When do know/decide to modify curriculum.

[JennaTN]

My son is 8 in 2nd grade. He gets 2 hours of remedial intervention daily. He is showing no progress and progress monitoring have declined since January. On benchmark testing he is in the 2nd percentile. I'm fed up with the school that it is now March and this has gone on this long. How do you know or decide to modify curriculum? I have lost all of my faith in our school, for just letting this continue for so long. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

[Carolyn Rowlett]

Yes, it is absolutely time to change the curriculum they are using.  What is the disability and what program are they using currently?  If dyslexia, it must be evidence-based, multi-sensory, structured literacy.  But not all programs, even if they meet these requirement, work for all kids.  Sounds like it's time to try something new.

[JennaTN]

For curriculum in 2nd grade they use CKLA and Envision/Savvas for math. For intervention, I have no idea what they do. His diagnosis is autism and a mild intellectual disability. His biggest struggle is with retention and working memory/recall. He can learn something today or this week and it's gone by next week. Repition is what he thrives on. During his psychological evaluation he met all the criteria for dyslexia but since the psychologist had determined he has an intellectual disability prior, she could not say that is what the problem is. He has probably 10 solid words he has memorized, he cannot decode words, he will try to sound them out, but when he tries to blend, he says a complete different word. We are working on basic addition and subtraction fluency but that is still not something he can memorize, so it's still a struggle. I'm just at such a loss with what to do. I always thought the school at his best interests at heart, but boy was I so wrong. 

In a previous IEP meeting, I was told we could not modify curriculum unless he went into the self contained sped class.  But that 100% in not an option. My son has no behavior problems, he gets along with classmates, follows rules and directions. We just need help getting him accommodations and modifications. I was also told that having modifications would change having a high school diploma to a certificate. My answer to that was we'll figure out high school in about 7 years, but for right now I'm worried about him learning to read and if thats what it takes, then so be it.

[Lisa Lightner]

I don’t blame you for being fed up. Two hours of intervention daily and no progress? That’s a huge red flag.

If he’s in the 2nd percentile and declining, what they’re doing isn’t working. And under IDEA, they’re legally required to provide an appropriate education—which means effective interventions that actually help him make progress.

When Should Curriculum Be Modified?

If a student is not making meaningful progress despite consistent, research-based interventions, it’s time to re-evaluate the approach.
You don’t just keep doing the same thing harder. (Yet somehow, schools love this method ).
If a child is this far behind, curriculum modifications (not just accommodations) may be necessary.

 

Put all of this in writing. Something like:
"We are now in March, and my child has shown no progress despite two hours of intervention daily. His benchmark scores place him in the 2nd percentile. This indicates that the current interventions are not effective. I am formally requesting an IEP meeting to discuss modifying his curriculum and intervention plan, as well as the possibility of additional assessments to determine why he is not making progress."

Also, start tracking EVERYTHING—progress reports, test scores, work samples. You may need this data to push for compensatory education later if they’ve been wasting your son’s time.

Keep us posted! And don’t be afraid to escalate—this is way past the “wait and see” phase.

[JSD24]

I'd be looking to change the remedial program/approach.  Modifying the curriculum can take a student off of a pathway to getting a diploma and 2nd grade is way early to do that.  You really don't see students getting back on track once they start getting a modified curriculum.

Has he been assessed for apraxia?  That can cause some of the issues you're seeing.  The remediation for apraxia is very different from remediation w/o apraxia.  He might not be getting the right interventions if they haven't correctly identified all the pieces of the disability.