Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Reading Lexile Scores From Your Child's CRCT Scores

Each year, public school students in the state of Georgia take the Criterion Reference Competency Test. One valuable piece of information on that test is the Lexile score. This Lexile score is a valuable piece of information not only for teachers, but for parents as well.

The Lexile Score indicates the reading ability level of the student and gives you a range of material that your child can confidently read from. For example, if your child is in the 6th grade and has a Lexile score of 890, he or she can read books from 790 to 990. Try not to have your child read more than 100 lexile points from what their current score is so as to not overwhelm them.

If you would like more information on Lexile scores, log on to www.lexile.com.

If you are in the Atlanta area and would like more information on techniques that may help your child learn better, or have questions on Orton-Gillingham reading strategies or Handwriting Without Tears, please contact Christine at christine@learningridge.com.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Student Self Evaluations.....

As an educator, there are certain mannerisms in students that become hard to miss. Students that write well do so with ease; those who write comically have an easy time accomplishing this without effort. It also seems that students, for the most part, know when they have given their best and when asked, will tell you when they have not.

In class today I had graded a writing assessment completed by the "best student" - although today he gave me less than what his reputation normally calls for. As I was grading his assignment, I noticed that what he had handed in was atypical of what he normally writes. I asked him to sit down with me as we began this very candid conversation about expectations. When asked how much effort he put into the paper, he gave me a number of which I was utterly surprised, but not shocked. I explained to him the importance of doing your best no matter how daunting the task or mundane the assignment. His grin told me that he was in agreement with what I had said and that he hoped that the conversation would not be repeated to anyone who has the authority to take away his video games at home.

I hope that by having conversations about expectations with students, I can motivate them to work on self improvement not only for a simple grade, but for themselves.

If you would like more information on techniques to help your child learn better, or would like information on Orton-Gillingham Tutoring in Atlanta, Handwriting Without Tears, SSAT, or if you are in the Atlanta area and have questions about education, please contact Christine at christine@learningridge.com