Standardized Testing

Last year, in third grade, Caitlyn took the first of many standardized tests in her academic career. She took the ISATs. To say that she was nervous about them is an understatement. The teachers really impressed upon the students how important these tests were. They also "mentioned" that any child who did not meet the standards on the test could be held back, to repeat third grade, as it is a "benchmark" year. I insisted that Caitlyn was ready and that she would do just fine on said test. However, she was still pretty nervous.

The tests are taken in the spring, and the results are sent home until the fall of the following school year. Which is now. We received Caitlyn's test scores yesterday.

Before I go on to say how she did on them, let me state for the record that I am not a big fan of these tests. They just don't give an accurate impression of who the child is as a whole, in my lay person's opinion. That's not to say that I don't think they are valid. I think they give a vague snapshot of how a child is performing at that very point in time, however, I don't feel that they give a good impression of what a child is truly capable of. I also think that many parents are mislead when it comes to reading the results of these tests. If a child scores extremely well in reading, let's say they score at the 8th grade level of reading, that does not mean that the child could succeed in an eighth grade classroom. It simply means that they are able to read and understand material (to an extent) that an eighth grade student who is performing at the lowest acceptable level of eighth grade could also read and understand.

Additionally, while I don't believe in using the test scores as a true indication of a student, I know as a parent it is the first thing I look at when exploring different schools and their level of success, so to speak. For example, prior to moving in to our current house, one of the first things I did was look at the school's ISAT scores in comparison to those at neighboring schools. So while I can profess to not "believe" in them, I also fall victim to thinking they are a good measure of a schools success as a whole. So, yes, I am a bit of a hypocrite. (It makes it okay because I can recognize that, right???)

When I looked at Caitlyn's results, I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least! Not that I didn't know my child was intelligent, I did know that (personally, I think she is borderline genius =P). But I was actually surprised at how well she did perform in some areas. For example, I have always thought that Caitlyn struggled in writing. And I say struggled for lack of a better word. Caitlyn has always disliked writing and the writing process. She is always looking to write the minimum amount necessary, to the point of asking me "How many paragraphs/sentences do I need to write to get an A?" Yet, she scored quite well on that portion of the test.

Without further ado, or ramblings, here are her scores:

National Comparisons:
Reading: 97th percentile
Math: 79th percentile
No surprise there. The kid loves to read, is a reading machine, and is not the biggest fan of math. However, in both of these areas, she has "exceeds standards."

The most amazing thing about the reading score is not the percentile that she fell into. The report also lists the number of items as well as the number correct. There were 50 items on the test, Caitlyn answered 46 correct.

Extended Response for Reading (students had to read a passage and write a response to a prompt.)
She scored a 3 out of a possible 4 on this section.
Again, surprising me with the writing ability here.

Writing
Overall Writing Score: 28
Focus: 6/6
Support/Elaboration: 5/6
Organization: 5/6
Conventions: 2/3
Integration: 5/6

I am so unbelievable proud of the scores that she got on these! I think what makes it so amazing is the fact that we were told that she would more than likely have some sort of disability for so long. Not that I fault the doctors for that, cause I don't. They were doing their job and giving me information based on the research. But every time this kid does something amazing like this, I am left in awe of her abilities and her strength. Never in a million years would I have thought that she would be as smart as she is. Granted, she really enjoys school and it seems to come very natural to her. Nonetheless, it is still beyond anything that I could have imagined she would have been capable of given her dangerous start in life.

We celebrated in true Walsh form by going out to dinner. Where you might ask? Pizza Hut of course. Where else would we go? There is no food on the planet more beloved to Caitlyn than Pizza Hut.

And not only is my girl brilliant, she is also pretty stinking cute too :)

Silly Girl

Caitlyn has finished her first week of school and she is really enjoying 4th grade and says that her teacher is really nice. Her favorite part of her classroom....the reading area in the back of the room. Not surprising at all when it comes to my kid. She said she loves to sit on the comfy pillows back there and just read.

One night at dinner last week, I was asking her about the kids that she sits by. The desks are arranged in groups of 4, and each group has 2 boys and 2 girls (in most circumstances). Two of the kids that sit in her group are polish speaking students. And they are quite fluent in the language as it is what is primarily spoken at home. One of the girls is a good friend of Caitlyn's. When I asked her how things were going in her group, this was her response:

"Well, sometimes A and J start talking in polish and me and M can't understand them. For all we know, they could be talking smack about us all day long."

Nice. I am sure the 2 kids are most certainly not "talking smack" about her. And furthermore, where in the hell did she learn this phrase????

Well....

So much for me be better at blogging more huh? I would love to find something to blame it on, but alas, there is no excuse. Other than I just haven't felt like blogging much anymore. Not sure why that is? I still read most of the blogs in my sidebar and a few others that I have found along the way. And every time I read someone's blog, I think, "I really need to post something on mine." I open up my blog, click on new post,....and nothing happens. I tell myself I will do it later, and then the same thing happens a couple of days later. Not sure what that is all about. So here is a little bit of an update if there is anyone that still reads this thing.

Caitlyn....
She is, in a word, amazing! At 9 years old (yikes!!) she is funny and smart and caring and any other positive adjective you can think of to describe a 9 year old. She had an exciting summer that consisted of going on vacation to the lake, going to Great America, swimming in my mom's pool, playing out front, sleeping in, hanging out with friends, playing softball, and just all around really enjoying summer. She goes back to school on Tuesday and is crazy excited! She has met her teacher and likes her (and tells me that I will too!). It scares me a little that she knows I have a tendency to be a little hard on her teachers. We went to the doctor last month for her annual checkup and she weighed in at 60 pounds and is 4'7". I can't believe how big she is now. She hasn't gotten much taller this year, but I am waiting for the growth spurt that happens every October. She is waiting so very patiently for 4'9" to come so that she can get out of her booster seat in the car.

Matt....
Football season is in full swing again. I love watching how excited he gets about practices, games, cutting up film, scouting other games, etc. It's amazing how much he truly loves what he does!

Nancy....
I finally finished school and officially have my Master's now! Thank God! Besides earning a new degree out of the program, I was offered an adjunct position to teach at the university as well. Which is fan-freaking-tastic! I would love to teach at the college level full time and this is my foot in the door. The position will also allow me to acquire my doctorate for free...should I choose to do so. I am not sure if that is in the near future, but I do think it is something that I will seriously begin to consider in the next year.

Cats....
We have a new addition in the Walsh household....by the name of Friday. Friday is one of the cutest little maine coon kitties I have ever seen in my life. She joined our family in June on the last day of school as a gift for Caitlyn. She has been wanting a cat of her own for some time now and Matt and I finally decided to give in to her. Marten isn't so sure about her, even after 2 months. But he is tolerating her even though he is now a crotchety old man.