Rumor has it that this week Florida students and parents will finally receive the much-anticipated Florida Standards Assessment scores from the first round of testing taken this past spring. But what will parents receive, and what do the scores mean?

Engage the Brain will focus on grade levels 3-8 for both the English Language Arts (ELA) and math tests. When you open the envelope, parents, you will want to focus on two scores: The percentile rank and the T score. The percentile rank will tell you how your child did in comparison to the other students who took the test in the same grade level. For example, if your child receives a 68 percentile score that tells you your child did better than 68 percent of the students who took the test. Conversely, 32 percent of the students who took the same test did better than your child.

T scores are a little trickier to understand. They are essentially another way to report a percentile score. The T scores are reported on a scale of 20 – 80 with 50 equaling the 50 percentile. On the graph below, the sd stands for standard deviation, which is the amount of variation in a set of data.

You will be able to see how many questions there were in each sub-section of the tests and how many questions your child answered correctly; all useful information.

What will be missing are the proficiency band scores ranging from a low of 1 to a high of 5. The state has not finalized the ranges yet. On the FCAT, the FSA’s predecessor, a score of 3 was deemed proficient or on grade level.

Where the state places these proficiency bands is critical. Make the bands too tough and too many students will fail the test. Make them too easy and the test looks foolish. School grades and teacher evaluations also ride on the scores.

Many common sensed individuals have called for a high stakes moratorium for one year. They say, ‘Don’t use the scores to determine school grades or teacher evaluations.’ These same people have asked to use the first implementation of the test as a baseline only. Then next spring the state will have scores to compare the second round of tests to, comparing apples to apples.

This January the Florida Department of Education is to finalize the scoring bands. Presumably parents will receive a follow up report to the one they will receive this week informing them of their child’s proficiency score.

Should you have any questions about your child’s FSA scores, Engage the Brain would be happy to discuss the results and answer any questions.

Read More about Your Child’s FSA Scores: What do they Mean?

It’s a pretty well known fact that boys do not like to read. Parents with the best intentions read aloud to their sons just like they did to their daughters from the time they were babies. The kids successfully learn to read by first grade and everything seems good.

Then schools start giving standardized tests in elementary school and suddenly a gender-performance gap appears. According the U.S. Department of Education, over the last 30 years boys have continued to score worse than girls on reading tests in every age group, every year.

What gives?

The Guys Read website lists the follow possible reasons:

• Biologically, boys are slower to develop than girls and often struggle with reading and writing skills early on.
• The action-oriented, competitive learning style of many boys works against them learning to read and write
• Many books boys are asked to read don’t appeal to them. They aren’t motivated to want to read.
• As a society, we teach boys to suppress feelings. Boys aren’t practiced and often don’t feel comfortable exploring the emotions and feelings found in fiction.

Boys don’t have enough positive male role models for literacy. Because the majority of adults involved in kids’ reading are women, boys might not see reading as a masculine activity.

So how can you get your son to read? Engage the Brain investigated the Internet and collected the best suggestions.

Be Realistic and start small

Say to your son, “Here is one book, one magazine, one article, one website you might like.”

Expand definition of reading

Non-fiction, humor, graphic novels, action-adventure, magazine and websites all count as reading.

Read aloud

Most parents are guilty of stopping to read aloud once their child begins to read independently. Boys AND girls benefit from continuing to read aloud to them through the elementary–age grades. Take turns reading pages in a book and discussing the plot and characters. Make it fun.

Pair books with activities

Boys by nature are active. Encourage your son to act out a scene from the story. Take out a cookbook with your son’s favorite recipes and read through the ingredients and instructions. Then make one as a follow up activity.

Find male role models

Boys typically do not have many male “reading” role models because most elementary teachers are women. Boys need to see men reading. Dads, older brothers, uncles, grandfathers, coaches…this means you! Boys need to see men reading to understand it is socially okay to like to read.

Family book club

Start a family book club. Encouraging several members of the family to read the same book can serve as motivation (and role modeling) for boys to want join in the fun. Plan to watch the movie version of the book on a Friday or Saturday night.

Use a reading log

Seeing is believing. By asking your son to keep a reading log, he will see his progress. The log can be simple: book title, author and genre. By reviewing the log your child can see the types of reading material he likes – action, biography, humor, etc. Plus, keeping a reading log may kick in your son’s competitive juices and want to compare his reading log with his friends reading logs. Remember – boys are competitive.

Conclusion

There is clear evidence boys are falling further behind girls when it comes to reading. Anyone who works in education has heard the following refrains from boys, “I don’t like to read” or “There is nothing good to read.” It takes effort and an adjustment, but boys can and will read for enjoyment. Be persistent and try one, two or all of these strategies.

Happy reading!

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a growing concern in homes and classrooms across the country. If you are a teacher, you know the child and symptoms all too well. You just finished a fantastic lesson on adding fractions and your active sweetness siting at a desk by himself asks, “Mrs. K, how often do you cut your fingernails?”

Parents at home may see other evidence of ADHD. Struggles to keep the bedroom clean. The inability to manage the time necessary to complete all the homework each night. Or, the appearance of not being able to follow directions with more than one step.

Too commonly, doctors and parents are choosing to treat ADHD with medication. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), diagnosis for ADHD has increased 43% between 2003 and 2011. And ADHD medications can have serious side effects including sleep problems and weight loss.

Before we go any further, it is important to note that some children NEED medication to perform in school and keep pace academically and socially with their peers. The questions for these children become which is the best medication and what is the right dose?

Having said that, not every child NEEDS medication. This determination is best made in consultation with your child’s doctor AND classroom teacher. Your child’s teacher is an important piece of the team because she interacts with your child on a daily basis. Additionally, she may have the experience to compare your child’s classroom behaviors with other children she has taught and can provide you with an objective barometer to measure possible treatments and interventions.

Engage the Brain studied the research on alternative treatments to ADHD medications and discovered the following possible options:

The Feingold Diet

The diet is essentially an elimination diet where certain food colorings, flavorings and preservatives are removed from a child’s diet in hopes of lowering hyperactive behavior. Scientific studies have disproven the effectiveness of the diet, but some parents have witnessed success.

Supplements

Some research suggests adding certain supplements to your child’s diet can help mitigate the symptoms of ADHD. Zinc, L-carnitine, Vitamin B6 and magnesium have all shown degrees of effectiveness.

Electroencephalographic biofeedback or EEG

EEG attempts to treat the brainwaves in an effort to promote your child’s ability to focus. EEG employs video games that are directly connected to the child’s attention. While playing a game if the child’s attention begins to waver, the screen may go dark or the game may slow down. This triggers the player to reengage his focus and the screen brightens back up or the game speeds back up.

Yoga or Tai chi

Are you a parent that likes to practice yoga? If so, bring your active child with you the next time you visit the dojo. Teenage boys who practice yoga or Tai chi twice a week report being better able to concentrate. These practices teach relaxation and discipline.

Exercise

Exercise is Mother Nature’s gift to the ADHD community. 30 minutes of active play is as effective as some ADHD medications. And exercising outside adds to the benefit.

Wrapping it all Up

It certainly seems like more and more children are presenting symptoms of ADD/ADHD. The CDC’s report of a 43% increase in diagnosis backs this up. Many doctors and parents are quick to tap medication to correct the problem. And while some children will need medication to assist them in managing their ADHD symptoms, NOT ALL children do. Use this post as a springboard to start a conversation with your child’s pediatrician. Look into these treatments in more detail.

As a parent, have you tried an effective, alternative treatment for ADHD with your child? If so, we would love to hear about your success story.

Read More about Alternative Treatments to ADHD Medicine

To keyboard or not to keyboard, there is NO question! 21st Century students need to learn how to keyboard. And not only just how to type. They must learn all the basic functions and maneuvers required to operate a personal computer.

Many elementary school educatorssuggest that third-graders should learn the keyboard layout and understand the function of the space bar, delete and arrow keys; know how to click and tap; grasp how to cut, paste and highlight; understand how to scroll; know how to select and unselect an object, text or area; and be able to drag, slide and drop selected material and use drop-down menus.

Not coincidentally, the new Common Core state exams such as PARCC require students to use these same computer skills to demonstrate what they have learned placing even more importance on learning computer literacy skills. The CCSS include two benchmarks: use the Internet for research and use digital tools for learning.

Children will NOT learn keyboarding through osmosis or repeated exposure to the keyboard while playing. It takes systematic instruction. “Look at how anything complex is taught,” says Lauren Eve Pomerantz, an educator at California Space and Science Center. “We take words and break them into phonemes to teach reading. We take dance and break it into sequences of steps to learn ballet. We take music and break it into scales to learn to play an instrument. Knitters make squares in a pattern until they are ready to incorporate it into a project.” Keyboard instruction is no different.

A few of the required skills are:

• Eye hand coordination
• Finger isolation
• Good finger sense or propioception (knowing where your fingers are in space)
• Working memory
• Bilateral coordination (using both hands in a coordinated manner)
• Sustained Attention
• Good sitting posture

Depending on the frequency of practice and general ability of the student, it takes 6 months to a year to become proficient at keyboarding. And the great news is there are plenty of FREE programs available for children to select from to learn.

Here are a few of Engage the Brain’s favorite programs:

Typing Pal “Dynamic and stimulating, Typing Pal Online offers a personalized approach to learning keyboard skills. With nothing more than a web browser and a subscription, you can make rapid progress by benefitting from the most up-to-date games and exercises.”

Typing Agent “Let’s face it, learning to type is imperative to be successful in today’s modern culture, but let’s not forget about the fun! Research shows that fun is serious business for students; the more engaged they are the more they learn, but fun is just the tip of the iceberg!”

Dance Mat Typing “It is interactive, fun, free and easy-to-use for kids; the system is complete with animated animal characters, graphics and sounds. We provide friendly menus or lists and other cool stuff to make it easier for you and your kids to use Dance Mat Typing to effectively learn how to type.”

Wrapping it Up

Keyboarding skills are a must in today’s digital-centric world. Virtually any job requires some knowledge of computers and minimum level of proficiency at keyboarding. Most schools do not have the time to teach keyboarding as a class. Research shows it takes a systematic approach of daily instruction and practice to learn how to keyboard.

These are three programs that are available to parents to help their child learn how to keyboard. Pick one and start your child today. They will thank you for the rest of their life.

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As parents, we have all been there. I half-jokingly refer to my daughter as Mono-Syll-Annie, for her one word responses to my inquires about her day. Heck, even her text messages are limited to: “Good” or “Fine” or if I’m lucky, “How are you?”

And I’d like to think I have a pretty good relationship with my daughter.

Getting children to open up to us can be challenging. Books have been written on the subject. Countless psychologists have penned magazine articles. Each puts its own twist on the subject, but they all have common denominators.

Engage the Brain has sorted through the literature, determined the common denominators and reduced them to bite-sized nuggets you can easily digest and use to engage your child in conversation.

As frustrating as it can be, engaging your child in conversation has important payoffs. It helps increase cognitive functions (thinking), improve social skills (getting along with others) and regulate emotional (feelings) growth. In both of you:-)

The Common Denominators

Express enthusiasm for your child’s interests, even if they are not yours.

Acknowledge your child’s frustrations, fears and or disappointments.

Share personal experiences, especially examples of when you were sad, disappointed or angry.

Ask specific questions. Rather than “How was your day?” ask “What was the favorite part of your day?”

The Daily Meal is a company that puts together dinnertime activities for busy families. One part of their program is providing ready-made questions to ask kids at the dinner table. Here are a few examples:

• What was the best part of your day? Worst part of your day?
• If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go and why?
• What have you learned in the news this week that you’ve found interesting?
• What was your favorite part of a recent trip or vacation?
• If you could do something to change the world, what would it be? Why?
• What are you looking forward to doing this weekend?
• What family member do you think you’re most similar to?
• Honesty is the best policy — Do you agree or disagree?
• (http://www.dailymeal.com)

Allow your child to respond to questions in different ways. While some children are verbal, others are more analytical, dramatic or even physical. Playroom Lubbick.com offers these three suggestions:

Use a wand or a sword to answer questions. This gives kids a sense of power to be able to wave a wand or sword in conversation.

Use puppets! You can pick up puppets at the Dollar Tree. Helps children with risk taking of being honest and vulnerable.

Use a beach ball or other large plastic ball and a sharpie to write questions. Toss the ball and wherever your child’s thumb or index finger lands, that is the question to answer. Great for kids who like to be active or use their bodies.

Find the right time. Just as adults don’t like to walk in the door from work and be bombarded with questions from their spouse, children may need to time to decompress too. Dinnertime or even bedtime may be a more relaxing time for your child and then be more willing to open up about the day’s events.

Conclusion

We all want to raise happy, well-adjusted children. Even the most extroverted kids come to a point when they stop communicating with their parents. Don’t throw in the towel and declare that you have “lost your child to their friends and social media.” Persistence pays off.

Ask a specific question. Empathize with your child. Share personal stories. Find the right time. Do these things and your child will open up to you.

Read More about How to Talk So Your Child will Talk

In Florida, and in many other states across the country, schools can be defined as either good or bad based on their letter grade designation largely earned through students’ performance on high stakes tests.

Parents muse, “John Doe Elementary is an A school and have wonderful teachers. Jane Doe Elementary is a C school. They just don’t get the talented, veteran teachers.”

These musings are not only incorrect, they place faith in a system that is faulty at best.

The Learning Specialists at Engage the Brain have all been classroom teachers and continue to work with students in school settings. We like to think we know a good school when we visit one. Without even looking at the test scores.

How?
Let’s start with the letter designation of a school. A rated schools tend to have some or all of the following: Students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, more resources to help prepare students for high stakes tests like access to supplemental curriculum materials, involved parents, administrators and teachers whom emphasize teaching to the test and in up to 5% of schools, cheating on high stakes tests by adults. Yes, shocking!

How about the C rated schools? Schools with a lot of high performing students and or a lot of low performing students find it difficult to show academic growth, a major contributor to a school’s letter grade. High performing students have nowhere to go but down on standardized tests. Maintaining a high score does not record “growth.” Low performing students are often caught in a cycle of underperforming and do not record “growth” on standardized tests. The very best, veteran teachers can struggle to meet the needs of each of these populations, in their classrooms.

So besides a school’s letter grade, how else can you tell if a school is good? Here is a list of key indicators that can reveal the quality of a school:

• School attendance – Does a high percentage of students attend school every day?
• Students with disabilities – Is the school providing services and accommodations?
• Teacher collaboration – Are teachers provided time to truly meet and discuss students and instruction?
• College and Career readiness – Are students graduating from high school ready for the rigors of college classes and or work?
• Satisfied Parents – Are parents of students at the school satisfied with the teachers and level of communication the school provides?
• Student Enthusiasm – When you visit the school, do you sense the students are happy, respectful and engaged in the school community?

Conclusion
These are just a few ways to evaluate a school beyond its state issued letter grade. Not all A schools are full of highly effective, veteran teachers and high performing students engaged in wonderful collaborative, project-based learning programs. Like wise, not all C schools are filled with underperforming students and ineffective teachers struggling to make the grade on high stakes tests. By using the key indicators you can assess a school for yourself.

What letter grade would you give your child’s school?

Read More about Evaluating Your Child’s School Beyond the Test Scores

Executive Functions has been gaining more attention as children continue to struggle to keep up with an increasingly rigorous curriculum and increased expectations. ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – and executive functions weaknesses can go hand in hand.

According to webmd.com, Executive functions are a set of mental skills that help you get things done.

Executive function helps you:

• Manage time
• Pay attention
• Switch focus
• Plan and organize
• Remember details
• Avoid saying or doing the wrong thing
• Do things based on your experience

Children with executive functions weakness may struggle with one, several or all of these skills. Parents, does this sound like your child? If so, don’t panic! These skills can be taught and a child can improve. While it is not a magical cure, requiring your child to use a homework planner is a giant first step to improving your child’s executive functions.

(Example of a student planner)

At Engage the Brain we work with students from a variety of school settings: public, private, charter, parochial. Each school, even within Orange and Seminole Counties, has different technologies and procedures for assigning classwork and homework. For example, one private school is essentially paperless. Students are required to have a laptop and everything is digital. A student can open to a “dashboard” and view a To do list, a calendar with assignments listed for the week, and whether any work is missing. Assignments are even uploaded and graded digitally.

Sounds great. But… a student is still required to remember ALL of their assignments and up coming tests UNLESS their laptop is open, connected to Wi-Fi, and is on the school’s website. That’s where a physical homework planner makes a huge difference. A planner will assist a child in managing tasks to be done and events to be managed. Tasks to be done include completing math homework and writing vocabulary sentences. Events to manage include studying for the science test and meeting with a study group for a collaborative project.

Technology is wonderful, but it cannot replace the ability to instantly view all your tasks and events in one place at any time. Students with executive functions issues can suffer from higher levels of anxiety. Using a planner will reduce stress when a student understands AND SEES all the work that needs to be done and that there is time to do it all; with proper planning.

A good planner has enough room to write down assignments for each class. In addition, a student ought to include the materials needed to complete the assignment. Encourage your child to include his personal tasks and events in the planner. For example, if your child has piano lessons on Wednesdays at 4:30 pm, that ought to be included in the planner too. If your high school child participates in a sport that practices every afternoon from 3:00-5:00, that time ought to be blocked off in the planner.

Wrapping it Up

At first you will need to assist your child – even your high school age child – in setting up the planner. Seeing everything in one place is important. Your child will “see” where her study times will need to happen on each day of the week. Quickly your child’s stress level will come down as the planner imposes order on her life.

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