Three days of exams are over. Cirwen took science
and two papers in English. She was very worried as
she could not ask any questions if she could not
understand the task. Although she managed not to
panic and cry in class.
The first day she left school very tired. She was
rather withdrawn with this "I'm not exactly sure
where I am" look on her face. Cirwen was not
able to recall how many questions were in the test,
what questions she did not answer, or what they
actually were...
The same happened on the day two and three.
Cirwen likes English so she wasn't as worried about
these tests as about science , although again she
could not tell me what she wrote in the essay, or
she could only remember one topic from the reading
exercise. In the end, she said, that she is happy
with what she did.
What struck me, is that Cirwen said, she run out
of time each day, therefore she could not finish
any of the papers. Because she has difficulty to
understand the written questions or directions
it takes her longer to digest them and proceed
to the answer. Children with dyslexia have the
right to extension in time for their exams, pretty
much "by law". For some reason LEA and Special
Needs Coordinators do not think that this would
be beneficial for autistic children as well. WHY?
Anyway, it's all over and for the rest of the week
Cirwen will be in a small group of children and
the school Learning Mentor, while the rest will
sit math exam.
We felt we had to help Cirwen to come back to
the world each day and treat her a little. We
played numerous Warhammer (Cirwen's latest
obsession) battles in the evening. Her goblin army
beat the dwarfs mercilessly twice in a row!
Painting these little figures is very relaxing and
rewarding, so she quickly brightened up. A big
dollop of ice-cream and her favourite lychee fizzy
drink also did the trick.
On top of that, today she's off to the fun fair
and a sleep-over at her best friend's to celebrate
the end of the SATs.
I am glad that is over for her now. It's not fair they should allow her more time and a little extra explanation on the directions (I hope I spelled every thing right )
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure the not remembering anything about the exam afterwards is a pressure thing. I often forget what i did in an exam unless it was specifically memorable.
ReplyDeleteI am glad it is over for her...and she is able to relax and not worry about going to school for those standardized tests for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder if she has an IEP or something similar over there where the schools must give her accommodations for such testing?
Here you can request anything in the IEP and they by law have to accommodate...so extra time, having someone read the questions to the student, orhaving someone explain it are all options to request in the IEP.
We have the schools here score my daughter's standardized testing two ways. First, is her actual score. Second is a score based on her IEP where in certain subjects she needs to only achieve 70-85% of her material because of her PDD-NOS, OT issues and comprehension skills. Amazingly, the margin between the two has grown narrower each year.
Anyway, sorry to go on and on...but this sort of thing just fascinates me...lol.
thanks for sharing!! Jenn.
May God Bless You and Your Family! All this trials will come to pass, and all your sacrifices will be accounted for!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Faker, not remembering what was on the test is probably due to the pressure. I'm sure many of us relate to that feeling.
ReplyDelete"In the end, she said, that she is happy with what she did." This is so important for all of us, if we try our best what else really matters.
Have a really great weekend,
Judy
Yhea for Cirwen! Sounds like she did just great!
ReplyDeleteI often feel like her after exams or tests of any kind. I can remember nothing afterwards.
That happened to me today .... hubby asked me what was on them ... could not recall much of anything ....
Your right, it is not fair that she did not recieve more time to understand the questions ... hmmmmmm