Usually the essay question is the last one on the test- at least it always was when I was a kid. By then you're almost finish, getting distracted and, most likely, seeing that others have already finished.
Do you think he'd be willing to try the essay question first, when he's fresh? It might be a little easier to concentrate.
Another thing to do would be to ask the teacher to read/explain the question to the entire class before the test begins (or at least to him). A review of what she expects in the answer, how many points they should make, etc., might also help.
Those are good ideas. I think part of the problem may be How do you answer an essay question? His writing little question marks all over his paper makes me think it's one of those things he missed. My son is a 6th grader and has done well in school, however, things are getting much harder and one area where he seems to have a major disconnect is in understanding essay questions. He'll study, get mostly everything right on the multiple choice and fill in the blank, but get a 65 because he writes question marks all over the essay question and looses 30 points! Is this common among ADHD'ers? Anyone have any ideas on how to address?Thanks. I'm meeting with the teachers in a week or so and will post back. We pay a ton for private school and generally get lots of attention but even so, I think much about adhd is mysterious to the teachers. Especially the older ones. I always feel like they think I'm trying to pull something to get special treatment, that it's a discipline issue, not an inability. If he couldn't hear, would they say "Sorry, all the other kids have learned to listen...?I teach high school English so I can answer this from a teacher's pov. First, please communicate your concerns with your teacher. This needs to be done in a non-confrontational way that says you know she is doing the best she can for your child, but that he is still having a problem. Ask her how she administers tests. Ask if she would consider restructuring her tests to put the essay first. I usually put it last because I feel the other questions act as a warm up to the essay, but I realize not all kids work that way.Wow, thanks for weighing in from the teacher's angle. This is so helpful. Definitely we are going to meet and it won't be a confrontation or anything like that because it's a private school and they're pretty used to parent (over?)involvement and working collaboratively. I think the practices are a GREAT idea and will suggest it. We don't have IEPs because it's private, but maybe someone can point me to samples used elsewhere?