Ouch weblog: individual blog entry
3 May 06, 2:38 PM - Education learning disabilities loophole?
Could high school pupils in Texas possibly be claiming to have learning disabilities in order to get extended time to complete tests? According to an article on Star-Telegram.com, yes, they could.
Catherine Mallette discovered what was happening when her own son asked to be tested for learning disabilities. After some research, she learned that her son's private high school had some 20 per cent of pupils who claimed to have learning difficulties - way above the national average of 1.2 per cent.
While she doesn't deny that some kids really do have learning disabilities and deserve the extra time to complete their tests, she also observes that: "it seemed like a clear case of misguided parenting, and yet another example of the over-the-top zeal of parents to get their kids into the "right" colleges. Extended time may be one way to give your kid an advantage over other kids ..."
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At 04:42 PM on 03 May 2006, Katie Fraser wrote:
Totally absurd!
Children who have learning disabilities and difficulties are the ones who are not integrated enough in society, and not all childrewn may have learning disabilities or difficulties. I mean, how can you prove it?
There is no tests, and how do you tell? Put all together and see which ones perform badly at their work?! No!
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At 05:46 PM on 03 May 2006, James Medhurst wrote:
Hmm. Call yourself learning disabled and you too can experience the ignorance, prejudice and hatred of society. Well, I'm certainly sold. Sign me up now!
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At 02:05 PM on 09 May 2006, Pauline Yates wrote:
My word, what an ignorant society we live in.
My child is gifted, dyslexic and APD. We have fought for 6 years to get him the support he needs.
There are tests! There are hoops to jump through! (in the UK at least).
The simplest test of all was the IQ tests proving my child has an IQ of 124 yet had major problems in verbal reasoning.
For those sad people thinking those with learning disabilities get an easy ride - walk one day in my child's shoes. You wouldn't last 6 hours.
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