My 8th grade son just received a letter from his MS that his standardized test score in reading (end of 8th grade test) was lower than grade level. This test (Milestones) has only been given for 2 years so, because it is new, our county has waived the requirement that lower than grade level scores require that the kid repeat the 8th grade. They are suggesting Summer School and a Retest of the test at the end of June. He has a B in his ELA class and has never had an issue in it. So, my question is: Will going into HS with a below average standardized test score affect him in HS and will it affect him when applying to college? I’m trying to decide whether summer school/retest is the right thing to do or not. Thanks!
If the testing is valid, the concern is that your son has weak academic skills. Does that bother you? Regardless of what the school requires and regardless of what might happen when applying to college (which isn’t for 4 years), I’d be concerned as a parent. Why the focus on college when the problem is about his skills now? Would what you do for your son differ if people said that “yes” it will impede his applications to college? If they say “no, it won’t impede the applications to college” would you not try to ensure he develops stronger skills? if it is all about getting into the “right college” then I recommend you go out and buy the bumper sticker to whatever college you believe is most prestigious. Just slap that bumper sticker on your car. Then it won’t be an issue and you can, instead, make decisions based on what you think will be best for your son from a academic standpoint.
How old is your son relative to his classmates?
I’m not sure why your reply was that hostile. My concern is not about his skills. He has a B in ELA and never had an issue in ELA in his school life. So, I know Reading skills are fine. The test score might be an error or might mean it was a fluke score. I don’t know that answer. My question is how seriously do I take this? Is summer school and retest in order so that he doesn’t have repurcussions in HS (placement or records)? I’m more concerned with that than his skills.
Was the test result a surprise? Does your S read quite a bit? There was at least one standardized test in grade school which my D2 bombed but the teacher knew it was an anomaly and said she must have mis-bubbled. If you weren’t surprised and your S does not like reading then it might be worthwhile to prep so he has the proper skill set before HS. I think @lostaccount is right that it should be your focus right now. Reading assignments will just get longer and more complex in HS and college.
Wow lots of questions that I would want to have answers to if it was my kid. Repeating a grade can have its own psychological/social issues that should be considered for the child. Repeating if failing is a no brainer, but repeating for a B student with low test scores? What is up with that? How were his other class grades? B’s as well?
If your child is a poor test taker, but an average to above average student, perhaps it is good to begin now with extra test prep, not repeating a grade. Maybe summer school can help a kid who needs to improve reading skills (and many weaker students do lose progress over the summer anyway). To hold a student who got a B in the course back seems ridiculous, UNLESS, the teacher also thinks the kid won’t succeed. What does the teacher say?
I have to say that I find that for some students, the standardized tests in reading are not indicative of their ability to read and write. The tests IMHO are beginning to test students ability to take the test and nothing more. Some kids don’t do well in school and do well on tests. This ends up with the whole, my talented kid is not challenged song and dance (which may or may not be true). If your kid’s teacher can’t tell you whether he is ready to move on, well, I would rather not say…
What type of school or school system is this? Is it a high performing school/system? Or is it more average to below?
I have found that excessive reliance on testing to predict performance is often wrong, wrong,wrong, if the student has succeeded in class. How do you feel that he has been doing so far? Was the score a surprise to you?
Lastly, reading skills can be improved if needed, and he will have sufficient time to do so before college in any case.
The standardized test scores theoretically tell you if students need extra support in an area. If the test is an accurate reflection, then helping him get that time and support would be a benefit. Some students simply don’t test well, but you should know if that’s the case by comparing the test to the daily work and/or other reading assessments.
If he can’t keep up with the reading, then that may effect high school performance and later college, sure. Starting from behind is not the best case scenario. I would concentrate on trying to ascertain why there is a disparity between his solid class work and his test scores, then make a decision.
Any idea who administers this test? Pearson or ETS? ETS recently took over the Texas contract and grading errors are rampant right now. School districts are paying to have tests regraded because kids who normally pass with flying colors are scoring much lower or failing. Both ETS and Pearson hire graders off Craig’s list and the requirements are pretty low.
Has he done well on these tests before and maybe had a bad day?
Anything on the 8th grade transcript will generally not be reported to colleges. Ask your high school how they handle that.
I’d be concerned with placement and concerned he is not prepared for the SAT/ACT. You can’t go by a classroom grade necessarily. If you’ve seen the work and know it is good quality that is one thing, but some teachers give good grades without teaching.
He is 2 weeks off the cutoff date so one of the oldest in grade
He normally the scores have 3 grading results (below, at or above grade level). He’s tested annually since 1st grade. He has had mostly above grade level scores with some at grade level scores. He’s never had below grade level scores. He doesn’t like to read and only does it for school as a necessity.
I don’t think this test score will directly impact anything with college. There are at least two indirect possible impacts I can see.
One is whether the test score will somehow have an effect on high school class placement. That is something you need to ask the school. Will they be placing your son in a lower level English class (i.e. Not allowing honors or AP )?
The other possible indirect impact is that it could point to difficulty for your son with standardized testing. I would think the best way to minimize that would be to be prepared for him to need some extra test prep before taking standardized tests that have more of a direct impact (PSAT, SAT, ACT).
If you are concerned that he might have gaps in his skills, I would suggest going to a place that does evaluations and tutoring for a second opinion. Sylvan Learning maybe? I know there are some others.
LOTS AND LOTS of affluent parents DELIBERATELY have their child “respeat” when their child enters a prep school. Prep school kids seem “smarter” because on average they’re older and bigger. There’s no stigma, and colleges are well aware of the practice and don’t regard it negatively.
“My question is how seriously do I take this? Is summer school and retest in order so that he doesn’t have repurcussions in HS (placement or records)? I’m more concerned with that than his skills.”
Had this been your question, my reply would be different. Your question was:
"So, my question is: Will going into HS with a below average standardized test score affect him in HS and will it affect him when applying to college? "
If you question is :My question is how seriously do I take this? Is summer school and retest in order so that he doesn’t have repurcussions in HS (placement or records)? I’m more concerned with that than his skills."
Then my answer is that I’d have him re-evaluated privately and base my decisions on the outcome of that testing.
Thank you Mom2twogirls - good idea to get 2nd opinion on skills. I have an email into this ELA teacher on her opinion, a phone call into his MS Vice Principal to double check accuracy of scores and the HS guidance counselor to see what issues he’ll have in HS w/ this score. I’ll post back on what I hear.
Just a comment on GMTplus7’s comment above about prep schools and repeating. Yes, am familiar with that system. Here the OP seemingly was talking about a local public school system, where the child would be attending with neighborhood children. The system and the impact is quite different. Additionally, at the top prep schools, you likely would not repeat the exact same courses that you took at your old school, which is what is likely in public school since they do not offer the breadth of coursework in most cases that a good prep school offers.
Some years ago, a mother I knew was up in arms due to the results of standardized testing. The child had been in accelerated math for 7th grade (honors or whatever you choose to call it, an advanced course.) Because the child did not make the cutoff in Language Arts on the standardized test (not math mind you), the school did not want to place the kid in the 8th grade math class that would follow what s/he took in 7th grade. The kid was not longer considered talented or whatever the classification was. Instead, s/he would repeat the exact same course for 8th grade, even though s/he was a top student with top grades. A great plan - such a disservice to the kid. This is in a school district that has managed to get high rankings within the state. Good results for them, but not so much for the kids.
I would get him evaluated privately. With more information in hand, you will be able to decide whether some remediation is called for.
In the meantime, I would encourage him to read more: science fiction, fantasy, adventure, non-fiction on some subject that interests him, it doesn’t matter. The more you read, the better you get at it. I’d stay clear of the kind of thing he has to read in school. Go for George R.R. Martin or Robert Jordan or something like that that will catch his attention. Make reading fun 
I know you make the first step with emails, but I would make an appointment to speak with his teacher and counselor and get their take on his skills. You are correct not to take the results of one test as a correct assessment. You want to know if the test was more of a fluke or if your S’s skill base is really below what it should be for HS. If it is warranted, perhaps you could explore doing some remediation over the summer (ex. summer school, a tutor etc.).
As an aside, my S became a reader for pleasure at about your S’s age and I feel confident that it improved his overall skill level. Even though he read a lot of what the school would classify as “junk” such as Ian Flemming’s James Bond novels, books based off of a TV series he used to like – then he moved on to plot driven books by Robin Cooke and John Grisham. Anyway, if you can get him to enjoy reading anything for fun, it might really help.
Years ago, before my S was in HS, I was concerned that my seemingly smart kid was testing average in reading on the state standardized test. Because his school didn’t issues grades (only evaluations on state standards), I just didn’t feel like I had a grasp on his skills. I was worried about him succeeding in HS. So, I took him to a private tutor / test prep place and had him evaluated (not super expensive). I was concerned that my seemingly smart kid was testing average in reading. I was worried about him succeeding in HS. Over the summer he went to the tutor 5 - 6 times. The conclusion was that he was fine and that he just needed some help reading the questions properly. The test was poorly written and he was able to see a way that all of the answers could be right. I was glad that I did this and could have intervened before HS if needed. Sometimes a kid needs extra help, sometimes it’s just the test. Good luck to you.
You have to evaluate his reading skills on the whole, not just one test. Of course the problem is that you can’t really do that on your own. I think starting with the teacher is a good idea. If you still aren’t sure about his reading skills you can have him evaluated by a professional.
I would be concerned if my child had ok grades and below average test scores. I would expect an average student to be on grade level. I am sure that is your overall concern. Does he like sports? If so, maybe you could encourage him to read the ESPN or Bleacher Report sites. If his interests lie elsewhere maybe you could get him to read publications (online or paper) about his interests. All reading is good. I personally do not care for novels. I prefer nonfiction.
One test isn’t the be all and end all of assessments. However, it could be something. I think checking it out is warranted before you can make any conclusions.
If you think that this is gonna affect his college admission chances, he is only in the 8th grade for goodness sake! Standardized tests don’t reflect the students intelligence anyways