Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Grades. . .

I know I am a little late for this post but, for those following up about Sylvan I felt I needed to share this with you.  Thomas got 2 A's and 2 B's.  I am very proud of him for this it was a difficult nine weeks.  He brought his C in math up to  a B.   I did recently have him tested in Reading with Sylvann and it reinforced what I knew already.  He has a very good vocabulary but there are still some gaps in his skills that he is just not getting. 
I am very much against the kids being tested on a computer for Reading.  These children have enough problems reading the printed page much less trying to scroll through a story with the mouse or up and down arrows.   Thomas has yet to pass a bench mark test either in Reading or Math.  Yet, he is testing off the charts on the California Achievement test at Sylvan and is making A's and B's.   Do the schools not see a problem with this?  I  guess not since they continue to test.  Thomas did well on his Reading test like I said he does have some problems in comprehension but the problems he has is merely compounded by being tested on a computer.  I know I need to get off my "soap box" and move on but I cannot.  This is my child and if we don't stand up for them nobody else will.  Then you run the risk of them falling through the cracks of our messed up education system.
So Tom's trouble with comprehension is; he does not get the details of the story and the fine points.  Well, scrolling up and down on a computer would only make things worse for him as far as I am concerned.
I would love to here what anyone else has to say.  Any educators out there?  I would love to know your opinion on this.