Testing

[Nikki777]

I am a parent of a 7th grade autistic/adhd student who is in a private school that is known to cater to special needs students. My child for the most part is a straight A student and studies hard for tests to earn those grades.

My question is this, do you think it is appropriate to give a child a zero for asking for an eraser during a test? He is not known for repeatedly talking during tests and there was no worry about him cheating, per the teacher herself

[Schooner]

Hi @Nikki777,

If they put up their hand and asked politely I would think zero is extreme. It depends on the rules laid out for them for the test, but I would think under most circumstances a simple "shhh, don't talk!" would be a reasonable response for a first offence.

Cheers

[jdbza]

I agree and think the zero is a bit extreme. Are you able to speak with the teacher directly? I would be asking if the rules were clearly laid out to the students before the test and if the students were given an opportunity before they started the test to make sure they had the tools they needed before they started. The 3 schools my kids attended gave them the same instructions … to get the necessary stationary items out while the teachers handed out the tests with the written side facing down. When the teachers had finished handing out the tests the students were told how long they had to complete the test and told to turn the paper over and start the test.

Maybe you could ask the teacher/school what their class room rules are for tests and teach your child yourself at home what they expect for him/her to prepare. Within our family we have 2 grown boys with ADHD and 2 girls with high functioning ASD. Sometimes our eldest girl was allowed to complete her tests in a classroom by herself supervised by a teacher and given an extended amount of time to complete her test due to her high anxiety levels. There was also times rather then requiring her to do a test they would use her work completed in class to assess her knowledge of the subject. Our eldest son is someone who learning comes very easy. At high school he completed a school based traineeship work on military helicopters. He spent 6 weeks at one point away from school due to training for his traineeship and as a result tanked on his school report for that part of the year on 2 of his subjects. The dept of education would not allow for the report to be adjusted after it was issued however they did consent on it being reissued with a statement saying that his marks were reflective of him spending 6 weeks at (the name of the place he trained at).