Jennie Sjursen 0:01
state testing is coming up again. Why do we even have these tests? Is there any way I can make testing easier for my child?
Jennie Sjursen 0:09
I'm Jennie Sjursen, ex special educator turned dyslexia interventionist. It wasn't so long ago, that I too, was overwhelmed by balanced literacy versus structured literacy, education speak, and everything in between. Fast forward after many, many hours of self driven education. And you'll see I've built a thriving dyslexia practice helping students from ages six to 18. My specialties, working with a quote unquote difficult almost always to the student, and breaking down the complexities of dyslexic to everyday language strategies and action steps.
Jennie Sjursen 0:50
Before we dive in, have you heard we have a good book section on our website, it's a new and growing feature. Our goal is for it to be your one stop shop for books about learning and dyslexia for adults and kids. It'll help you support your child through their dyslexia neurodiverse journey, we'll dive into it. We're still loving the second edition of dyslexia advocate by Kelly Sandman Harley. The original edition of this book was one of my all time favorite resources to share with parents who recently had a child diagnosed with dyslexia. It contains an immense amount of dyslexia and IEP knowledge. I myself frequently refer back to it when I need to refresh my memory, or I'm looking for a little clarity on a particular topic. If your child is dyslexic, and you are navigating the public school systems, this book is a must have. We've put a link to our good books page in the show notes below. Go ahead, hit pause and bookmark the page for later, we'll wait for you and be on the lookout. April's pick is only a few days away.
Jennie Sjursen 1:53
Depending on where you live, standardized testing can be a mandatory misery your child must endure. As a former school testing coordinator STC, I can honestly say this was my least favorite time of year, so much anxiety disruptions and miss class time. And that was just for me. For many students, especially those with dyslexia. It's even worse.
Jennie Sjursen 2:18
The dyslexic child has spent the past year working super hard, and has made many strides forward and is really feeling good about their progress. Only they have it all crashing down when the mandatory testing results find their way home. In some cases, these scores even deny the child the right to be promoted to the next grade level during testing weeks, and yes, it does take a weeks to get one round of testing done. Anxiety and stress fill the hallways, schedules are all a mess, and nobody knows exactly where they should be.
Jennie Sjursen 2:50
So why do we even do this? A very simplified answer. In 2003. In the United States, the No Child Left Behind Act NCLB was passed. It required states to annually assess students learning through standardized testing, and report the test results on historically neglected groups, students with disabilities, English language learners and low income children. They needed to do all of this in order to be eligible for extra federal funding. NCLB also had a ridiculously ambitious goal of 100% proficiency by the 2013 2014 school year, not realistic at all. This led to some states lowering standards so the test would become easier to pass and drill and kill test prep came into the classroom. In 2015, the Act was reauthorized for a third time and became the Every Student Succeeds Act, which made some modifications, but standardized testing remained in place.
Jennie Sjursen 3:51
So what is a standardized test? A standardized test is a test compromise of a specific set of questions that all students in the same grouping in this case grade take. The idea is that because all the questions are exactly the same when the results are analyzed, they can make comparisons between groups of students and see where more supports and resources are needed. So other than standardized testing being required, depending on where you live. Some places allow students to opt out.
Jennie Sjursen 4:21
What does a standardized testing score tell you about your child? In a nutshell, their score tells you where they fall on a bell curve in relation to the other students in their grade. They are not a good way to assess a student with dyslexia. We already know they're behind their peers. And all these tests do is reconfirm what we already know. So what can you do to help your child through this? My advice, do some research and have a strategic plan.
Jennie Sjursen 4:51
Your first step is to determine if your state is an opt out. Stay with your child's overall mental health benefit from not taking the test. Fun By all means opt out. On the other hand, are you going back and forth with the school and the school seems to require even more data to get the evaluation process rolling, or an add reading services to the IP, taking the task and help solidify your child's needs, and maybe get some things moving. Once you determine if your child is required to or needs to take the test for data purposes, your next step is to put a few strategies into place. I have seven.
Jennie Sjursen 5:29
One, check your child's IEP and look to see what testing accommodations are provided. It's important to know there can be a difference between classroom and testing combinations. Not all classroom accommodations are allowed during standardized testing,
Jennie Sjursen 5:46
Two check with the school that your child will receive all the testing accommodations listed in their IEP, if not, why some IPS data reader will be provided. But many of the tests these days have an audio component built in that replaces the need for a reader. It just has to be turned on at the admin level.
Jennie Sjursen 6:06
Three, check with your child's teacher or case manager that your child has used and practice the testing accommodations as they are presented in the test. For example, if there is an audio option, Does your child know how to access and control it? If not, make sure they get on that
Jennie Sjursen 6:26
Four talk to your child about the test. Listen to all of their concerns and remind them they are not the test. The test doesn't measure their intelligence, talent, work ethic or other positive traits. The test also isn't going to tell you or them anything new.
Jennie Sjursen 6:45
Five, teach your child or remind them have previously learned self relaxation techniques. When I was teaching at Kennedy Krieger in one of their tight to high schools, one of my co workers taught all of our students the SATA nama meditation. Along with individually touching each finger to your thumb, you chant saw ta na Ma, and each sound corresponds to a finger touch. So with saw you touch your forefinger and a thumb together with ta you touch your middle finger to your thumb, and so on. The coolest thing was seeing students independently use this technique during standardized testing and final exams. I looked over and he was pressing his fingers to his thumbs. And then I clicked and what he was doing, it was really cool to see there is a YouTube video that goes through all the cycles of the chant if you want to try it.
Jennie Sjursen 7:39
Six, make sure your child gets a good night's sleep. When you're tired, it's difficult to think clearly. A dyslexic student's ability to process language can be significantly impacted by their sleep quality. I can almost always tell when one of my students has had a bad night's sleep, they have a really hard time decoding and encoding, even things they mastered a long time ago.
Jennie Sjursen 8:01
Seven have your child eat a nourishing breakfast, snacks are not allowed in the testing room and nobody thinks clearly when they're hangry. To wrap up, there are a few important things to keep in mind. If your child is receiving dyslexia tutoring. Don't be surprised if their standardized testing scores remain low. You need to keep in mind they started behind and are usually grade levels below their peers. Standardized testing is assessing your child on grade level content, not content at their current skill level. This is why these tests are such self esteem killers if your child is making progress based on their personal baselines, and the tutoring is working. Finally, no single test can measure your child's overall reading proficiency. many data points have to be analyzed and taken into account.
Jennie Sjursen 8:54
If you have any further questions about standardized assessments and strategies for making it through this season, please feel free to sneak into my inbox. We'd also love your input. What would you like to hear from us in the future? Is there a topic we haven't covered yet? You really want to learn more about or do you have a pressing need and you're really not sure how to handle it or move forward. Send us a DM on Instagram or drop us a line at Jenny je n n i e at literacy untangled.com We can't wait to hear from you. Until next time, bye bye
Jennie Sjursen 9:29
I hope you enjoyed this episode of literacy untangled if you love this episode as much as I did, head on over and rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you want to continue the conversation or share your takeaways, head on over to our Instagram at literacy untangled and comment on your favorite part. I can't wait to hang out with you again soon. Bye
