Autistic student denied graduation

[cynatnite]

"I won't be able to graduate. I can walk, but I can't graduate," said Coffers.

His grades are good enough; the problem is that he has not been able to pass the math exam required for every Georgia student to graduate high school.

"Once he starts it, and he learns it, he can do it. But when you walk away, he forgets the steps," said his mother, Linda Coffer.

Sinclaire is autistic. The state allows for students with disabilities to apply for a waiver that allows the state board of education to vote on whether or not to throw out the exams, and allow a student to graduate. In Sinclaire's case, the board denied a waiver for reasons his family has not yet been told.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/18346292/autistic-student-denied-graduation

Sorry, it's a faux affiliate, but it's all I could find on short notice. Everything else was video.

[Drale]

1. This is ridiculous

I have aspergers and I have a really hard time with foreign language. My school worked with me and I was able to get the foreign language requirement waved. It was really a great relief to have them work so closely with me. That board should be forced to pass that exam and if they don't pass they kick their ass kicked off the board.

[Odin2005]

2. This is why NCLB is bullshit!

[SomethingFishy]

18. +1 My middle son is Autistic, but functioning..

When he took his NCLB test in the 8th grade he scored second highest in his class. We got calls from every school and every option school in the district wanting him in their school... Right up until they found out he was Autistic. See, they all wanted the money that comes with his high test scores but didn't want to deal with him as an Autistic Child.

He's in High School now. Took his advanced placement tests 2 weeks ago and scored third highest in the school.

Autism is not a disease that you can pigeonhole.



Ok I'm done bragging

[Odin2005]

19. Good for your son!

[AverageJoe90]

3. I have Attention Deficit Disorder......

....and I find myself having a similar issue. However, though, I have one question. WTF does this have to do with autism?

[dionysus]

4. i thought autistic people are sometimes math geniuses...

[PA Democrat]

7. Savants are the exception, not the rule in the population of people with autism.

[Ilsa]

9. These stories about savants

help "normal" people feel less inclined to believe that autistic people will be in need of help due to their disability. Savants are rare.

Even if he was a math savant, that talent might be in something as narrow as addition, not understanding complex mathematical constructs. In other words, the gift might be in something virtually useless, if there is a gift at all.

[LeftishBrit]

15. A few are, but it's much more the exception than the rule.

[Odin2005]

20. I'm more of a walking encyclopedia.

I have a prodigious, nearly savant-like memory for facts and classifications of things.

[dionysus]

33. i've read that people with aspergers tend to do well with math, sciece, things like computer

programming... but isnt aspergers different than full blown autism?

[AverageJoe90]

36. Some savants probably are really good at those things.

Although I've known several known autistic, or reasonably suspected to be autistic, people, and none of them were like that.

[dionysus]

39. see here;

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002684800

[Odin2005]

42. No.

I'm Dx'd with Asperger's, DUer KamaAina is diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, but you could not tell which of us has which diagnosis unless we told you.

[madrchsod]

5. i`m rather normal and i failed freshman math in high school

i failed freshman math my 5th year in high school. being the only 5th year student in a freshman math class was bad enough but when the teacher asked me if i needed this course to graduate i said yes and he gave me a D. i`m 65 yrs old and still have have no ability at math.

this kids problem shows that you should never underestimate the stupidity of adults. in my problem i had an adult that figured it was serving no one by failing me.

[Taitertots]

6. Why are his teachers passing him in math class when he obviously doesn't understand the concepts?n/t

[Ilsa]

10. He probably has an Individualized Education Plan with

modified goals or a modified method of testing, such as verbal testing, or offering more time.

The state tests are likely to be unmodified.

[arely staircase]

29. state tests in texas have modifications

Or rather accommodations like extra time or use of a dictionary, not just for special.ed but for ESLs

[knitter4democracy]

12. If he's meeting his IEP's goals, they can't flunk him.

From the article, it's clear that he does understand the concepts but has issues with retention and probably the testing environment as well. It sounds like he should have gotten the waiver like other kids did.

[Igel]

13. Good question.

Perhaps because the district is one in which if you fail a kid with accommodations and/or modifications all hell breaks loose.

Or in a school that might be audited if mainstreamed SpEd kids fail disproportionately--it means that their IEPs or 504s aren't properly written or implemented properly. But if you have too many kids with severe accommodations or modifications, that also looks bad.

You have to get it perfect if you want to fail a SpEd kid where I teach. "Perfect" is defined at the end of the year, not at the beginning of the year. So if the kid has a 60 or above, teachers automatically pass him just to avoid the shit storm. Even if you have boxes of documentation showing that you did everything perfect, it just doesn't matter. There's always "other reasonable accommodations," where "other" can mean anything and "reasonable" has no operational definition. If the kid gets below 60, then you get to decide if failing the kid is worth the shitstorm. That decision depends on the kids, the tenor of any communication with the parents and the counselor and the ARD committee.

I was told Thursday to cough up all the documentation, on a day-to-day basis, proving that I implemented every single accommodation for one student who's average puts him failing right now. Every time I had him peer tutored--assignment, peer tutor name, results, start/stop time. Every time I asked him questions or to get back to work or to turn in late work at a frequency higher than I asked the non-SpEd students in his class. That means I need to have documented how frequently I asked the non-SpEd students this things. I need to have written down every time I gave the student extended time on a test or "major" assignment, and what the student's response was. If he started a test on computer instead of using the paper copy, I have to document why I didn't catch it for 10 minutes--and if I ride the student, I have to prove that this didn't call undue attention to the student.

There's no winning for the teacher. I wrote back that I simply had not yet entered the grades for a couple of assignments earlier last week and, surprise, the student somehow managed to get 100s on them. They were just enough to pull his grade up just barely above the passing mark. I know this kid's father is a lawyer, his little darling son can do no wrong, the counselor just wants to retire, and if I fail him the shitstorm will be intense and long-lasting with me at the very center.

Heck, this kid might get straight 100s from now until the end of the year. Just in case.

Why are this kid's teacher's passing him? (/snort)

[kiva]

16. And the illusion of education continues.

You are in a no win situation, and I wish you luck.

[arely staircase]

30. i hear ya nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Passing a test is completely different from showing you understand what's being taught

This story is a great example of that.

[Taitertots]

23. No one is even claiming he understands what is being taught

Which leads to the obvious question: How is he passing his math classes when he doesn't understand what is being taught?

They are not claiming that he knows it but can't do the problems under state testing conditions. He passed state examinations on other topics.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. There are many better ways to asses what he's learned. That's how.

A standardized test is probably the worst way. His teachers know what he's learned because they are in class with him every day. They can tell whether he masters the content based on how he responds in class discussions, his assignments, and quizzes.

[Taitertots]

25. Teachers are also totally subjective and easily influenced by outside factors

Someone who can't solve basic math problems hasn't mastered the concepts. Unless that person is unable to be tested due to disability and those students are granted waivers. No one in the article is claiming that this is happening in this case. He passed other test sections.

16% of potential graduates pass their math classes but fail objectively administered tests. Are they really accurately measuring which students have mastered the topic?

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. That's why good teachers use multiple measures to assess progress.

And one standardized test is, as I said, probably the least effective way.

[Taitertots]

27. "Good Teachers" are still totally subjective and easily influenced

How many teachers are "good teachers"? How many bad teachers would it take to make teacher based assessment inaccurate?

What about the 16% of potential graduates that can't pass a basic math test but passed their math classes? I don't believe the teachers were being accurate when assessing the abilities of those students. Do you think it was the totally objective test that was inaccurately assessing how well they understood the topic?

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Oh so you're reading the hype the deformers are putting out.

I just posted a thread in the Education forum today on this very topic.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11241854

[arely staircase]

31. +1000 nt

[Taitertots]

32. Why are you derailing the discussion by accusing me of supporting "deformers"?

16% of students who have passed math classes can not demonstrate the skills covered in their math classes. I think this is showing that teachers are not always accurate in determining which students fully understand the concepts. Do you agree, disagree, or hold a different opinion of the situation?

I also think testing students doesn't assess the efficiency of a teacher and shouldn't be used to drive down teacher's wages.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. I'm not derailing anything.

You ask a question, I answer.

This 16% can't pass math classes (or entrance exams - it varies depending on who is saying it) is a popular talking point by education 'reformers' (we teachers call them deformers). And it's bullshit. Never sourced.

The TRUTH is that test scores are up, graduation rates are the highest in our country's history and dropout rates are the lowest. All 3 of those factors paint a picture of improvement and success. NOT FAILURE.

[Taitertots]

41. 16% is directly from the OP article, supplied to them by the state of Georgia

You can't just wave your hand and claim bullshit for everything that doesn't fit into your world view.

"The TRUTH is that test scores are up, graduation rates are the highest in our country's history and dropout rates are the lowest. All 3 of those factors paint a picture of improvement and success."
None of that supports your position that teachers are better at measuring students abilities than objective testing. Or your position that objective testing is "probably the least effective way.".

[aikoaiko]

8. I didn't think math deficiency was a symptom of autism?

He appears to have passed the language and content sections of the test.

[Ilsa]

11. You can't make that assumption about autistic children.

He may have developed skills to learn and test out for language and social studies, but might not be able to grasp abstractions of math, or only on a very limited basis depending on his ability to focus.

[LeftishBrit]

14. Autism is a very variable condition

It often leads to people being very uneven in their abilities (most people are, but autistic people more so)- the exact ways in which they are uneven varies between individuals. It also tends to make it harder for people to learn and perform in a group setting.

What I find a bit hard to understand - from a different educational system - is why do you have to pass an exam in every subject to graduate? In some other countries, such as the UK, you would graduate automatically, but have an exam record for different subjects. If an particular employer wants someone with a good record in mathematics for a particular job, that's up to them; but why should the person not have on record that they did pass other exams, which might be deemed more important by another employer?

[Ilsa]

17. Good question. I guess

US employers seek "generalists", sometimes to train up themselves. There isn't much in the way of vocational training at the high school level involving specific skills. That occurs in training programs and community colleges, mostly for-profit institutions now, and expensive to obtain.

Off subject, I find the US's institutions unwillingness to look at what works in other industrialized nations appalling. We see it in healthcare, education, career planning, etc. It's as if we feel the need to re-invent the wheel instead of investigating what works well elsewhere and why.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. One more reason this testing mania needs to stop.

[FarCenter]

35. Math is pretty clear cut; you can either do the problems or you can't.

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. Apparently, if you're autistic, it's not all that clear cut

[FarCenter]

38. If you can't remember the steps in setting up and solving the problems, you can't do math

"Once he starts it, and he learns it, he can do it. But when you walk away, he forgets the steps,"

Doing the steps while someone coaches you doesn't count.

[Occulus]

40. Apparently, if you're autistic, it's not all that clear cut n/t