Standardized testing, are you required to do it? Do you test to see how well your kids are performing? What test do you use? Who administers the test? I am asking because one of my kids would like to take the Iowa again this year just to see how he is doing. It is not required this year but he would just like to take it. A kid "asking" to take a test"! Now that is cute!
Here in new york they have to take a test every year. I go to bob jones press and got the stanford test- they have the iowa too. I just can't find the review to help her study more for the test.
Here you have to have a degree to administer a test like that. The head of our group does so she sets a date every year and test a bunch of kids at one time for a small fee.
I am required to test every 3 years and have used this in the past... http://thurbers.net/teatests.html The testing material gets mailed to me, I administer the tests over several days, then I mail all testing materials back to be graded and receive my grades several weeks later. There are several options out there. It all depends on which test you would like them to take and how you want the test to be administered.
We are not required to test. You can if you want too but you have to pay for it. I don't believe in standardized testing so as long as I don't have to I won't be testing my kids through the state. I know they are doing well and I don't feel the need to prove it to the state.
We don't have to test but it gives me peace of mind so we do it anyway. We buy our tests from familylearning.org. It is the CAT5. They have no requirements on who administers the test so we do it here at home. The cost with shipping is $37.00.
No, we are not required to test. The program I was with for the past four years required it, so we had to test. This year I am no longer with them. It will be the first year not testing.
We aren't required to test at all. I might if there is a way to do it off the radar. In other words, I don't want the state knowing my boys' scores.
I am amazed by a kid who wants to take a test that he doesn't have to We don't have to test in Idaho, since my oldest is in kinder I haven't thought too much about testing. The public schools test yearly starting in 3rd grade. iIwould not want to test through the schools, but at some point I might be interested in using something like the Iowa test, that I remember from my childhood, just to see how they compare to the norm.
I just wanted to clarify for others reading this that might also be from NY. . .you DO NOT have to test every year until high school. . .every other year in 4th through 8th grade. So if you want minimal testing you can do 5th, 7th and then every year in high school. (Or you can do 4th, 6th, and 8th grade.) In 1st through 4th grade, you have the option of writing your own assessment or a peer review panel. You can also do testing--but don't have to. Who administers the test is up to the board of ed in each district. The law is written such that both parties (the parents and the BOE) have to approve whatever you're going to do. In most cases, it's fine for the parents to administer the test (as long as it's fine with the test publisher. . .for example, you have to have a bachelor's to order certain tests). I'm testing my son this year with the IBTS and the cognitive thingy that goes along with it for possible entry into a gifted and talented after school program next year.
It's required here unless you file under religious exemption. We didn't file RE, but won't have to test HERE because we'll be transferring to Maine in May. I think I'm going to have the teacher I've been corresponding with up there evaluate dd or whatever they do- she works with the homeschoolers doing evals and what not. I don't think I'm even going to bother with testing because with moving I think it would just be too much for dd. UP there you can test, turn in a portfolio, or have an eval done.
For those of you who HAVE tested- did you have your kids "study" anything in particular before hand? We don't have to test in Idaho, but I signed my oldest two up to take the Iowa Test this spring. I have to be a proctor during testing, but there is an administrator to actually hand out/collect the test. So, since mine have never done any bubble-testing, I purchased a test prep book from Spectrum. It was helpful in some of their hints, and in doing practice tests with multiple choice. However- my 7th grader is stressing a little that he won't know all of the vocabulary words, etc. I have stressed to them both that this is only a test to see where they stand "according to this test"- and that they only need to do their best. I don't want them to hit high school/college age and be taking an SAT for the first time cold. So- do I give him extra vocab words for the next couple of weeks? I know the tests involve math and LA- what else does the Iowa have for this age group? Thanks for any help! MT3
I believe for the Iowa that the administrator has to have a bachelor's degree. for the CAT anyone can do it. This place has the CAT for $25 http://www.setontesting.com/ A test is only to see where you are at not whether you know all that is out there. HTH
I agree, the testing just shows where your kids are in accordance with other kids who have taken the test. There really was no studying, although I believe they had a practice test. The testin is more for me than anything else. I wanted to have an idea of how they are doing compared to other kids their age.
LOL It doesn't surprise me that he wanted to take the test. He has always done very well when he has been tested nearly every year. Last year, his Iowa score which is the "composite score", was the 96th% percentile. The national average is the 50th percentile. His lowest composite (an average of all the scores) is 92%. So he is doing very well. We know someone who does the testing and have her test him.
My kids don't "study" for the Iowa Test. It is material they have been learning all along. The test administrator let me see a couple pages from the test booklet so I would know what to expect and what the test was like. I was so amazed at how easy the test was. I don't give them any extra work before they are tested, they are tested on what is already in their head. As long as your kids have had a good education there are no worries. Kids do well!
That's great! I can remember when I was in 8th grade taking the ITBS and wonder how anyone did poorly, because it seemed easy to me. I was one of those lucky ones who always did well on tests.
Thank you. I know that my kids are bright, but I also think this will show if we have any gaps that should be addressed before they get much older. Also, I don't think I was very clear earlier, but the test itself has to have someone qualified to administer it- I could not do it myself at home. MT3
