So Caroline had her end of the year standardized testing today, one on one with a licensed tester, using the Woodcock Johnson complete battery. The good news is that her math score went up tremendously from last year, so a huge thank you to Teaching Textbooks and Mathnasium and Learning Rx and also for Caroline who put in the effort. She tested three grade levels higher than last May, so I think moving on to Geometry in the fall won't be an issue. Whew!
The bad news is that her verbal scores, usually her best, were lower than last year's. :( I am not sure what to make of that except that she has had two concussions since the last WJ test and so perhaps she is still being affected by them. The tester said that she seemed to lack short term memory skills necessary for some of the sections. Sigh. I was really thinking her verbal skills would have gone up. I am not sure if this is the result of the concussions or the increase in the Seroquel since last May, or if bipolar disorder itself has contributed to the memory issues. My husband and I have resigned ourselves to the fact that she is going to need a lot of help through high school, not only math tutoring, but likely tutoring in other subjects as well. This is the child whose IQ at age 5 was near genius before she was on any meds or had a major episode. Early-onset bipolar disorder really does rob kids of so much, not only of their friendships, and relationships with their siblings, but often of academic achievement.
3 comments:
Oh Megan, I'm so sorry to read about the verbal skills. My dd is very similar. Today she is doing her Algebra standardized testing and will do her Biology tomorrow. I'm not expecting her to do well, even though she does great in school. Same thing....the verbage on the tests throw her for a loop. I, too, have wondered how much effect the meds have on some of those cognitive skills we rely on every day. Big hugs. C
This is sad to hear. I often wonder how much is bipolar and how much is damage to the brain over time with the illness.
Sometimes standardized test scores can be a little goofy... if the child is tired, bored, in a bad mood, getting sick, has a headache, is distracted, etc, it can throw off some of the scores! If she takes it again next year, you might find that her verbal scores are back up!
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