is a tricky thing to do!  Sometimes it takes a long time to catch  
up... and as Brant so well points out, all teachers, tutors,  
assessors, etc. are not equal!

In addition to "grade level ", you should also look at "progress".   
The assessment gives a skilled clinician the information to design the  
best intervention  ( of course , like physicians, not all may agree on  
what that is).  It may not  not black and white, so you need to  
educate yourself.   If your student is truly "stalled out".... then  
there is no progress, it should not be a relief!

I often see students around the 4th-5th grade who are first  
experiencing trouble at that level for the first time.  There are  
reasons why this happens.  In the primary grades, many students rely  
on "sight words"... and the level of sentence complexity is  
elementary.  Their cognitive strengths allow them to function well at  
this level... good memory, etc.  Around 4th or 5th grade, they  
encounter more "academic," and to them, "rare and foreign" words, that  
they don't know how to decode!  In addition, phrases and clauses piled  
up in sentences leave them bewildered as to what the main point is!   
When asked what the sentence is about, they will often name the noun  
most often mentioned, or the one that occurs first in the sentence,  
even though this may be part of an introductory clause.

Katherine, your posts indicate that you are a mother who will do what  
you need to do to help your child, and a very thoughtful and  
resourceful one at that!    I too, have a personal story, very similar  
to those already told here.  At the end of my son's third grade, the  
teacher took me aside once and told me he was very lucky to have me  
for a parent!  I had been "on this teacher's  back" relentlessly ( but  
tactfully and nicely) throughout the school year.  Deep down in their  
hearts, your daughter's teachers are with you!  Keep nicely nagging!   
Do what it takes to figure out what needs to be done to help your  
daughter.  Educate yourself; don't rely on "professionals".  They  
don't know your child like you do!
By the way, my son is now a multi-media producer.  I also have a  
daughter, the same age as Sharon's, who, like Sharon's,  in spite of  
having been  a precocious reader, is highly anxious about spelling in  
her job as a CEO of an environmental consulting firm...  and she keeps  
a "Stunk and White" on her desk for grammar, another thing she was  
never explicitly taught!  My personal life's journey is what has  
brought me to what I do today... and I love doing it!  Listen to your  
heart as well as your mind!


Maureen Carro, MS, ET
Academic Learning Solutions
Alamo, CA
mcarro at lmi.net



On Nov 5, 2009, at 5:04 PM, Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt wrote:


> Thank you, Brant, and on some level I am relieved that "stalling  

> out" at 2-3rd grade isn't atypical.

>

> Though my daughter is already in special education, I don't think it  

> would hurt to have her re-evaluated.  The last time she went through  

> any kind of IQ, psychological or LD testing, she was six years old.  

> She is now eleven and will be entering junior high next year.  If  

> she needs increased pull-out time, I would like to get that started  

> now.

>

> On Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 11:20 AM, Brant Hayenga <bhayenga at rrps.net>  

> wrote:

> Katherine:

>

> Unless your pediatrician has indicated some health problem there is  

> never any need for an MRI or any other brain scan to diagnose and  

> plan remediation for a possible reading disability. Is your daughter  

> receiving special education services? You may request an evaluation  

> form the school district. If you attend private school, but live in  

> a public school district, you may request an evaluation from the  

> public school where your daughter would attend.

>

>

> Andrea is correct about the urgent need to know what reading skills  

> your daughter already has, and which ones she still needs to  

> acquire. Do not delay. That she has stalled out at the 2-3 grade  

> level is very typical. Students with reading disabilities can often  

> attain this level, but pushing beyond this level is very difficult  

> without a more intensive and systematic intervention, which is  

> almost never available in a general education setting.

>

>

> All evaluations are not created equal. You need information about  

> your daughter’s phonemic awareness skills, letter/sound association  

> knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, reading fluency, reading  

> comprehension, and her receptive and expressive language skills.  

> There are cognitive processing skills that are strongly associated  

> with reading acquisition that should also be measured (auditory/ 

> phonological processing, verbal working memory, executive attention,  

> long term retrieval fluency, etc.) The evaluation might include the  

> Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ Cog III), the  

> Wechsler Individual Achievement Test III (WIAT-III), the  

> Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP), and the Gray  

> Oral Reading Test IV (GORT IV). Ask specifically for the skills and  

> processes to be measured and ask if the tests the evaluator has  

> selected will yield scores in those areas.

>

>

> All intervention teachers are not created equal. Even if you get a  

> proper evaluation, the next step is to plan an appropriate  

> intervention. The plan must include measurable goals (i.e. today she  

> can read this many words correct in 1 minute from a second grade  

> level text, with this percentage of words read correctly. Next month  

> she needs to be reading more words correctly). Don’t settle with  

> vague goals such as “Will be able to read grade level text for  

> comprehension.” That is a nice goal, but it is hard to measure, and  

> if you can’t measure the progress the chances of wasting time are  

> high. She needs to learn more than her peers in order to get caught  

> up. You must always keep in mind whether or not she is catching up.  

> If not, the intervention needs to be changed somehow. Your daughter  

> should be able to catch up in her ability to read words and her  

> ability to comprehend (unless she has a rare low-incidence problem  

> such autism, and this is very unlikely. If she had an obvious  

> disorder such as that she likely would have been diagnosed long  

> ago). However, it is likely that she will always be a slow reader.  

> That is ok if you can normalize her ability to read words  

> accurately, and to her ability to comprehend what she reads.

>

>

> Your daughter likely needs help restoring her self-confidence. This  

> is critical. She needs to work harder than her peers in order to get  

> caught up. She will need a lot of motivation and self-confidence in  

> order to sustain the level of effort needed.

>

>

> Self educate! You need to be an expert advocate for your daughter. A  

> good place to start is with the FREE publication form the National  

> Institute for Literacy, A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas from  

> Research for Parents, Kindergarten through grade 3. This can be  

> downloaded for FREE at www.nifl.gov , or you can call 800-228-8813  

> and have a free copy mailed to you. This is a great publication! You  

> should read the whole pub, but focus on the second grade section for  

> ideas about what you should do at home, and what to look for at her  

> school. There are many other good titles available for free.

>

>

> Hope that helps.

>

>

>

>

> Brant Hayenga

>

> Educational Diagnostician

>

> Stapleton Elementary/Rio Rancho Middle School

>

> (505) 896-0667 ext. 226 (District Office)

>

> (505) 891-8473 ext. 519 (Stapleton Elementary)

>

> bhayenga at rrps.net

>

>

>

> Please note that RRPS email addresses have changed. Please update your

> address books or distribution lists.

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

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> Email delivered to katherine.gotthardt at gmail.com

>

>

>

> -- 

> Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

> Community Writer for NEWS AND MESSENGER

> www.insidenova.com

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

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