Should I have my Son repeat second grade because he can not read?

Question

My son has been struggling to read for the last 2 years. This year we got an IEP for him and he got special services through 2nd grade to help him with reading. We also sent him to a tutor once a week for the entire school year. At the end of 2nd grade we hired an attorney to help advise us and we got independent testing on my son. My sons GORT scores showed that his reading skills were below first grade. This summer we sent my son to a 120 hour intervention program at Lindamood-Bell. We are 4 hours from completing this program and my sons reading has shown minimal improvement. After 80 hours we retested him and his GORT score had only improved by 1 point and he was still reading below first grade level. I expect he will still test at below first grade level when we do our post intervention test next week. I have no other solution at this point other giving him more time to develop as a reader. He is normal or advanced in all other areas but the reading just has not developed.

Answer 1

Yes, you should retain him.  Let him be in a different classroom with a different teacher so that it's still new and continue with intensive tutoring.    If your child needed LIPS from Lindamood-Bell, then he has next to no phonemic awareness.  When his phonemic awareness is a bit more developed, then you can more on to phonics and teaching him to read.  Barton www.bartonreading.com or Slingerland http://www.slingerland.org/ are both next-step tutoring options.  Even with an IEP, school districts are strapped for money and aren't always able to provide the most specialized help without you advocating for your son; sadly it's necessary so it's good to consult a lawyer who specializes in this.  

Your son needs 3-4 days a week of intensive tutoring and it will still take 2-3 years before you see his reading start to catch up with his peers.  Give him the chance to catch up a little more on his reading/spelling without the pressure of feeling even more behind his peers and having to learn new content.  If you let him continue with his current peer group, then he just has another year to catch up on.  The difference in expectations between second and third grade is huge.  In second grade, there's still quite a range of abilities and it's expected that kids will need help with reading in the content areas.  In third grade, it's assumed that kids can read independently in subjects like science and social studies.  Even with classroom modifications, the teacher has other students to help during the course of the day and it will only become more apparent to your son that he can't do what his classmates are doing, which is more likely to make him feel "stupid" than being told he needs an extra year to practice in second grade while he gets help with reading and because he's so good in subjects like math, science, etc.  he'll be able to help his classmates.  In addition, there's less stigma to a boy being a little older than his peers than a girl (who might be embarrassed by developing before her classmates).

Answer 2

)= I got held back in 2nd grade, because I couldn't read. But, I still can't read.. >_> And I'm going in 9th grade. Kind of sad. But yeah.. I think you should.

Answer 3

A lot of people see the stigma with retaining a child. It is not a bad thing.  You are obviously doing everything in your power to help your child, which is a great thing.  However, it all depends on your child.  You can look at it from both sides and that my help you make your decision.  From my prospective I would recommend to promote you son. If you retain him he would be exposed to second grade material again, however in second grade the students are already reading so that wouldnt be very benifical. (Maybe in kinder or 1st)  I would recommend to promote him and he still continue special education services and on his IEP make sure some of the objectives include beginning reading skills.  Make sure on his modification pages that he get paired up with a buddy and that things get read to him.  Just because he has problems reading doesn't mean he can't comprehend what others read to him and promote him doing what the other students are doing.  You should continue to tutoring program.  Question, about the tutering do they make an individualized curriculm for him.  Sylvan Learning Cener is great for that.   I worked there for 8 months and I saw a lot of growth in the students. This program focuses on building a strong foundation and then going from there.  Good luck!!!

Answer 4

You have received very good and professional answers, but there is no answer possible that will relieve you from the doubts you have about the decision you have to make. And that is mainly because we as educators and specialists with all our experience and insight still can not predict how the development of a child will be. As already mentioned by others, the fact that you are so much involved in the well being of your child is admirable.

**Let's look at some basic assumptions

-The expectations for a first grader are:

Reads aloud slowly and deliberately (about 30 words per minute)

Begins to use strategies to figure out new words

Recognizes words at a glance. Begins to read silently

Has a 300-500 word reading vocabulary

Can count the number of syllables in a word

Can blend or segment the phonemes of most one syllable words

-The expectations for a second grader are:

Reads about 60 words per minute

Reads both fiction and non-fiction written for grade level

Can sound out unknown words of one or two syllables

Has improved comprehension

Re-reads sentences when meaning is not clear

Recalls facts and details from texts

Poses possible answers to "how", "why" and "what if" questions

-The expectations for a third grader are:

Reads about 90 words per minute. Reads aloud with fluency and comprehension when using grade level material

Has a good repertoire of "word attack" skills and strategies to sound out unknown words

Can summarize major points from fiction and non-fiction stories

Can infer word meanings from roots, prefixes and suffixes that they have been taught

Reads many kinds of children's books

Uses different ways of reading, sounding out words, getting information from the story and personal knowledge to understand stories and learn new words

Understands the themes or main ideas in what he or she reads

-The years from birth to ten are an irreplaceable season for brain development. Vision, hearing, touch, large muscle control, and small muscle skill all develop at the same time as the baby learns to pay attention to the sights and sounds around it, make decisions, and process information. The result is a pattern of connected images, symbols, memories, needs, desires, ideas, and emotions that make him or her into a human being, capable of interacting with others who have the same complex connections.

-There are "learning windows" for some skills. Children effortlessly absorb the syntactical rules of their primary tongue (or more than one) by age 5 or 6; after that point, they have to memorize and remember rules for forming sentences

-At about age 10, the brain begins ruthlessly eliminating the less-used synapses. This physiological fact may explain why remediation, which usually starts in the fourth grade, is such hard work and why it is so seldom completely successful.

-An 18-year-old has the brain he will have for the rest of his life.

-Good reading is an important ability but not absolutely necessary to be successful in life.

-Advancing in school within the cohort a child has entered the school, gives more often than not a child a feeling of protection and security.

-Staying behind often takes away a feeling of protection and security at least for some time.

-If a child is accepted in a group. It is accepted with all its abilities, disabilities and the way it behaves.

-If a child is not accepted in a group. It is rejected with all its abilities, disabilities and the way it behaves.

-Your son is too young to be rational involved in this decision.

**Lets look at some speculations what can happen if he repeat 2nd grade:

-He has given more time to develop as a reader and reach the second grade expectations.

-There is no guarantee that at the end of the year he will be ready for 3rd grade reading or that there is much progress at all.

-In most other areas there will be no challenge to learn / develop anymore as it will be mainly repetition.

-He has to establish new social relationships with the new kids in his new group, who are not aware of his disability the way the group he is in now.

-He has to find new ways to involve the new classmates in his learning process.

-For a teacher,  a child that repeat the same grade,  is often much more difficult to deal with to motivate, to give extra attention, to find new assignments to prevent boredom.

-The important development of the other areas is for a great deal put on hold.

**Lets look at some speculations what can happen if he goes to the 3rd grade:

-The gap in reading skills between him and the rest of the class will become more obvious and can work as a demotivation for all his learning.

-The important development of the other areas is not disturbed.

-He continues to involve his classmates in his learning process that I believe he has established now.

-He feels himself accepted in the group he is in as he is.

And with all these presumptions and premises it is still not clear what the best choice can be, because a main factor will be you and the teacher(s) and specialist that will work with him.

The only way to come to the most satisfying diagnosis is to sit together with all the people involved and ask them their expectations and above all a plan for his treatment and learning process, where every one, included you as much as possible is involved. And together it is possible that you can make a flexible plan where he will have a part of his schooling in the third grade so the important development of the other area's are not disturbed and a part will be in the second grade and through IEP, together with your help.

As long as he is not able to get the appropriate reading level and as long it is unclear what can be the reason for this disability, it is important to guide and have your son guided by people that will motivate him, give him the possibility to develop his self esteem and prepare him for the notion that he is special and as such has to do some things different. A great help for him can possibly be a computer with text to speech possibilities, that read the text for him and it is to be seen if in this way he have an even better possibility of developing the other areas without too much disturbance.

I wish you well in your difficult decision and hope that more people take the time to help you find an answer to your question so you also can get the confidence that you have done what you possibly could do and have made the best decision possible at this moment.

Answer 5

that's a big decision your asking strangers to help you out .Know matter what you decide make talk to your son about it. I personally would not recommend it .Your son has an IEP ,so he has help when ever he needs it. You said that he dose well in other subjects in school don't hold him back just because he cant read .If I was held back for ever year I could not read, well I would still be in school. give it a a little bit more time .He has every thing he needs to succeed ,just give him that time . A hint try to find books that he might interesting to read  .That's what helped me .

Answer 6

I'm dealing with the same thing this year.  In your case its a little different because it appears your son is not learning even with reading specialist working with him.  My fear would be since he is doing so well in the other subjects that he would suffer in other ways because of teasing or other self esteem ways.  Keep fighting mom!

Answer 7

It be better to hold him back when he is still young and it helps a lot, i was held back in 5th grade  and it was for a different reason that is immaturity and now i know i am still immature for my age. But i learned more because of being held back. It  helps a lot with me because i was able to graduate but i only got a certificate of completion. But i have decided that to do homeschooling so i can get my high school diploma. I really want to go to a college.

Answer 8

I can offer a point of view.  I do not read well, I excelled in English, Advanced mathematics, sciences, and every other subject.  To this day (I have long left school) I have the same problem.  I can not comprehend things I read.

To read things like your post, I have to read them about 10 or fifteen times over and over again until I process the data from short term memory to long term memory.  The good think is I can remember things later even where on the page the sentence was.  I learned to adapt.  I was held back for reading and the teachers were at a loss what to do because they knew I would be bored with everything else.  

As a child we rarely had books in our home, no one read with us, no one helped us along.  I think that is important.  I taught my child her letters at age 3, and she was reading before age 5.  She may process information differently and that may be why, but I did not want her to repeat what I went through.

I have met another child who was put in special ed for reading problems, and she had the same problem.  She was a neighbor's child.  I worked with her and taught her how to do what I did, and it worked.  She was never a wizz but she was reading quite a bit better.  

You mention all of the specialists.  Do you spend an hour a day helping your son?  Don't do it all at once, do it in spurts.

Have him read the same passages over and over again.  Put the book down.  An hour or two later read the same book over and over again.  Every time he improves, clap and show happiness.  Do it again and again, day after day until he masters that book.  Then move to another.  He will learn that perhaps that is what he has to do throughout life.  Also have him tested.  There are many tests now that can tell why this is difficult for him.

If he has the problem that I did, school life will not be fun.  He will have to read and reread every direction and assignment over and over again, while others get it the first time.  

Sometimes in life we do things differently than the crowd but that makes us individual.  If he is ahead or good in other subjects, I would be worried about holding him back.  

Good luck on your quest.

Answer 9

I commend you for all that you have already done as a parent. Most people wouldn't have gone through all of that trouble. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with holding him back. He will be better off in the long run if you do. My first thought after reading your details was that he probably was gifted in other areas like you stated. The educational system is far more advanced then it was when I was in school. Kids are now learning in the 2nd grade what me and my husband learned in the 4th. So don't think for one second that it is something that you have done or that your son isn't smart enough. He can do it, it just make take him some time and he may learn things differently. I can be told how to do something and forget right after. If someone lets me do something and walk me through so that I get a hands on experience, I'll never forget how to do it. May he is a hands on learner, also known as a kenesthetic learner. I'm not sure on the spelling on that. Just keep up what your doing and go ahead and let him stay in the 2nd grade one more year and see if that helps him. Good luck.

Answer 10

No. There is some other problem.Maybe he just sees the words backwards or something,

Answer 11

NO! He will pick it up as time goes on. Holding him back will effect him in more ways when he is older. Plus he will always ask "Why did you hold me back? I could have been in the next grade already!"

Answer 12

I work in a special ed. class and see many students that feel defeated by 3rd grade.Just today the school where I work had in-service, the class was about learning strategies.All current data states that repeating a grade does not help. Often times it only discourages a student.The presentation was on phonemic awareness, it is a precursor to phonics.We taught phonics for years, now they say this is a better way.The speaker showed that much better results have come by teaching students to listen first, and using manipulatives to represent sounds, and not to work on letter sounds until sound differences are recognized.You can go on-line and find  details and some books on the subject, here is a useful site

www.forpd.ucf.edu/resources/chat030807...  

Teaching him from the beginning with this new strategy may help.There is nothing more important than an involved, hands on parent. The studies also showed that when a child is read to they will make the reading connection faster.Keep reading to him for fun, try not to make it into a test or study time. He may have alot of anxiety attached to reading because it is so hard for him, show him it is fun.

Answer 13

Has your son been tested for any learning disabilites - specifically with reading such as dyslexia, decoding or attention problems?

See the table at this site:

http://www.indstate.edu/soe/blumberg/rea...

This is the main site and deals specifically with reading difficulties and reading disabilities:

http://www.indstate.edu/soe/blumberg/rea...

Answer 14

You are a very concerned parent.  I would be very happy if even half of the parents of the children I teach were as concerned as you are.

     You mentioned that your child has an I.E.P., which means he is in a special education class, or that a "label" was assigned to him.   Do you know if the words "learning disabled" came up?   Normally, when an I.E.P. is written up, it is preceded by  psychological testing.  Generally, an I.Q. test is administered, to test for the child's potential, then one or more academic achievement tests, to evaluate his current skills.   The fact that your son is very low in language, but average or above in every other area, points to a learning disability.

     I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what a GORT test is.   I teach in Florida, USA, and here there is a test called the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test).  If a child does not pass the reading portion, that child generally does not progress to the next grade, I.E.P or no I.E.P.  

     In my district, your son would be required to repeat the grade, if he had not already done so in a previous year.   In my opinion, it would not hurt to hold him back at his young age.  It becomes increasingly more difficult to make the decision as the child ages, as they are very aware of their shortcomings and that they won't be in the same grade level as their friends.

     On the other hand, if he has had extensive outside help with reading with little or no improvement, it is doubtful he will gain much from repeating the same grade.   I might contact the head of the child-study team (the team which wrote up your child's IEP).  You have rights as a parent of a disabled child.   You should advocate for your son to get him the help he needs.  Perhaps a different reading program?  

     I wish you every success for this coming school year.

Answer 15

Obviously your son needs a reading teacher who is proficient in alternative methods of teaching the subject.  You need to have someone use the SAT method.  I really wish you lived in WV so my friend could teach him to read.  She could teach my cat to read (no offense to your son).  Check out the University of Kansas (I think it's Dr. Wolf/Wolfe)?

Answer 16

yes....he will not only be a better reader when he needs to be later but will be the coolest kid in class because he will be older...he will get a car when no one else has one...

the downside, he will probably drop out after having too much fun and being unable to read good...

Answer 17

it seems his reading problems are due to a learning disability---holding him back just because of reading will not help-----

I would opt for interventions and accommodations in 3rd grade.

Answer 18

PLEASE read this post...... You could contact the National Institute for Learning Disabilities at www.nild.org  about your son.  There is also an 800 number on their website.  Hopefully there is a therapist in your town that can help your child. Children with learning disabilities are bright children, they just have a disconnect in their brain that keeps them from processing the information.  There is brain therapy for this, based on medical science, given by an educational therapist trained by NILD. The goal is to help your child become an independent learner, which includes reading!   I hope your child can get this therapy with an NILD therapist. And, I actually know of a situation where a parent could not find a therapist in their area and they went and got the training themselves so they could help their child.  It is true that if a child has a learning disability, holding him back won't help the disability.  However, if  your child needs the "gift of time" to get his bearings, get the help he needs to be stronger in the early years of learning, perhaps it would help in that regard.  Third grade is a tough year with lots of new concepts.  No one knows your child better than you.  Search all of your options.  You are your child's guide and help...you will make the right decision!

Answer 19

Ya I think you should because it would definatly help him.  I have ADD, SID, and SPD and I am 26.  I repeated the first grade and it helped me a lot.  Although the principle of the school I went to wasn't really in agreence with me staying back.  My teacher and my parents thought it would be the best thing, and it was the best thing.