Pre k and I'm confused!

[MuddyHuggies]

Sorry this might get long. I'm kind of lost and confused on something that I heard at my sons' teacher conference. Here we go.

My son is 4 y/o and goes to pre k 5 days a week for 2.5 hours each day. It's the same pre k program my oldest child went too so I'm familiar with how the program works. It is the best program in my area and they offer good special ed services that my son needs. I felt my son would be the safest in this program out of all the others.

My son missed the birthday cut off for our district. So we had to wait another year before he could go. Last year I got my son an O/T teacher to come into our home to help him on the areas he needed the most help with. My son is hard of hearing, has major speech delays, has balance issues and doesn't have good control of his hands. He also has mild color blindness. ( Red & green, purple & brown and orange & yellow look the same to my son but when those colors aren't together, he can tell them apart.) Since my son has these problems, he has an IEP. Special services also help him in school this year too. We are giving him all the help we can now. For 2 years I fought to get my son help but no one believed my son needed help. It was a fight! 

The O/T teacher gives me reports and she tells me how my son is doing. Every week he learned something new and master another skill. The O/T teacher told me he isn't that far behind an average pre k child. My son of course has more skills to master, but for the most part is doing good.

I had my sons teacher conference and I got a totally different report from them. I was confused! But I know some kids do better one on one then in groups. So the teacher told me all the areas my son failed. Those areas my son knows! But he got confused and didn't answer the teacher right the first time. No do overs in pre k. So my son scored a 51 out of 100 on the test. Ok I thought that's better then I thought it would be.

BUT here's the kicker. They factor in my sons' age. Since he is 4 yrs 10 months old, his score went down to 21 out of 100! HUH?? They couldn't explain why they factor in my sons age. All they could tell me was he is older then most pre k students so he should know more. Well if my son knew more then the other students, I wouldn't have sent him to this school! If you are taking 4 yrs old, then they all should be tested the same and the score should be what you no, you get credit for!

I don't understand why my son is being penalized for having a late birthday. It is not my sons' fault he was born in the middle of December and missed the school districts birthday cut off date! But it seems you get penalized for something you have no control over!

So can anyone explain why they factor in a child's age?

[Lb128f]

Nov. 5, 2009 at 9:35 AM

I'm sorry...I don't think you should worry...you know what you child is capable of doing. And, many children don't do well on standardized testing (not nearly as well as they'd do with one on one).

There are two basic types of achievement assessments: norm-referenced and criterion referenced. In a norm-referenced test, a student's scores are compared to other students' scores to determine how the child is performing in relation to others his age (Woolfolk, A., 2004). A criterion-referenced test compares a student's scores to a set standard, not to other test takers. Criterion-referenced tests usually measure specific objectives and are helpful to teachers because they measure specific academic strengths and weaknesses (Woolfolk, A., 2004). http://www.education.uiowa.edu/resources/tep/employment/07p075folder/Standardized_testing.htm

[MrsBeasley]

Nov. 6, 2009 at 1:15 AM I could understand it if they were talking about a just turned 2 year old vs an almost 3 year old...there's a lot of difference between those. And with regards to having any disabilities, there may be some difference too. I agree with pp, don't let it worry you too much. But I would ask if it is applied to all prek's--ie, 4 year olds, 4 yrs 6 mosn etc and if it works the other way as well--do they get more points if they are ahead for their age? If the answer to either of those is no, then I would raise a small fuss about it. BTW, my cousin had an IEP from the age of 3--when he was younger a part of his was that he had to sit at the front, by the teachers desk and when it came to test taking he took only half at a time--he always knew the material but would get overloaded. Maybe you can get something like that added. Good luck, I'm just starting the process with my oldest.

[MuddyHuggies]

Nov. 6, 2009 at 9:56 PM

I wouldn't worry about his score this early in the year since he can improve threw out the rest of the yr, BUT the teachers are already talking about putting him in full special ed kindergarten next year. I thought it was too early to make that call since our school yr ends the last week of June. So this is why I'm nervous and worried about it.

The age being factored in applies to all pre k students. The younger you are, the better off you are. The age factor doesn't effect your score as much if you are 4 yrs 6 months and under.  If my son was 4 yrs 6 months old, then his score would have only gone down 10 or so points. I don't think a child's age should be factored in since it is not their fault if they miss the birthday cut off.

I've just started my journal down the IEP road. I'm educating myself as much as I can. I'm researching every thing I can about special ed too. But I'm getting lost with what I can ask for to help my child better.

Thank you so much  MrsBeasley for the advice on asking about splitting up the test. I never thought about that.

Thank you Lb128f for the link and explaining the age factor for these test.

(Original Poster)