# Can a school hold a child back



## Farm 36

Can a school hold hold a child back . My 8 year is in 3 grade and is having a hard time reading . We read the math, history and science to hime he does the work . In math he can add and subtract and barrow with no trouble but the word problem we read to hime and he does the math .At night before bed he reads pages from a book that is from the library that he has picked out . If I read the pages before him he does a better job than reading it the first time .Last week I read Charletts Web to him and he did the book report Is this right or should he spend the next 2 to 4 months reading this .When He reads he remembers very little but if I read to him he remembers everything .In phonics he is doing very well spelling and writing sentinences. The online teacher said that if he cann't read he has to be held back and I think this is a bad move because he knows the material but he just is being challanged reading . All advice is welcome.


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## jen74145

Schools back home could move a child up, but they had a remedial period during the day if it was just one concept they were a bit lost on. I would think it would discourage him terribly, if he is excelling at everything else, to be held back. I don't know what yours has available, but I would ask.

Has he been tested for dyslexia? Hmm...


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## Ohio dreamer

I'm too am a homeschooling mom. In most schools (and curriculum's) there is a big change between 3rd and 4th grade materials. If a child can't read at the end of 3rd grade it is normal to hold them back (when I was in school they were held back in 2nd grade). Because you are talking about an online teacher, I am assuming you are "public schooling at home". There are allot of bonuses going that route, but there are some down sides, too. You may not have the ability to have your son not held back. It sounds like your son is an auditory learner, so reading the material to him works well....but he needs to learn to read and absorb the information that way, too. Many kids, my kids started doing these at 5 yrs old with Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Mr Popper's Penguins, etc) can do a book report if the book is read to them, the point behind a book report in 3rd grade is reading it yourself and understanding what you read. The report is to test their reading comprehension, not listening comprehension.

In your shoes, I would hold a non-reading 8 yr old back if he wasn't reading close to grade level by the end of the year. Most 3rd graders are 9 or very close to it at the beginning of the year and many kids struggle with reading till they are 9 or so, holding him back may keep him from getting in over his head in 4th grade. He will need to be able to read and do the work without it being read to him. Do you have a choice of curriculum? Can you try a different method of learning to read? If they hold him back can you use a different curriculum next year so it's not the same books all over again (especially if you read it all to him and he mastered the information)....that would be horribly discouraging to child!


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## chickenista

Reading is just a matter of practice.
If you could find easier books that are not so thick so he can get the feeling of success, that might help too.
Also, try having him sit at the table and read with you in the late morning. Bedtime is not the best time for little guys to try to focus well enough to retain and do a good job of reading. Mine is always to tired and I can tell a difference in his reading depending on the time of day. And get him to do a few short bursts of reading several times a day.
You still have quite a while before the end of school to get him used to reading and more comfortable with it so that he can retain more.


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## Alice In TX/MO

Also have him checked for Irlen Syndrome. There is a dramatic improvement in reading and reading comprehension if this is detected and modifications are made.

http://irlen.com/index.php


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## Farm 36

We had his eyes checked and they are fine . He reads like a rolladex . When he sees a word he goes through the sounds till he finds the one he needs then the next sound and so . It sounds weird but I did the same thing and had extra reading classes till 7th grade . I still struggle reading a book but have found some authors that I can read and understand very well but most it is just going through the motions . I believe that the extra or special classes did very little to help me. I believe it has to do with how him or I process reading or what we see in life .If someone can change or teach us how to mentally process the information the right way he will read and understand with a drop of a hat . I also believe this is not a tutor problem it is a processing problem .My son is homschooled at home and he some online classes with a teacher once or twice a month to see that things are going fine .


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## QuiltingLady2

If the school wants to hold him back there must be a valid reason. Have you meet with his teacher and others to see what that reason is other than his reading ability? 

Are there tutors availible at school or outside of school that could or would help him catch up?


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## Terri

Do you have him read aloud when he reads? If not, you might have him try reading aloud. It might help him to hear it.

My son learned to read because he loved trains. He would read the captions under the pictures over and over again, while lovingly gazing at the pictures, and eventually he became fluent with those words. 

This became the base of his reading ability because those words became easy for him, so that he was only sounding out a couple of words in each sentance. It is much easier to understand a sentance if you only have to sound out a couple of words.


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## Danaus29

Google "auditory learners" You might find some tactics that help.


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## NWMO

Schools can hold students back. Check your school district's policy regarding retention of students.
In Missouri, there has been legislation enacted that states children should be reading at a certain "level" by 3rd grade, or various interventions must be utilized. If the interventions do not raise the reading performance, then the child is held back. Schools around here use a variety of interventions and assessments to reach that "magic" mark to avoid retention....as many reading issues are extremely complex and retention at this age is tough and eventually leads to higher levels of school dropout.
We typically focus any retention in K and 1 as most issues involve "readiness" to learn.


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## TurnerHill

No one is going to say it? Fine. I will.

Homeschooling is not for everyone. I have three kids. One is homeschooled, one is in public school, one is a baby. So I am not anti-homeschool. 

I also tend to be a sloppy writer, when the writing in question is internet forum posts.

But you need to have enough self-awareness to recognize what you can and cannot do. A child can't be taught to read in a few minutes before bed, by a parent whose language skills aren't strong.

Of course your child should be held back. You can't go into fourth grade unable to read.


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## Tracy Rimmer

What strikes me about your post is your statement that he doesn't retain information when HE reads it, but remembers everything when it's read TO him. I would put cash money on your son being an auditory learner. In the public system, children who are identified as learning "differently" are given different learning resources and methodologies for learning. You simply have to provide those, and teach your child mechanisms for self-teaching that take that into consideration.

But, like TH said, your child cannot move forward if he can't read. Reading is more than the rote verbalizing of the written word -- reading is COMPREHENDING what one is seeing. Until that is improved, your child is only going to get further and further behind in regular classwork as they move forward. 

My suggestion would be two-fold -- listen to the online teacher and take his/her advice -- your child cannot excel in future if he doesn't have the appropriate tools -- AND get him in for a proper assessment of his learning challenges. Research into learning issues is light years ahead of where it was only ten or fifteen years ago. If he has a parent who also struggled, I would say it's almost a certainty that his problem is one that there is a solution for -- or at least a coping mechanism -- today.


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## jmtinmi

Isn't one of the main benefits of home schooling being flexible and to accomidate your individual child and circumstances? 

When my DD was home schooling she would only finish about 75% of her math for the year. We would just continue with the unfinished books in the fall! It will 'click' when it clicks. Just make sure you are offering ample opportunities for reinforcement and learning. Allow him to move forward in the subjects he is on track with and identify some solutions for his learning style with reading. Help his reading in subjects that have it, but concentrate on solutions for a certain amount of time each day.

Are on-line classes mandatory in WI? If I were in your situation, I would drop the on-line class(es), establish some techniques, solutions, or routines and document progress. I wouldn't be afraid to try something for a couple of weeks, decided it wasn't working and move on but always document (I journalize progress, problems, issues and solutions) Not only will his help you to focus on a solution and if it is working, but it will prove consistent effort on your part if you are ever questioned about if you are truly teaching your child. 

While my son doesn't seem to have a reading problem, we will read to each other almost everyday. He reads one page and I read the other until our assignments are complete. This helps him to hear my inflections and he has to follow along to know where I am on the page. It helps me to hear his progress with words, pauses, etc. If you try this, it might mean that you read a sentence and then he does, etc. 

Good luck with your situation.


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## NWMO

Not sure about the retention issue as it applies to you and your situation. Tracy is "right on" with her assessment. I would say an "assessment" of his learning is paramount at this point to guide you in how to proceed. Since you mention you potentially had this same struggle with reading, it could be a diagnosis that might "clarify" things for you too? Who knows!


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## Farm 36

Thanks for the many ideas and suggestions .The great thing about home school is the you go at the pace of the child not of the class. Are there fun cd or online sites that could help ? I can read six pages to him and have him read them and does a better job and yes some times we do read everyother sentince or page .The discussion is helping alot to find ways to help. I am looking for the tools to help him to be a better student. I find the hardest and fun part of home schooling is for me finding a way to teach him that he can learn .I enjoy seeing the light go on .Yesterday he sat on the couch and read to his cat and I could see that this was fun and he was retaining the reading material because he was reading to the cat.For some reason he was reading or teaching the cat and not saying the words.
Nwmo you are right when I find the answer to help him I will be following right behind him . Him and I see things the same way. The challanges that he is finding are the same for me or was .


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## chickenista

You know.. some kids like to read into a tape recorder so that they can have 'books on tape' anytime they want. He may enjoy that.


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## ya-ni-sa_song

Hi I am new here, but I do know a bit about these processes. 

Has your son ever been evaluated special services? 

If not, you need to write a letter to the school requesting full psycho-educational testing. The school has 60 days to respond and complete testing. Quite often, a child's I.Q. will be higher than his (or her) academic performance--in your child's case, reading. This will automatically qualify the child for special services. (Intelligence testing at this grade level is assessed orally.) There are many other tests which will done at this time that could pin point specific areas of weakness. 

These are federal laws, they do not vary from state-to-state. 

It sounds like your son does not need to be held back. What he does need is support for what I assume to be a learning disability.


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## NWMO

Just to clarify, just because a parent "requests" testing or assessment, does not mean it will occur. There have been changes to federal and state laws in the past few years......but do make a call to your school district or state educational cooperative to find out what services are available to you to determine what type of disability or issues you might be dealing with. Another resource might be a local home school network. I am sure there are other home school parents who have dealt with similar situations and could clarify your rights/expectations for service.


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## ya-ni-sa_song

Here is a clip from the Wisconsin Department of Education (http://dpi.wi.gov/SPED/pdf/intro-se.pdf) explaining the process. Yes, they do have to evaluate the need for testing, but if they are suggesting that your child needs to be held back, there should not be a problem in obtaining assessment. 



"Anyone can ask the school to decide if a child needs special
education. You, a teacher, a nurse or a doctor can ask. This is called a
referral. A referral must be written. You can send a referral letter
to the principal or special education director.
A referral letter should:
â¢ Tell the date.
â¢ Say âThis is a referral for special education.â
â¢ Tell the childâs first and last name, date of birth, and school.
â¢ Tell why you think the child might need special education.
Your school has up to 15 business days from when they get a referral to decide if
more tests are needed. Your school will ask for your permission if more tests are
needed. Your school has up to 60 days from when they get your permission to
test your child and decide if your child qualifies. They have up to 30 days after
your child qualifies to:
â¢ Write an IEP.
â¢ Decide where your child will go to school and tell you in writing.
The school will send you paperwork. Start a file.
You need to understand the papers so you can help the others on the IEP team. If
you donât understand something, call the school. They will explain it. They also
will tell you where you can get more help understanding it.
Steps in the IEP Team Process:
1. Referring your child for special education.
2. Evaluating your child.
â¢ Does your child have an impairment?
â¢ Does your child need special education?
3. Deciding what services are needed and writing the IEP. The
school must have a meeting to write the IEP within 30 days
of deciding your child is eligible for special education.
4. Deciding where your child will receive services and
sending you a placement notice.
5. Reviewing the IEP and placement at least once each year.
6. Reevaluating your child at least once every three years. You
and the school can agree not to reevaluate your child."


Here is a great resource that explains how to write a referral letter:
http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/publicschoolprograms/ht/spedreferrals.htm


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## Farm 36

The Home school has programs that are avalible . I keep getting programs for tutoring and that is not the problem it has to do with how his head is wire or how he interpets the material . You could say it is a disablty but I don't believe in them they are just obsticals that make us work harder .If you are willing to learn you can learn anything you just need a path to follow or guidence to get there.


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## TurnerHill

This is offered in a helpful spirit. Please take it that way, and not as a slam.

Have you considered the possibility that the problem might be that you are not able to teach him, rather than anything wrong with him? Between your stated issue with reading, and the grammar and spelling in your posts, I think it is a reasonable question. Homeschooling isn't for everyone.


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## Lisa in WA

Farm 36 said:


> The Home school has programs that are avalible . I keep getting programs for tutoring and that is not the problem it has to do with how his head is wire or how he interpets the material . You could say it is a disablty but I don't believe in them they are just obsticals that make us work harder .If you are willing to learn you can learn anything you just need a path to follow or guidence to get there.


I admire your work ethic but if your son has a genuine learning disability, you need to learn how to work smarter, not necessarily harder. 
May I ask what your motivation to homeschool is? Religious, political, no school nearby?


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## ya-ni-sa_song

Farm 36,

I am legally Deaf and I have a son who has a learning disability which significantly impacts his ability to read. I am also attending a university to become a Special Education teacher (I home schooled my three children for 10 years).

I COMPLETELY agree with you when you say that the problems associated with disabilities are obstacles. Special education services can be seen as "training" for the "Olympics" (graduation, etc.). A diagnosis just tells the "trainers" where they need to work in order to help YOU help YOUR SON to be successful. 

A diagnosis for a learning disability does not mean that your son would be on any sort of medication or receive any unnecessary treatment. 

I also agree with you that tutoring may not be beneficial for your son. Tutoring programs generally take a one-size-fits-all approach. If your son has a learning disability, he needs assistance to help him overcome the specific challenges associated with his disability. For example, I could receive all of the tutoring that I want, but it is not going to help me HEAR what the teacher is saying


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## KIT.S

My son has dislexia (as did my father). He is absolutely an auditory learner, and I read his history to him all the way into highschool. He actually ended up learning to read for himself from The Hobbit in about 4th grade, but his reading has improved over time. He's in university to be a highschool teacher (it's amazing that all my kids ended up as teachers - I would never have guessed!) His IQ is off the charts, but he couldn't read and comprehend. He could read out loud to me, but immediately afterward couldn't tell me what he had read. He did, however, test well in every subject other than reading.

I was surprised that with his dislexia he could understand blueprints. Somehow, that worked for him, but he still mixes up 21 and 12, etc.

Anyway, I would get your child tested so that the school has to recognize that he has a specific problem in one area rather than overall inablility to do the work. He may not be "held back" in the other subjects, but given additional assistance in reading. 

Kit


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## Farm 36

Yes, you are right that I struggle with putting words on paper and communicating to others . My wife is doing the schooling but I listen and help her teach him so he understands . When I sit in, I see myself in his shoes having the same struggles as I did .When he does sentence structure, finding the noun ,verb, pronoun,and adverb he does great. I did some research on the auditor learning and it does seem to fit but now I need to figure how to help him to over come this obstacle.


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## Ohio dreamer

I agree with many of the posters, sounds like you should get some testing done. For us, as homeschooler, have no access to anything from our local public schools. BUT, you might be able to call them as ask where you should look to get testing done (if they won't do it for you for free). I know testing can be expensive and often not covered my medical insurance. Do you have any colleges or universities local? See if their education department does testing. I know the university that I went to had allot of services they offered the public at reduced rates. The testing will be done by a student, but over seen by the instructor. Once you have a better idea of what is going on you should be able to find a direction to go to help your son.


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## Drew Cutter

As some one who grew up with a learning disability. I think home schooling can help a child self esteen issues that arise in public school. LD is usally a memory issue. I read 3-4 grades ahead of my class level. Have him read a loud , see if his speed is a problem. I'm typically a few words of ahead of where i'm reading ( sometimes you feel like you are on speed , as child you don't want to slow down to be able to read in front of people , as you get older you realize what you have to do to sound like a normal reader) . This can be embrassing to a child in public school. Also , see how he memorize a poem ( something that totally embrassed me in school , it is result of LD). If he struggle with memorization , then i strongly have him tested for LD. LD is not a curse , but you do have to figure out how to play to your strengths.


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## Farm 36

Drew Does LD stand for learning disabilty or something else ?


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## Drew Cutter

Yes . It does stand for learning disability. LD kids are not stupid . I actually score above average on IQ test (this test they use to see if you have LD) and below on other parts of the test because of my LD . Dyslexia - in my book is something different. The biggest thing you can do is being their for him and keeping his self esteen high . Kids with LD try to hide with being good in sports or something else. LD also supposely have problem with making friends or being in a large group setting . I think its more of not wanting to be embarrassed . Kids can be crued to those who they perseve as being different.


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## Stonybrook

I can't believe I actually am looking at this board. I really must be avoiding doing anything domestic today. 

I am going to jump in here because I know this topic well. I am a school psychologist. This is what I do for a living.

You really do need to request an evaluation of your son, who does sound like he has a learning disability. The law requires that every school district in every state identify every disabled child within their district. They call it child find, and it includes home-school children. Call the special education office within your school district and find out how they do child find. They should give you someone to call or be able to tell you the process in your district. In our district, the children are tested through the school they would attend if they were enrolled. You should receive a copy of your rights and responsibilities before the first meeting you will have to discuss an assessment. If you don't get it before then, you should get it at the meeting. But, you could just go the the Dept of Ed website, link to the special education website, and then search for parent rights. Personally, if I were you I would do this before you do anything else and read it. 

The reality of the situation is that if your son really has a learning disability, which I assume is the case, retention is the least of your concerns. He will struggle until the problem (the underlying processing issue) is identified. How can you know what instructional strategies to use if you do not know the problem? You have to identify the problem first. I will say though that whatever the weakness is you have found how he compensates, which is also critical information. If he were in a school, I would have him receive direct special education instruction in reading, and in the other areas I would have the texts read to him. Schools can get books on tape or you can read his books to him. He can have tests read to him for his assignments, and he can even have group achievement tests read to him, including word problems for math IF he is identified as a student with a disability. 

Last thought, the research in retention suggests that it is not particularly helpful. If I am working with a student who is behind solely because of attendance issues, then it might help that student. 

There. I'm done.


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## offthegrid

I know several homeschool families who did not even start teaching reading until their kids were 8 because they just didn't feel that their kids were ready. Just because some kids aren't reading in 3rd grade doesn't mean they have a learning disability, and clearly this is true because some of these kids are extremely bright.

That being said, it's entirely possible that there IS something else going on; it's impossible for us to say without having ever met your child.

If you consider having him evaluated, I would think about finding someone with homeschool experience and not going to your district (if you can afford to do this). While I think public school teachers & psychologists are well-intentioned, their perspective might be just what you'd expect: if kids aren't reading in 3rd grade they have a learning disability. They may not take into account the differences in how you've educated your child; if you haven't specifically TAUGHT him to read, it's not surprising that he may not be able to read.

I don't know that an online course for Language Arts or reading is appropriate in this instance (not sure what the online class is). What materials have you used to teach phonics & reading?

I'm not sure your district could hold your son back if you are homeschooling. I believe you could do so if you choose, and then if you find he has caught up you could probably advance him again. I probably wouldn't do anything yet....it's only November and you would have all year to make this decision.


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## Stonybrook

Actually, Offthegrid, you are incorrect in your understanding of how assessments for learning disabilities are done by the public schools. You do not simply look at scores and discrepancies in scores. You have to look for how information is processed, look for variation in how children perform in different types of skills, and you have to look at the child's instruction. That is why they require schools to rule out excessive absences, truancy, frequent school transfers, etc. You basically have to determine that the child has had an adequate opportunity to learn the skills. Obviously, if you didn't start teaching a 9 year old to read until he was 8, you would not expect him to have obtained the reading level of a 9 year old. 

I have no problem with someone taking their child to a private practitioner, but I will say that not all private practitioners keep up with the federal rules and regulations. So, if you go that route, you might want to find out what they know about the current rules and regulations for identification of a learning disablity, and find out what standard they are using for that determination. If they are not using the definitions of IDEIA and the state department of education, they are probably using the DSM-IV-TR, which has a different, less stringent criteria and assessment process.

Also, the reason I said the child might have a learning disability is because of the differences in his skill base. The parent described adequate math calculation skills if he did not have to read, the ability to remember what he hears if something is read aloud to him, difficulty recalling what he has read, and difficulty with word recognition or sounding out words. Sometimes when children struggle to sound out individual words, they have trouble remembering what they read because the cannot hold information in their head and do something else (sound out words) at the same time. 

Also, if this mother has been homeschooling all this time, why wait any longer? December for the most part is a wash because of the holiday. Schools have 40 days to get the assessment done. It is amazing how fast the school year goes. Of course, this is just my opinion after 16 years of doing this. And I don't have any opinions about homeschooling one way or the other. I have seen fabulous home-schoolers and I have seen those who didn't do squat in terms of education.


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## offthegrid

Stonybrook said:


> Actually, Offthegrid, you are incorrect in your understanding of how assessments for learning disabilities are done by the public schools. You do not simply look at scores and discrepancies in scores. You have to look for how information is processed, look for variation in how children perform in different types of skills, and you have to look at the child's instruction. That is why they require schools to rule out excessive absences, truancy, frequent school transfers, etc. You basically have to determine that the child has had an adequate opportunity to learn the skills. Obviously, if you didn't start teaching a 9 year old to read until he was 8, you would not expect him to have obtained the reading level of a 9 year old.


I didn't say that they would simply look at scores and discrepancies; of course they'd do more than that. My point is that a school system is, by design, a structured system that has specific standards and expectations for each grade level. They do not often evaluate kids who have not been educated in this type of "system" and therefore, may make assumptions without even meaning to. Would the evaluator really ask the parent to go over the teaching methods that they have used for the past 8 years? How would they know what was taught, and when, and how would that information be used? And no offense to you, it is rare to find someone who works for the public school systems that supports homeschooling, and certainly common enough to find teachers etc. who think it's akin to child abuse.

A lot of private practitioners diagnose learning disabilities; school psychologist aren't the only ones who know how to do this. For obvious reasons there are a lot of parents who do not want their children evaluated by the school district.


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## offthegrid

Stonybrook said:


> Also, if this mother has been homeschooling all this time, why wait any longer? December for the most part is a wash because of the holiday. Schools have 40 days to get the assessment done. It is amazing how fast the school year goes. Of course, this is just my opinion after 16 years of doing this. And I don't have any opinions about homeschooling one way or the other. I have seen fabulous home-schoolers and I have seen those who didn't do squat in terms of education.


You misunderstood my post; there is no hurry to decide whether to hold the child back at this point in time. That is a decision to make at the end of the school year, if at all. If the parents are interested in having the child evaluated, then sure, probably best not to wait until the end of the year.

But since you brought it up, one of the big reasons we left public school (after 5 years) is the whole "December is a wash"..."June is a wash" thing. We certainly take a few days off for the holidays and some time in the summer, but my kids do most of their core subjects every week day and some weekends all year round.


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## ErinP

> Actually, Offthegrid, you are incorrect in your understanding of how assessments for learning disabilities are done by the public schools. You do not simply look at scores and discrepancies in scores.


Unfortunately, it depends upon the school. I recently taught in a school that did _exactly_ this. In fact, on more than one occasion a child who really needed to be in SpEd (parents agreeing and everything) was denied based solely on the fact that there wasn't the big enough variance between the tests. 

My mother, a SpEd teacher of 30 years who even won the ARC's teacher of the year award for Nebraska a few years before retirement, was utterly appalled.


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## caroline00

does your online teacher have access to the program *Lexia*? this is helping my son tremendously.

One of my daughters was in special ed for reading in grade 3. In grade 4 she was in a gifted class for reading because she finally learned to read at the end of grade 3 and surpassed her classmates.

we took her out to homeschool in grade 5. At age 14, she was taking college classes. Sometimes it just needs to click and sometimes the child needs a boost... (special program... Lexia is working great for my son this year.)


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## NWMO

ErinP said:


> Unfortunately, it depends upon the school. I recently taught in a school that did _exactly_ this. In fact, on more than one occasion a child who really needed to be in SpEd (parents agreeing and everything) was denied based solely on the fact that there wasn't the big enough variance between the tests.
> 
> My mother, a SpEd teacher of 30 years who even won the ARC's teacher of the year award for Nebraska a few years before retirement, was utterly appalled.


Truly, too many teachers believe they can identify and determine who is "special ed" by their own judgement (If I only had a nickel for every time I have heard.......I've been teaching 30 years, I know a sped student when I see one, mentality!)

If you don't have a significant variance, I challenge the status quo and ask what else can be done to help my child learn? Has the material been presented in other ways? What instructional strategies have been used? Too often, people want to classify students as "special ed" when in all actuality, educators, myself included, have not gone out of our way to use a variety of methodologies to meet the child's learning needs....it is "simpler" to label them and then have them leave the room for "assistance". Just my soapbox.


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## Guest

TurnerHill said:


> No one is going to say it? Fine. I will.
> 
> Homeschooling is not for everyone. I have three kids. One is homeschooled, one is in public school, one is a baby. So I am not anti-homeschool.
> 
> I also tend to be a sloppy writer, when the writing in question is internet forum posts.
> 
> But you need to have enough self-awareness to recognize what you can and cannot do. A child can't be taught to read in a few minutes before bed, by a parent whose language skills aren't strong.
> 
> Of course your child should be held back. You can't go into fourth grade unable to read.


I totally agree. 

We homeschooled for five years. My second oldest has had a reading disability since day 1. I went to college to be a special ed teacher and used every trick I could, but there came a point where I was doing him more harm than good. I realized when we moved that I would not be homeschooling him any more. 

He's now in a good public school system (not a perfect system, but those things don't exist). He gets pull out reading help once a day and the classroom teacher uses techniques I never would have thought of or been able to do. I will openly admit that they are teaching him better than I could.....and that's hard for me to say. It hurts my pride, ya know. 

We also held him back in 3rd grade. There is a HUGE difference between 3rd and 4th grade and if he's not reading well and independently on grade level by the end of 3rd grade then he will be lost and left behind in 4th grade. 

Think outside of your box.


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## HOTW

My eldest daughter is dyslexic my brother was too. Many dyslexics have a high comprehension but lack easy reading skills. Dyslexia has been described as a a visualization of words IOW once they have a visual identity for a word and are read to or able to read the word they have a vivid picture in their head as to the whole. Which is why they usually have high comprehension(fill in the blanks in their reading deficit) yet score very low on actual reading ability. Most dyslexics adapt by 7-8 grade and "catch up". My son has a form of aphasia the inability to take words in his head and write them down. He does better with a computer typing but a lot of times it is hard to get him to write -orally he does wonderfully. He does better if he talks out what he is going to type/write as he then hears it and processes it into written word better. There are a lot of different issues when it comes to reading that can be corrected with aids or retooling of the brain. Sometimes just using a colored blank over the written page helps(it helped both my eldest and my son for different reasons- her because of the dyslexia I think it softnened the the glare, whereas my son is shade blind a form of color blindness and the colour sheet made it easier to read as white appears pink to him) by changing physical aspects of the written word. Try to get him evaluated to see what deficits he has and what you can do to help. It might make all the difference in being held back.


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## Farm 36

Thanks everyone for you responses they helped to understand the big picture. I now have a direction to follow for better or worse .


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