i flunked my test mom!

On Wednesday, SJ was pretty upset at the end of the day. "I flunked my test, Mom," said SJ. "What test?" I asked. "My PSSA practice test," replied SJ. I sighed in relief. I know everyone thinks the PSSA's are important (and they are for funding), but it doesn't affect SJ's grades. "That is okay, buddy. It doesn't matter if you do badly on that," I assured him. "It does matter," he whines.

I explained to him that it does matter somewhat, but it doesn't affect his grades. I told him to try his best and his teacher would understand if he doesn't get a terrific score.

These PSSA tests gauge the students to see how well they comprehend the general material. The students may have to read a story and answer some comprehension questions. SJ has trouble with comprehension. Not necessarily because he doesn't comprehend, but because he tends to rush through the passage and the questions. When he rushes, he misses many of the questions. His aides at school and I agree that he would do much better if he took his time. 

They might also have to answer a writing prompt. That is the area that troubles SJ the most. He HATES writing! He always says that he doesn't know what to write and he gets extremely flustered. He still hasn't figured out if he read the passage more carefully he would be able to pull out key points for his writing section.

Santa had brought SJ some comprehension practice books for Christmas. We haven't done them in a while, but I guess it is time to pull them out again. Perhaps if he gets comfortable at home doing the comprehension questions, he won't be so agitated when he is presented with them at school. (In a perfect world, this would actually happen, but we know my world is not perfect!)