Do you think they'll let my 8-year-old, third grade grandson retake the state exams?

How could any of us know the answer to this question? Just call the school board in question and ask them.

We’re waiting to hear back now. It’s possible others here have experienced this with their own kids. That’s how some of us might know the answer to the question.

It’s also possible this could develop into an interesting conversation. That’s one of the hallmarks of Fluther, and the reason it isn’t called “Yahoo Answers.”

Since you want an educated guess from a stranger, I vote for summer school along with an evaluation…that will not mandate that this child be put on drugs but might give the adults some techniques for dealing with his particular study habits, attention span, and present state of mind.

since she moved, he just tanked in school indicates many other issues Aden is dealing with…not just rushing through tests.

It is vital that both his mom and his dad (and by indirection, his step-mother) be in agreement on his behavior. Repeating the third grade is simply punitive, will not solve any of his present problems and will cause new ones.

Forfeiting his vacation to summer school is the sort of brutal lesson that a talented 3rd grader will carry for the rest of his academic life regarding the consequences of deliberate underachievement. It might be well worth it.

I agree @gailcalled. Yes, he is dealing with other issues that are contributing to the problem, which is why I mentioned them in the details. And I agree that repeating 3rd grade would be of no benefit, and of some detriment, although, if that happened I can see him quickly catching up to the point they’ll move him on up to 4th within the 1st month.

I agree with you too, @stanleybmanly. Seriously…under the circumstances it would be pretty damn traumatic for him.

On the other hand, it WOULD be a lesson for the future. You can’t just pick and choose what you want to do and what you want to blow off. Life doesn’t work that way.

I was just wondering if any of you have had any experience with this kind of thing.

@gailcalled: I don’t believe any evaluation could “mandate” the child be put on drugs, i.e. force the parent to give the child medication.

I don’t know the answer to the question, but I do agree it would be beneficial for the child to be seen by a professional. He has a lot going on right now and more issues than just test taking.

There sure are. Corrie just called. She talked to the teacher. This was just a “pilot” test. It doesn’t count for anything. But there are problems. The teacher said that at recess Aden plays by himself, and if you watch him he’s playing out his video games. In class he’ll “zone out,” and not pay attention because he’s playing video games in his mind. He’s always had that propensity, even when he was smaller, to replay things in his mind. He’d repeat entire movies, including sound effects, when he was just 4. He’d just talk on and on, whether anyone was listening or not. The ENTIRE movie. Accurately. So there is a blessing and a curse, all mixed up in there.

Corrie and Janelle, Aden’s step mother, both agree that Aden should see someone, and that his video games should be curtailed. However, Quentin, his dad, disagrees, and at this point he holds the reins. Janelle and Quentin have two other children and I guess Aden is his “Golden Boy” and can do no wrong, in his eyes. If there is something wrong, its always someone elses fault, not Aden’s. This is a bad situation starting to develop here. How can some people be so blind?

@Dutchess_III: So if the teacher makes a recommendation, the father won’t act on it? If the teacher says the kid should curtain video games, the father won’t heed that recommendation?

No. The way he sees it, if Aden is having problems in school it the teacher’s fault, the school’s fault, not Aden’s. Aden is perfect you see. I happen to think he’s pretty damn perfect myself, but I’d never let my love over shadow what is best for him, even if what is best is something he doesn’t like.

All I can say it was in 3rd grade that we found out our very bright smart son had Sensory Processing Disorder. School was overwhelming him and attacking all his senses and experienced sensory overload. Long story short we got a diagnosis and we were now able to access additional help through the school and district with an IEP program that set up conditions and options that our son had access to. Some were the ability to have more time to take his tests and also in a smaller room that was less distracting to him. It was a difficult and delicate time for him, 4th grade was a real rough year for him and 5th got better and by 6 he was going strong with the rest of his peers. Now in High School we still have his IEP program in place so he can continue to have the extra help and support when he needs it.

Contact the school/teacher/counselor and communicate the changes Aden has experienced and the effect it has had. The schools are well versed in how changes in young lives can be so disruptive and often can offer strategies in and out of the school they can help him with. It may take some pushing to get them to actually do something but be persistent and do not hesitate to contact the district supervisor either.

@Dutchess_III You just mentioned how perfect Aden is. Perfect is a great place for a child to be, but from his perspective, perfect can be a pretty high pedestal to be on. My oldest was one of those perfect students really kicked butt in school. Came to find out that it put a tremendous amount of pressure on him to not disappoint all those people, family, friends that saw him as this perfect student. One day out of the blue he failed a test and it turned out he did it on purpose because he was tired of being perfect and just wanted to be normal like the others kids in his class.

Good advice @Cruiser. His dad is probably creating a problem because he blindly thinks the kid really is perfect. I only think he’s perfect because he’s my grandson. I think ALL my grandkids are perfect (they take after their gramma what way. :) But it wouldn’t stop me from putting their perfect butts in lock down if I needed to.

I’ll talk to my daughter.