Ingrid's scores

    First, I would explain to Ingrid's grandmother that these are norm-referenced scores, not criterion-referenced. Although I probably wouldn't use those exact terms, I would want her to understand that these scores show how Ingrid compares with other students across the nation. The scores do not necessarily reflect the percentage of material she understands. As opposed to grades she usually receives in the classroom, ranking at the 57th percentile does not mean she can spell only 57 percent of the words a 12 year old is supposed to understand.

    Then, I would note that Ingrid compares very favorably with other students in reading comprehension, science, and social studies. Even though it appears she is struggling with spelling and math computation, Ingrid's scores are still within one SD of the mean, which is where about 2/3 of student scores lie.

    Ingrid's lowest scores seem to be with topics that require memorization and practice. She does well at understanding what she reads and comprehending the concepts of math, but the details of spelling and carrying out calculations need to be practiced. If Ingrid has internet access at home, there are numerous online sites that will guide and let students drill mathematical procedures. (I don't know, but I would assume the same is true for spelling.) Ingrid's grandmother could also engage her granddaughter in games of Scrabble to aid in spelling. Looking back on my own education, I don't know if I learned to spell words mostly from memorization from a spelling book or from just absorbing the knowledge by reading a lot. But either way, Ingrid's grandmother should encourage her daughter to study spelling vocabulary hard and provide her with a lot of material to read and encourage her to read a lot.