Learning Disabilities and End of Grade Standardized Testing

I always dread the end of the school year.  There is so much pressure put on students regarding end of grade standardized testing.  The teachers have pressure put on them for their students to perform well, so many of them in turn put pressure on the students.  This can cause even the best of students stress and anxiety.  So what about the children with learning disabilities?  Research has shown that these students experience more stress and anxiety on tests than their non learning disabled peers.  So imagine having to cope with your disability as well as an added amount of stress.

I personally don't agree that all children's competence or knowledge can be assessed by the format of standardized tests.  As we have hopefully become more aware over the past several years, children learn differently and need to be afforded differentiation in instructional and evaluative strategies.  Not all children learn through pencil and paper question and answer (especially the LD child), which is the format of the standardized tests.   This being said, standardized end of grade tests are the reality and we need to know how to prepare our children best for them.

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Learning Disabilities and Anxiety

Anxiety, as defined by Mr. Webster, is an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt of one's capacity to cope with it.   Okay, for purposes of this post, let's simplify the definition to extreme or excessive worry that interferes with a child's ability to enjoy life or to perform some normal, everyday activities.  Did you know that research shows that children with Learning Disabilities most likely experience higher levels of anxiety than non LD kids?  Makes sense, right? 

According to the article Anxiety Among Kids with LD:  Three Clinical Psychologists Discuss Causes and Symptoms the research they have collected indicates that first signs of anxiety present themselves when these children enter kindergarten.  One of the psychologists, Roberta Goldberg, terms it "the anxiety of not being able to keep up."  The article also goes on to say that at this age most parents are not aware there is a learning disability and just feel the child isn't working hard enough.  This of course adds to the child's anxiety, who already feels as if he/she can't do something they should be able to do.  Most children are not identified LD until 2nd or 3rd grade or later (that is of course if they are identified at all :  30-50% of the population has undiagnosed learning disabilities.(Source - National Institute for Literacy)).  Also, 44% of parents who noticed their child exhibiting signs of difficulty with learning waited a year or more before acknowledging their child might have a serious problem (Source: Roper Starch Poll - Measuring Progress in a Public and Parental Understanding of Learning Disabilities). The article Anxiety Among Kids with LD tells us that before and during the identification time period, their anxiety levels can  be high.  According to these psychologists, the anxiety for the LD children is the highest in elementary school, then subsides some in junior high, and subsides even more in high school.

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