Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Fort Worth
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 12-12-2011, 01:49 PM
 
103 posts, read 201,852 times
Reputation: 102

Advertisements

any advice would be great-I have a daughter on an IEP who will be transferring in the summer to Keller ISD-she will be a senior-she has met all the mandated state requirements for graduation in Massachusetts-and would be completing her required credits if we stayed here for her final year-however because of work commitments we will have to transfer then-my question is as she is coming to high school in year 12 will she be required to take the year 11 exit TAKs in order to graduate in TX -this might be a big problem for her -she has managed to pass the required MCAS testing here but it took alot and I mean alot of time /money and effort and countless hours of tutoring to get her through this-I really don't want to put her through that all again. I have emailed KISD and heard nothing back from them and I have tried to decipher the texas education website with not much success-she has completed and passed so far(I'm including this school year as well as I know she will pass that too) 3 years of english/math/3 years of history(world historyand us history I,II) Science (physics/chemistry/biology) plus PE and electives of art/choir/communications and two years of french....none of these are honor courses. Any advice would be appreciated
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 12-12-2011, 05:29 PM
 
Location: TX
3,041 posts, read 11,900,296 times
Reputation: 1397
TAKS are are not given the senior year. (and they are being phased out this year for the STARRS)
The exit level TAKs are given in the junior year and only re-taken in senior year if the child fails.
They have amended test for students with IEP's.

Also Texas has a 4x4 graduation plan
4 years of each core subject, English, Math, Science and Social Stidies
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2011, 07:14 PM
 
103 posts, read 201,852 times
Reputation: 102
thks for your fast input-hopefully then we would be okay-she would complete the rest of her 4 yr courses in her senior year and graduate with her HS diploma-just wish KISD was as quick to answer as you were-BTW i notice you pop up a bit on the FWT board-we are looking at Keller and Southlake (work is in Westlake) what is your opinion on both school districts-we just want a good school district for our other kids-two others are/will be HS when we arrive-both currently in Honors programs -another will be a third grader-not interested in sports programs too much-my daughter does track my son not interested in sport at all-except karate and golf-want an easy going type town-not really interested in keeping up with the "jones" we have enough of that around here already-do you know anything about Wildwood or Oakmont Hills in Keller-want to be close to work and shopping and parks but with a good neighbourhood for the kids-any advice would be appreciated!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2011, 07:17 PM
 
37,313 posts, read 59,977,052 times
Reputation: 25342
Your daughter will be required to take and PASS a junior level TAKS test in 4 core subjects in order to graduate

The level of the test she will take is determined by her IEP/testing/evaluation...
AND because she is a senior and might have trouble passing it, the school is likely going to want her to take the test in the fall when a makeup test happens...

Calendars - Testing Calendar

that link is for Cy-Fair district near Houston--and this year the Oct retest was 18-21, doing 1 subject a day for 4 days--
that can be very difficult for a child on an IEP most of the time if they are trying to take ALL tests..

the state has made it more and more difficult to move students with IEPs to an easier TAKS test--meaning they (the diagnostician and others having input into the decision--but not the parents) might decide that she needs/is capable of passing an 11th grade test for all 4 categories...

You need to check with your current school counselor/diagnostician and get them to look ON-LINE at past TAKS tests and see what level they think your daughter could reasonable pass...
The former tests are available on the TEA website--
Texas Education Agency - Released Tests, Answer Keys, and Scoring Guides

Your daughter will have to be reevaluated at the beginning of school--that can be EXTREMELY time consuming to set up and accomplish...
and because she will basically have no proof-of-work in the TX arena it will be difficult I think to make a fair assessment of her ability--
because this test may cover material that she has not been exposed to since she is from MA--
it happens all the time
plus she is not practiced at taking the TAKS test itself

As soon as you know where you might be living--buy//rent a house or apt-- I would suggest enrolling her in school and pressing the counselors to begin this process...
Every school/counseling dept is different because frankly some people work harder and are better organized than those at other schools..
.
I didn't teach in Keller and don't know how they schedule their bi-yearly evals/reviews--but at my school it was horrible at the beginning of the year if someone new transferred in who needed to be reevaluated to have their IEP established...
AND be aware that (as far as I know) because your daughter is a new student with no prior certification in TX she will take a full test--this means that she MIGHT lose her eligibility for IEP status--
it is not like being "color-blind" or having MS--there are some types of special needs disabilities that can "improve" enough to bounce a child out of one category and into a lesser-impared one...

Some students who received a full testing and were borderline often had learned to process better, paid attention better, had improved their vocabulary and their verbal abilities and writing abilities, and could do better on some of the diagnostic tests--
because they improved their scores they basically shot themselves in the foot and were judged "too capable" to be a full IEP classification--
they moved down to 504--
and sometimes 504 students lost that entirely...

Moving to a new state with an IEP can be a very sticky wicket--

BUT remember that private schools are not required to give the TAKS tests because they take no state money--
home schooled students are not required to take TAKS either
nor are students who take distance-learning courses--
I don't know if that last option would be feasible for your daughter because I don't know if there is program for IEP students that gains state credit...

I don't know if this helped your understanding--
and you don't really know where you are going to be living at this time--since I assume you have not finalized your residence...
many people says they are moving to Keller and wind up choosing someplace else...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2011, 07:47 PM
 
103 posts, read 201,852 times
Reputation: 102
thanks for this-i kind of feared this would be the result-I am trying to come up with a way for her to stay here and graduate early-but then that would affect my other kids (need to split myself in two I think)-might have to put her in Tx and go with it-she will not lose her IEP status under re evaluation she does not test well at all-but then I don't want her in school until her 20's either-she is currently in learning centers for all but three subjects and manages to get through although I swear that some her teachers give her a pass just because! We are pretty set on Keller at this point-I have my eye on three houses which would work for us. Thanks for all your info!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-13-2011, 06:20 AM
 
Location: TX
3,041 posts, read 11,900,296 times
Reputation: 1397
Finals week is this week so the Special Ed dept and the Counselor dept are super busy. But I owuld contact them directly verses the District. (email I found worksd best for the counseling dept. I have never gotten past the secretary via phone but have had great luck with email)

Here are the contacts for Keller High : Your daughter sounds like she would be with content mastery or Resource so I would start ther and get the info right from the horses mouth so to speak. (I work in Special Ed in Keller at the elementary level and we give amended TASKs tests to our Resource kids.)
Home - Special Ed

Here is the counseling staff at KHS: Pages - CounselingStaff
to get thier email go to the home side bar and hit "staff" then enter last name in search

Good luck!
Honestly though if she passed the ME standardized test she should do fine with TAKS. Math part is AlgebraII and English is reading comp. and grammer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-13-2011, 08:03 AM
 
37,313 posts, read 59,977,052 times
Reputation: 25342
I have not seen any of the ME standardized tests but as someone who taught English, I know that the English test is not just reading and grammar--
there is a WRITING portion-basically a front/back page essay---which includes the grammar multiple choice section in a 1-day test...this is the one that is untimed...

if a student fails to write a level 2 essay s/he fails the WRITING portion test---even if there is perfect score on grammar multiple choice

The Engligh Comprehension also involves writing 3 shorter questions which require integrating specific examples from a written sample into the answer to a question that involves literary/rhetoric interpretation--
a style analysis...and this is difficult for many students because there is a finite space to write the answer...basically 2 sentences long--
much depends on the handwriting (large/small) of the student has to how much can be encapsulated on the answer sheet...

those 3 questions can receive 0 pts and the other portions passed so a student won't fail solely because of those answers but they do lower the overall score and (in my opinion) are the most difficult part of the test to receive full score for

There is also a part that requires a student to view/analyze/integrate a visual (a cartoon/drawing) that has a connection to the two reading samples--
and there is written answer to that question as well as multiple choice

The English portion while it is reading/multiple choice depends to certain extent on what a student has been taught about the vocabulary of the test and literary elements--
if a student has not received much instruction in some aspects then s/he could fail the questions on those aspects...
and the questions ARE tricky--
someone who is avg or above student probably doesn't think so--but for students who are slow readers, who have trouble weeding out multiple choice answers when the answers are designed to be confusing--
then it is not so simple...

Go online and look at the sample tests--
have your daughter do one of the past tests for general 11th grade--
the answer keys are there as well (at least they used to be) and sample essays
so you should be able to see if your daughter is going to struggle

YOU are the only one who really can say how easy/difficult this might be for her--
as I said--
the counselors/teachers at the school will have NO idea what her capability/potential is based solely on her printed test scores/school record...
Frankly most school admin are taught NOT to take a parent's evaluation at 100% face value because of the over-compensation that comes with it...
Many parents are not realistic about their child's ability/potential, especially when they are in circumstances that are make/break as this one...with graduation on the line...

And the science and history tests can offer special problems of their own--
I think the math test is MORE than just Algebra II because of all the word problems on the test--
if a student has trouble with reading comprehension then the MATH test can be daunting on its own...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-13-2011, 12:04 PM
 
103 posts, read 201,852 times
Reputation: 102
thanks to both of you for all your information!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-13-2011, 01:43 PM
 
103 posts, read 201,852 times
Reputation: 102
Default 5 stones

THANK you for the links to the special edu dept -i emailed them and got an answer very quickly and have also heard from the counselor as well-it's daunting moving with children let alone one who has special issues-so I have a contact now with a "real" person !
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-17-2011, 01:08 AM
 
37,313 posts, read 59,977,052 times
Reputation: 25342
Glad that they responded so promptly
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Fort Worth
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top