Medford parents are frustrated with the school system for what they believe are inaccurate testing methods to screen for dyslexia.

Last October, Massachusetts amended a law to make it a requirement for schools to implement screening tests for dyslexia. However, the law, which is in Title XII Chapter 71 section 57A, allows school districts to choose the particular screening method and diagnose and evaluate the needs of the child.

Parents are upset Medford Public Schools aren't utilizing accurate testing measures.

"There was a huge discrepancy between their testing and ours," said Medford mother Maureen Ronayne, whose son will be in third grade and recently moved from Columbus Elementary School to the Brooks Elementary School due to his severe dyslexia. "They delayed the child the help he requires and needs. No one noticed my child couldn't read."

The National Institute of Health defines dyslexia as "a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read" and states that people with dyslexia "typically read at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence."

The amended law in Massachusetts now requires the Department of Education to assist schools in creating screening tests for kids with dyslexia. The law now reads: "The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with the Department of Early Education and Care, shall, subject to appropriation, issue guidelines to assist districts in developing screening procedures or protocols for students that demonstrate one or more potential indicators of a neurological learning disability including, but not limited to, dyslexia."

Ronayne's son was initially tested by Medford schools in 2018, and she said the school district stated her child did not have dyslexia. During the school district's testing, her son tested in the 73rd percentile for word attack and 86th percentile in written language. However, Ronayne "wasn't seeing this at home" and took her child to get tested by Dr. Cindy Krug at Tufts University, who found that Ronayne's child was actually severely dyslexic and two years behind his age group.

"Everyone tells me my son is reading on grade level, but he is guessing, he is looking at pictures," Ronayne said. "Somebody should be saying, 'We are not teaching something properly.' This was avoidable."

Ronayne went back to the school district and told them about the results, and the school did other testing and then found similar results to Krug. Ronayne said the slow process has been frustrating, but mentioned the problem is happening for many other children who aren't getting the help they need.

"Something is really wrong here," Ronayne said, who mentioned she has talked to 22 other families who have had the same problem. "They are using those tests on kids throughout the district and telling parents, 'No, your kids are fine.' They are not going to to find out, and it's very expensive to get this private testing."

Another Medford mother who has two children with dyslexia, Ann Civitareale, also discussed her frustration with the school district's testing for dyslexia and mentioned she paid thousands of dollars for her own neuropsychologist.

"They are not testing for specific measures for dyslexia," Civitareale said. "They should test for reading issues, not just basic IQ. It is not showing up."

Her youngest son will be in fourth grade at Brooks Elementary School, and the neuropsychologist mentioned she had never seen someone with such a high IQ and low reading level. Civitareale said teachers at the Brooks Elementary School told her that her son was "perfectly fine" and had "no problem at all." But by the end of second grade, he hadn't improved one level over the year.

Civitareale explained the school didn't let her know, simply waited and actually "lied," and she is frustrated her son didn't get the help he needed.

"They lied he was doing fine," she said. "They dropped the ball. He needs a lot of help in reading and wasn't getting it. It's not just me."

In third grade, her son finally got the help he needed from the school district, and he is now receiving reading help six times per week for 45 minutes and "has made a lot of progress." But, Civitareale emphasized the school district "wasted a bunch of time" and explained it is "ridiculous" to believe children who are behind in school will "catch up" to the other students.

"People who say schools are waiting for them to fail is so true," Civitareale said.

What can be done?

Both mothers said it is important to perform different screening tests to catch dyslexia early on before the kids reach third grade and be more proactive about testing and teaching. In addition, Ronayne wants the district to bring in a consultant to make sure teachers are teaching the right way and implementing programs correctly.

"This child is immersed in books," Ronayne said of her son. "He cannot read without explicit, systematic instruction, and I do not believe Medford is doing the job that needs to be done to help these children. It would make sense to teach all students to read in an explicit, systematic, cumulative and robust manner."

Co-Founder of Decoding Dyslexia Massachusetts Nancy Duggan emphasized it is "important for parents to find it early" so kids can improve their reading before it is too late. She said many school districts need to change their current thinking about the issue.

"Schools don't connect the possibility there is a deeper reason for the trouble," Duggan said. "Why wait and do it after the fact?"

Ronayne presented her frustrations to the School Committee during its meeting on May 6, and members were very receptive to the idea of utilizing better screening tests and making sure teachers are more proactive about helping students earlier in their elementary education.

School Committee member Paul Ruseau, who said he has a seventh grade son with dyslexia who can barely read, was particularly frustrated.

"We are decades behind," Ruseau said. "We are proactive because we have the law coming down. We are not proactive because of all the kids who can't read. The evidence has been very clear for decades."

Duggan described the standard school's mindset as a "Dyslexian Paradox" because schools wait for the students to fail before they find they find they have dyslexia. Duggan said they need more targeted intervention and more strategic testing.

She explained the problem of poor screening is an issue with many schools across the country and further emphasized that IQ and normal achievement tests won't measure dyslexia. Rather, schools need to use diagnostic tests and then teach the students using proper methods.

"By the time students are identified, they are behind and the gap gets wider as kids read to access curriculum," Duggan said. "Early screening will mean nothing if identifying the students at risk is not followed by explicit and systematic instruction. Early intervention with these methods will mean that many students will learn to read with targeted instruction and not fall further behind."

During the School Committee meeting, Medford Superintendent Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent said she knows there is more work to do as a district and asserted they will have a mandatory curriculum and screening system to test for dyslexia in the future.

"We are definitely taking dyslexia very seriously and are prepared to address the mandate that has come down from the state," Edouard-Vincent said. "It's not going to be optional."

Duggan is happy "Medford is having the discussion" and "taking it seriously." However, she emphasized what the district does next is crucial.

"What they do to screen and what they do with this information matters even more," Duggan asserted. "This issue is happening all over the country."

The Dyslexia Foundation has a conference at Harvard Medical School on Oct. 18 for teachers, practitioners and parents who want to learn more about dyslexia.

"If schools fought as hard for those who have dyslexia as they do against it, we would have a completely different and substantially less impacted special education system," Ronayne said during the School Committee meeting. "I am asking you to make dyslexia a priority."