State testing

We spent two days in Rothschild, Wisconsin for Namine to take her fifth grade state testing.

As you may recall, Namine “attends” a virtual school called Rural Virtual Academy (RVA for short). They send us the supplies and curriculum for the year, and Jessica teaches her lessons. Namine communicates with her RVA teacher via email and video chat.

Every year, students have to take state-mandated tests. These cannot be taken remotely, so students have to travel. The testing takes place in a hotel in Rothschild, about a three hour drive for us. The RVA is kind enough to pay for a hotel room, since the testing takes place over the course of two days.

Ever since we enrolled Namine in the RVA, she hasn’t had an IEP or 504 plan. The first time she had to take the test, we didn’t know if she’d need extra provisions, but her teachers and principal were flexible enough to let us bring a table whose height would be a good fit for her wheelchair. As it turned out, Namine didn’t actually need the table we’d brought. Good to know for the future.

While the testing is going on, students are allowed to take breaks when they need to — to use the restroom, stretch, whatever — and Namine has not needed to take longer or more frequent breaks than any of her peers. If she had, then we likely would have eventually needed to set up some sort of IEP. Fortunately, that was never necessary.

Truth be told, I wouldn’t expect to have any problems with an IEP or 504 plan being honored by RVA staff, even if one were necessary. They have proven time and again that they show all their students the respect they deserve.

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