Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Are Those Alarm Bells Ringing, or Is it Just Me?

Apparently, it's just me. With Wolfie's report card (he made the B Honor Roll for the year. Yay, Wolfie!), we got a report comparing his standardized reading test scores from last year and this year. His score dropped 5 percentage points. The report states that: "Growth in grades 4 through 8 averages about 4 DRP units per year, so you should be pleased with your progress if your growth was 4 DRP units or more." His "growth" was -3!

I don't know, maybe I'm just a pushy parent, but I think negative growth is worth a call home. Maybe even an action plan? Granted, his instructional level of comprehension is still above college freshman, even with the backward slide, but still. Shouldn't he at least be holding steady?

The only conclusion I can draw is that middle school is making him dumber, either actively or passively by boring him out of his tree and breaking his spirit such that he just didn't care how he did on this test. Either way, I'm glad he's not going back there in the fall.

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