STAAR test question.

[GoPokes83 2240]

Little friend and classmate of my kid will be traveling out of state with us on an extended vacation this summer. Today was 5th grade graduation and we were all out eating lunch when her mom got a call from her teacher that she was expected to fail the Math portion of STAAR. (Why TF is Texas still doing this bullshit?) Anyway the kid will need to do the 3 weeks of summer school, but apparently that’s only half the hours of tutoring necessary to fulfill the requirements of a new law. Poor kid doesn’t have a pot to piss in, literally lives in a 1960’s single wide with no siding on one side of it and no running water half the time. Abject poverty! She’s never been on any kind of a vacation and has been looking forward to this trip for months, it’s all she talks about. She’s going to be passed through to the 6th grade, but will have to give up her electives until this is taken care of, including beginner band camp towards the end of summer. My question is, can I hire some type of accredited tutor to get her the needed hours she needs or is it something that has to be done through the school? The teacher says no, but she’s a proven dumbass and the worst excuse for a teacher I’ve seen. She’s a fantastic kid whose been dealt a shit hand her entire life, and I’d just like to help her transition to 6th grade be a smooth one if I’m able.

[Dr Fear 1268]

Teachers are heros, bro.

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

I don’t know what the actual answer is, but the law appears to say the 30 hours are required by the end of sixth grade and can be before, during, or after the school day. I don’t see that any of it has to be fulfilled in summer school, but I suppose districts have their own policies. I don’t know since my kids didn’t go.

IMO, the “fuck off” answer is “we’re going to be homeschooling, so pound sand with your summer school requirements” then, after vacation, “we changed our minds and we’re enrolling her for the fall.”

[MonkeyDoughnut 10234]

42 minutes ago, GoPokes83 said:

Little friend and classmate of my kid will be traveling out of state with us on an extended vacation this summer. Today was 5th grade graduation and we were all out eating lunch when her mom got a call from her teacher that she was expected to fail the Math portion of STAAR. (Why TF is Texas still doing this bullshit?) Anyway the kid will need to do the 3 weeks of summer school, but apparently that’s only half the hours of tutoring necessary to fulfill the requirements of a new law. Poor kid doesn’t have a pot to piss in, literally lives in a 1960’s single wide with no siding on one side of it and no running water half the time. Abject poverty! She’s never been on any kind of a vacation and has been looking forward to this trip for months, it’s all she talks about. She’s going to be passed through to the 6th grade, but will have to give up her electives until this is taken care of, including beginner band camp towards the end of summer. My question is, can I hire some type of accredited tutor to get her the needed hours she needs or is it something that has to be done through the school? The teacher says no, but she’s a proven dumbass and the worst excuse for a teacher I’ve seen. She’s a fantastic kid whose been dealt a shit hand her entire life, and I’d just like to help her transition to 6th grade be a smooth one if I’m able.

Yeah, sounds like the teacher has no clue.. I'd reach out to your middle school counselor as they likely will have better info. They may even have information about fulfilling using an online/in person district tutoring service (using district funds)

 

What's happening is the school is getting "Raw" scores now (early results)... based on those it could be possible to say you know in past student needed a 30 for example to pass and your child has a 5 so yeah, likely not passing... BUT actual scaled results for 5th saying definitely that they have or have not passed aren't available until Aug 11.

The district is trying to get ahead of the curve and get the student extra intervention. This IS a good thing but it isn't mandatory to do over summer.

https://www.txedrights.net/the-required-summer-school-notice/

see page 23:  https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/covid/house-bill-4545-frequently-asked-questions_0.pdf

 

tldr:  the student can enjoy summer vacation and band camp and to tutoring next fall. 

 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21906]

I have no clue what the answer to your question is, but good for you.

[deadshank 24652]

Don't sweat the books, kid.  

[GoPokes83 2240]

Yeah, sounds like the teacher has no clue.. I'd reach out to your middle school counselor as they likely will have better info. They may even have information about fulfilling using an online/in person district tutoring service (using district funds)
 
What's happening is the school is getting "Raw" scores now (early results)... based on those it could be possible to say you know in past student needed a 30 for example to pass and your child has a 5 so yeah, likely not passing... BUT actual scaled results for 5th saying definitely that they have or have not passed aren't available until Aug 11.
The district is trying to get ahead of the curve and get the student extra intervention. This IS a good thing but it isn't mandatory to do over summer.
https://www.txedrights.net/the-required-summer-school-notice/
see page 23:  https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/covid/house-bill-4545-frequently-asked-questions_0.pdf
 
tldr:  the student can enjoy summer vacation and band camp and to tutoring next fall. 
 

Thanks!!

[Handcruser 2805]

Middle school counselor will enter this chat in about 3 minutes.

[Handcruser 2805]

Little friend and classmate of my kid will be traveling out of state with us on an extended vacation this summer. Today was 5th grade graduation and we were all out eating lunch when her mom got a call from her teacher that she was expected to fail the Math portion of STAAR. (Why TF is Texas still doing this bullshit?) Anyway the kid will need to do the 3 weeks of summer school, but apparently that’s only half the hours of tutoring necessary to fulfill the requirements of a new law. Poor kid doesn’t have a pot to piss in, literally lives in a 1960’s single wide with no siding on one side of it and no running water half the time. Abject poverty! She’s never been on any kind of a vacation and has been looking forward to this trip for months, it’s all she talks about. She’s going to be passed through to the 6th grade, but will have to give up her electives until this is taken care of, including beginner band camp towards the end of summer. My question is, can I hire some type of accredited tutor to get her the needed hours she needs or is it something that has to be done through the school? The teacher says no, but she’s a proven dumbass and the worst excuse for a teacher I’ve seen. She’s a fantastic kid whose been dealt a shit hand her entire life, and I’d just like to help her transition to 6th grade be a smooth one if I’m able.

@surlymermaid

[Surlymermaid 444]

Hello! School counselor here. What district is the girl in? Has there been a GPC (grade placement meeting) yet? You can DM me if you want-glad to help.

[Fluoxetine HCl 28]

4 hours ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

"Raw"

shit yeah

[TexEx15 17518]

As if STAAR wasn’t fucked up enough before, they have moved to short answer responses and can’t get them graded until the end of the summer hence this “likely to fail” bullshit. Not only did Texas not fix the STARR, but we are going backwards. Shocked I tell you.

[GoPokes83 2240]

Hello! School counselor here. What district is the girl in? Has there been a GPC (grade placement meeting) yet? You can DM me if you want-glad to help.

Calhoun County. Not sure what a GPC is but she’s been told she’s going to 6th grade. They don’t even know if she’s failed the math portion of STAAR yet, but her mom was told she didn’t do well and would probably fail but they won’t have the actual results until August. Either way she could benefit from the summer school. The issue is the remaining tutoring they say she’ll need if she’s failed the test as summer school will only be half the required hours. Can we hire an accredited tutor or teacher and knock out whatever she needs before school begins so she doesn’t miss out on her electives? Or does it have to be a district employee and done on school time? Sorry if I’ve explained it poorly.

[Your Mom 4805]

Fuck that test. One of my kids, who is graduating from an AISD public high school in 3 days, failed the Math STAAR in 4th grade (long story short… nothing happened) and then a year later he aced the 5th grade STAAR to the tune of testing himself into advanced math for middle school.  I’d love to give him all the credit and say that he worked his ass off to get a lot better at math over that year, but he really didn’t. It’s just a fucked ineffective test.  

We also know a family whose children, also here in AISD Public schools, have never taken a single STAAR test.  Their kid will be walking across the same stage as mine on Tuesday.  I don’t know what kind of hoops they had to jump through or red tape they had to cut to pull that off, but their two kids have absolutely never taken a single STAAR. They simply keep them home from school those days. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Your Mom

[4th&Five 41538]

My oldest just finished her freshman year at Westlake. Her lowest grade all year was a 93 in honors English but she has always struggled with STAAR. It really makes no sense to us. How do you excel in school and seem constantly unprepared for this fucking thing?

[Surlymermaid 444]

Calhoun County. Not sure what a GPC is but she’s been told she’s going to 6th grade. They don’t even know if she’s failed the math portion of STAAR yet, but her mom was told she didn’t do well and would probably fail but they won’t have the actual results until August. Either way she could benefit from the summer school. The issue is the remaining tutoring they say she’ll need if she’s failed the test as summer school will only be half the required hours. Can we hire an accredited tutor or teacher and knock out whatever she needs before school begins so she doesn’t miss out on her electives? Or does it have to be a district employee and done on school time? Sorry if I’ve explained it poorly.

To be honest with you, the school district probably doesn’t have a set policy on whether it can be completed by an accredited teacher/tutor. Rules on STAAR are constantly changing and districts can’t keep up. I’ve never had a parent offer the solution of independent tutoring—I know in my school we would likely accept it as long as it was documented and with a certified teacher.
Usually students in 6th have 2 electives. If she fails the math, they would pull 1 elective for the remediation program (which honestly is not that beneficial). So she should have 1 elective left for band, regardless of what they decide on accepting outside tutoring. This is if worst case they insist she has to take in-school remediation.
My suggestion is drafting a response stating she will receive ___hours tutoring from (accredited tutor) to meet state requirements prior to the 23-24 school year. Thus, (student) will retain her electives. Request response from the counselor for approval. We usually have discretion (sometimes with principal input) about what is acceptable.
Hope this helps!

[Deej 76773]

On 5/25/2023 at 5:43 PM, Handcruser said:

Middle school counselor will enter this chat in about 3 minutes.

 

On 5/25/2023 at 5:53 PM, Surlymermaid said:

Hello! School counselor here. What district is the girl in? Has there been a GPC (grade placement meeting) yet? You can DM me if you want-glad to help.

Off by 7 minutes

[chikin23 384]

(Why TF is Texas still doing this bullshit?)

Money for everyone but those that need it.

[1978horn 892]

My 6th grade daughter failed the English portion last year and the school said she had to come into summer school.  We talked to a teacher friend in the district and told us that was bullshit.  She was able to keep all her electives and they put her in an Inclusion English class.  During class she was pulled aside at various times with other kids in the same situation and then made up the 30 hours during the school year.  We didn't get notice this year that she "may" have failed so it seems to be a good thing.   I don't know if all districts have inclusion classes or not.

The silver lining on it was that we had been telling the school that she might have dyslexia for years.  They tested her in 4th grade and she didn't qualify.  We brought it up again when she failed and they did a more comprehensive test which showed that she does qualify for help with dyslexia.  She will have to loose an elective next year as there is now a "dyslexia" class, but there are 4 electives and she is in the 2 that matter most so she doesn't care.

[HamsterHookah 112]

2 hours ago, 1978horn said:

My 6th grade daughter failed the English portion last year and the school said she had to come into summer school.  We talked to a teacher friend in the district and told us that was bullshit.  She was able to keep all her electives and they put her in an Inclusion English class.  During class she was pulled aside at various times with other kids in the same situation and then made up the 30 hours during the school year.  We didn't get notice this year that she "may" have failed so it seems to be a good thing.   I don't know if all districts have inclusion classes or not.

The silver lining on it was that we had been telling the school that she might have dyslexia for years.  They tested her in 4th grade and she didn't qualify.  We brought it up again when she failed and they did a more comprehensive test which showed that she does qualify for help with dyslexia.  She will have to loose an elective next year as there is now a "dyslexia" class, but there are 4 electives and she is in the 2 that matter most so she doesn't care.

Sounds like it's your fault for the genetics that English isn't a strong suit. Just kidding dude, glad they are getting her some help with the Dyslexia. We had a similar issue but with dyscalculia (think of dyslexia but with numbers/math).

[1978horn 892]

37 minutes ago, HamsterHookah said:

Sounds like it's your fault for the genetics that English isn't a strong suit. Just kidding dude, glad they are getting her some help with the Dyslexia. We had a similar issue but with dyscalculia (think of dyslexia but with numbers/math).

You are absolutely right.  I am self diagnosed dyslexic and probably passed down a lot of other crap, ADHD included.  I use that damn red line to auto correct spelling all the time.  It doesn't help that I am also color blind.

[orange dream 1251]