high school alternatives for kid with severe test anxiety

[rvm]

Hello,

It's been a while since I've checked on this forum. It looks like most of the heavy-hitting contributors are still hard at work sharing their knowledge. What an awesome group!!

I'm apologizing in advance as this is somewhat lengthy.

We live in North Carolina. I have a 16.5 year old who is currently in the 11th grade. She has 11 high school credits to date; needs at least 11 additional credits to graduate.

She has attended a college prep school since 3rd grade. It's a small k-12 charter school where all 500 kids know and respect each other.

She currently has a 504 plan due to some mild ADHD. Unfortunately, she has significant anxiety, especially when it comes to testing. I'm not one of those parents that goes through everything with a fine-tooth comb. But this year is quickly becoming a disaster - both academically and personally. So I combed through her grades on powerschool. She has A's on everything except quizzes and tests. This is a historical pattern but this year is worse than previous years. So far this year, her quiz/test grades range from "super yucky" to "not-so-good-barely-passed". In a college prep school (and other traditional settings), quizzes and tests tend to account for a significant portion of grades.

She has 6 classes through the college prep school. One is an AP class and four are honors classes. She was invited to honors math 3 but switched back to regular math after 2 weeks in honors. She also has a PE class at BYU Indepedent Study (high school) as well as a Health class at BYU. The BYU classes are half credit but still require work. Actually, they currently sit on the back burner until times when her regular school work is done. None-the-less, the kid has 8 classes currently. The 2 at BYU should be done in the next few weeks for health and next few months for PE.

After 2 months of observing, I've come to the conclusion this is detrimental to my child's mental and physical health. It's it definitely not sustainable to June 2017. I'm not sure it's sustained for the next few weeks. I predicted this at the end of the last school year when I learned she had registered for a full load of honors and AP classes. I suggested she drop one and take a BYU class over the summer to make up the credit. If you have kids, you know how dumb you are as parents, because, sadly, we know nothing about being in high school. She shot down my idea and choose to spend summer at the pool. Normally, I would say, "you reaped just what you sowed" (yes, I borrowed that from Adele). But in this case, those are dangerous words and does not do anything to solve the problem as "I told you so" never does [solve the problem].

I took a longer look at BYU as a solution to complete high school. It seems for their Standard & Advanced High School options, they do not grant a diploma but rather a detailed transcript. It's regionally accredited so that should "fit the bill" to apply to college. A few things stand out here. One: why can't BYU grant a diploma? Two: does she need a diploma if she has a transcript with 22 credits/grades? Three: each course requires a minimum of one end of course exam. That's a significant pressure on a kid who clearly cannot handle the pressures of testing.

Side note: Right now, you're probably asking why we haven't done something to help. We have. She takes meds (which I do not like) for anxiety as well, she has seen several therapists for anxiety. It's a bit more complex but that's enough personal information to help explain her test anxiety.

Back on topic: The current school is presenting many other issues which cause her signficiant stress. The local high school will not be an option as it's a top-rated high school as well and comes with innate set of issues. And, really, she's been in a small school with max class size of 20. The smaller the class size, the better her grades - typically.

She is currently taking courses which should be counted as college level courses. She doesn't think she's intelligent enough to handle such courses. I disagree. However, I am very concerned she cannot successfully demonstrate the knowledge she has acquired due to her severe test anxiety.

Our short term goal is get my kid in a program where she is happily working at her own pace, not over-loaded and not over tested. Ideally, I would like to find a way for her to graduate high school in an environment akin to Western Governor's masters programs - lots of writing and limited testing. She's currently in math 3 so Aleks or something similar where she can gain at least 80% mastery seems like a good plan.

Long term: she's thinking either an associate or 2 year university transfer at the local community college would be a good fit. I'm still concerned about test anxiety but community college life is a very different environment than high school.

Longer term: bachelors and master degrees.

Anyone have suggestions?

Thank you!
Robin

[rowan555]

My son is 16 and has been homeschooled all his life. He has moderate to severe testing anxiety as well, and we are just now realizing that Straighterline is a great fit because the proctored finals are generally not worth very much of the total course grade - for example, he completed Macroeconomics yesterday and the final was worth 12% of the grade - he could have gotten a zero on it and passed the course. You might look into homeschooling your child and letting her do some Straighterline courses and see how they go. There is a thread here with coupon codes for new students.

[cookderosa]

Hi Robin, whew- that's a lot. I have so much to talk to you about. I'm not an expert on your kid- but there are so many things you CAN do that you might not be aware are options.

We live in North Carolina. I have a 16.5 year old who is currently in the 11th grade. She has 11 high school credits to date; needs at least 11 additional credits to graduate.

First, the good news: you're in North Carolina. North Carolina is an EXCEPTIONAL state for educational options. I'm in the Charlotte area, if you are anywhere near me, I'd love to meet for coffee.

[COLOR="#0000FF"]After 2 months of observing, I've come to the conclusion this is detrimental to my child's mental and physical health. It's it definitely not sustainable to June 2017
[/COLOR]
So, let me tell you one thing flat out- as of today, you have the power to end her testing problem immediately. As in literally right now. You could switch her legal classification to homeschool today and then take advantage of not only the BYU program you wrote about, but others too. You can remove testing from her life. Homeschool students do not have to take EOG or EOC exams.

Homeschool classification in NC doesn't mean you have to homeschool her- it means she uses other educational options like online classes (free public k-12 or private that you choose and pay for), the NC community college system is FREE for 11th and 12th grade (online and face to face), and then of course more traditional curriculum at home options that you've seen here that lots of adults use like ALEKS, MOOCS, Straighterline and then the super traditional book at home curriculum that many homeschoolers use for their subjects. Beyond those, there are CO-OP programs in many areas that are made up of parents who share teaching of some or many subjects, private classes, and curricular classes through organizations like the YMCA and others.

I took a longer look at BYU as a solution to complete high school. It seems for their Standard & Advanced High School options, they do not grant a diploma but rather a detailed transcript. It's regionally accredited so that should "fit the bill" to apply to college. A few things stand out here. One: why can't BYU grant a diploma? Two: does she need a diploma if she has a transcript with 22 credits/grades? Three: each course requires a minimum of one end of course exam. That's a significant pressure on a kid who clearly cannot handle the pressures of testing.

While unnecessary (parent-issued diplomas in NC are legal), you can choose the BYU option but you have to change her classification to homeschool. BYU can't issue a NC high school diploma because they are not a public NC school and because they are not a private NC school or a parent in NC. They are simply a supplier of classes, like Straighterline. If you wanted to use BYU fully, you simply file her homeschool paperwork and then enroll her at at BYU - you can do that this week if you're happy with their program.
Does she need a transcript with 22 credits: as the homeschool administrator, you determine graduation requirements. If you want to require 44 or 11 it's your decision. Many parents look closely at the general admission requirements of public colleges in our state and try and match them (2 sciences- one with lab, 4 English, etc.) but those are not requirements, only suggestions. In my homeschool, I've required my kids to earn 4 business credits (0, 1, 1, 2) as well as 4 PE credits (not required in public school) among other things- you can follow a template set up by someone or you can morph it to show her strengths. Ex. if she was an exceptionally gifted musician, there is no reason to fill her high school transcript with electives, you might want her to accumulate simple Math and English with everything else 16 credits or more in just music disciple courses and apply to Julliard. In NC you have that option.
Regarding the testing at BYU, I don't know their method, accommodations, or proctor situation, but you could certainly ask. In your own homeschool you could eliminate testing and replace it with something like an additional term papers.

She is currently taking courses which should be counted as college level courses. She doesn't think she's intelligent enough to handle such courses. I disagree. However, I am very concerned she cannot successfully demonstrate the knowledge she has acquired due to her severe test anxiety.

Her AP courses are absolutely 100% truly 100 level college courses- tell her she's already doing college work, and tell her she's doing it 3 years early. But, something is making her afraid, and maybe its that she already feels over her head? Not that it's relevant to your teen, but I was an AP student in high school, MANY of my classmates who were high IQ and high achieving simply shut down once it was in their power to do so. I have a long time fried with 117 college credits. He left college with 1 class remaining on his BS because he wanted to show his parents who was REALLY in charge. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I think in that age range, your daughter's input is acceptable and probably very valuable as far as what she wants.

Long term: she's thinking either an associate or 2 year university transfer at the local community college would be a good fit. I'm still concerned about test anxiety but community college life is a very different environment than high school.

Community colleges in NC all participate in Career and College Promise. This provides free unlimited tuition in 11th and 12th grades. There are 3 ways to get in: first, she has an existing test score in one of their allowable exams that meets a benchmark in English, Reading, and Math. Second, she can take their test (accuplacer) in the same subjects, or she can choose the non-test option which is Career and Technical. The Career and Technical doesn't transfer into a typical bachelor's program, and it's geared toward and AAS degree for career placement.
The community college online options through C&CP might be an option for her, or even a blend. They have hybrid options too. The difference between the high school and the college is that at college they have a LOT more resources for working with students who struggle, but the other important difference is that it's between the college and the student- the parent isn't really in the loop.

My opinion, you can find a lot of college options that have limited or at least home-based testing. If that's the goal, then she can start aiming for that goal immediately. There is no reason to play the high school game, you can just start being in charge of this and call it done. I realize that's probably overwhelming to hear, but there is great support in NC, so if your daughter is on board, it can be a very successful option for your family.
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[OakLakeNC]

Does it make a difference if the test is open book? What if a generous amount of time is allowed for the test? Does she know what she wants to do for living?

I took online community college courses. Expect for two classes, all the quizes/tests/ final exams were unproctored and open book. At that point, the test is basically a long assignment. Some had time limits, but they were realistic. For instance, in Humanities every week we had a content quiz. There were five questions on the reading and you had five minutes to answer. If you did the reading the answer was immediately obvious. Then we had weekly writing assignments that were weighted the same as the quizzes. And an open book final. Intro to Chemistry class had unlimited time on every quiz and the final exam. I have looked into CSU Pueblo independent study classes, many of the English/History/Humanities type courses are writing only.

I think there options out there so she can progress in her education while she simultaneously works with therapists on the test anxiety. Hopefully by the time she needs to take high pressure exams things will have improved drastically in that area.

[rebel100]

Not relevant to your immediate problem, but know there are many degree programs out there that can be completed with minimal and possibly no testing. It will require some real homework and maybe picking a degree field that lends itself to other measures, but certainly doable. My oldest is finishing up at Harvard Extension this year and almost the whole thing has been writing based. She has had proctored tests maybe a half dozen times in something like 90 hours of college work. Those courses were elective on her part, she could have picked something else and likely avoided proctoring all together. So many ways to do this, CSU-Pueblo is likely a workable solution too....these are just the two that spring to mind...you have options.

[davewill]

Perhaps not helpful to you right now, but something to remember when she goes to college. Both of my twins had eating disorders and are dealing with depression. They were able to qualify as disabled students both at CC and at university after transfer. If your daughter has an ADHD diagnosis, she should be able to as well. This gets them free tutoring, note-taking if they need it (they didn't), and most important, they get to take tests in the disabled student center, getting 50% more time to take them. It helps take a lot of pressure off. You might sound out the high school to see if they can make a similar accommodation for her ADHD.

[msganti]

I did not read through the entire post, so forgive me if my response is not appropriate.

If you are looking for a good Online school with little or no test anxiety, I suggest Penn Foster High school. They are dual-accredited, costs between $1000-1400 for the entire program, and are relatively stress-free. I am a current student, so PM me if you need more details.

[12save]

My daughter suffers from anxiety and has been on Zoloft since the summer after 1st grade. She also has Sensory Integration problems and is approximately 3 years younger emotionally than her actual age. At age 3 1/2, she had a 2 1/2 year speech delay, but is of normal intelligence. She did not do well in a regular school classroom. We have a Charter school that is a public school, one of the schools in our county that covers grades 6-12.

Eight classes is a lot. My daughter could not handle the 7 at our local high school. She went to 9th grade and passed everything, but had D's in algebra. The Charter school was part in class, math, science labs, and computer classes, and mostly homeschooling. Once she switched to the Charter school, she needed 200 credits instead of 260 to get her HSD. I don't know if you have something like that, but the test anxiety got better when she was taking them individually at the school. When she wasn't as stressed not going to school all day every day, she began doing better in school. She ended high school with a GPA of 3.49 and is in her first semester at our local community college taking 12 units to start. We had to closely work with her and monitor her in high school, but she just coped better in the alternative setting. The charter school had her meet individually with a teacher (I attended the meetings too) every other week. (I was a former secondary English teacher, so I chose to not meet weekly with the teacher.)

My husband had to talk to her about not leaving everything to the last minute in college. She is doing better and procrastinating less. It is a process. We have her signed up for 15 units for spring - 3 four unit and 1 three unit course. We have scheduled all of her classes on Tuesday and Thursday this semester. Next semester is all day Tuesday and Thursday and a science lab on Wednesday. She just can't handle school all day every day in the classroom setting.

Homeschooling might also work. For community college, if she absolutely can't do the regular schooling, Kentuckty Technical and Community College System has non-proctored classes through their Learn on Demand program. Google KTCSC + Learn on Demand. They have general ed classes and computer and business classes. She can get all the way to an AA or AS this way, but in limited fields.

We had to find the right individual plan for our daughter to finish high school. You are in the same boat. Do whatever is possible in your location to meet her needs.

[rvm]

Thank you all for some very wonderful suggestions! I'm taking a look each one. We have a meeting in 2 weeks with the local community college high school advisor. Currently, I think a combination of options dicussed here could work well for us.

Jen, I'm located approximately 2+ hours from you. Thank you for offering to meet me. If I get an opportunity to visit Charlotte, I'll PM you in advance.

[cookderosa]

Thank you all for some very wonderful suggestions! I'm taking a look each one. We have a meeting in 2 weeks with the local community college high school advisor. Currently, I think a combination of options dicussed here could work well for us.

Jen, I'm located approximately 2+ hours from you. Thank you for offering to meet me. If I get an opportunity to visit Charlotte, I'll PM you in advance.

I want to send you a Saylor High School plan that I just made for my parents on Homeschooling for College Credit. It uses all Saylor courses (with the exception of 1 Khan course) so exams are 100% optional. There would be no testing at all, and no cost. I'm waiting to hear back from my contact at Saylor for feedback, but I'll share it with you either way. Email me and I'll send you the file. cookderosa@aol.com