Give me your opinions. I have read A LOT about this and am still not sure LOL These are the pionts of view I have come across: 1) You need to test to know where you are lacking. 2) You don't need to test till highschool. 3) You don't need to test cause the tests are all based on public school knowledge. And the choices are: 1) CAT 2) IOWA 3) Stanford Ok, go!
I test my son, just to know where he is, but also as a way to "prove" to our families/other people about homeschooling. It is just so handy to be able to pull out our results and say, "Hey, he is doing WAY better than the public school kids his age." We use the CAT.
Depends on the kid and the reason you want results. We annually test because it gives ME a detailed list of what they've learned (or what I thought they'd learned, but they've missed/forgotten over the past year), and we also did more thorough testing to qualify for the Davidson Young Scholars program (and to verify to my husband that PS really ISN'T the right answer for us... he was on the fence about it until then). Testing gave us a lot more information than I expected (Asperger's & ADD diagnosis for one kid) and it also gave us a clue that something wasn't right (younger son's scores were way, way lower than his actual working level and anticipated IQ based on family history, which led to a diagnosis of a genetic, progressive hearing loss... we had no clue he was going deaf because he hides it very well). We used IQ testing and the Woodcock-Johnson for a good baseline, and we follow up annually with simple testing from DORA & ADAM. Personally, I think testing is important for our family. Again, it really depends on your situation and what you expect to get from the testing to decide whether it's necessary and how often it's necessary.
I'm in line with the "who needs testing?" category. I know what my kids know and I work on what they don't. My middle daughter has test anxiety to the point of tears and complete brain shut down. Of course at some point we are going to have to take a test prep class and work on her anxieties so that she can take SATs and the like but for now she is almost 11 and I don't need to stress her out. Honestly, I'm trying to figure out how to make it clear through high school without testing but still allowing them to get into college. lol
I only test because the state tells me to test, otherwise I would not test until middle school or high school. At this stage I can tell what she does and does not know but I think middle/high school kids should get some experience with standardized tests before having to take the ACT or SATs. We use the PASS test for elementary school. Once dd is in 7th grade we will switch to the Stanford test. That is the one I used with sd for high school and it worked well for us.
At this age (oldest 7 y.o, in grade 2). I don't test at all. My DH likes to do some games where he orally asks questions and they have to guess the right answer. I just don't think it's important for their learning at all. In math, I correct mistakes and have them go back and fix things. When the kids are older we will start to teach test taking and begin keeping track of numbers. At this point, I just want to know that they understand concepts and 'get' the material. To me, it has nothing to do with a number, and a conversation about the topic gives me a much better idea if they are learning.
Well, I happen to live in a state where testing is mandatory in 3rd, 5th and 8th Grade, so we don't really have a choice. HOWEVER, we do have several options on the test. Our evaluator performs the Peabody Independent Achievement Test (PIAT). It is given verbally. My children do very well with it. I've occasionally had the desire to do a CAT test, just to see how they'd do on a typical fill-in-the-bubble test....but...I haven't. I do test every year, but only turn in scores on the years that it is mandatory. I reassure my children that the test is more about how well I'm doing as their teacher than they're doing as a student. If they don't do well on a part, it is because I have not done my job well. They understand that and it eases their stress to some degree. I'm not opposed to testing for our own records. I do hate having to turn them into the district. Not that my kids have ever not done well. I just feel like it's none of their dagum business!!!
If it was up to me, I would not test. However, we are supposed to take a yearly standardized test in Minnesota, so I use the CAT. I like the fact that we can take it online, one section at a time, without having a long, stressful session.
I LOVE it ! Renae C1 That is one of the reasons I would like to test my oldest. Just to prove it to the family LOL I am so sorry for all of you who are not given a choice I like the oral test idea from mykidsrock. My DH plays a sort of game with the girls that he calls "Half Time Quiz Show" LOL He asks them questions about what is going o there lives at the time. But they would probably like it just as much if he asked them school questions. Thanks MinnieMouse, I understand your point of view. My daughter will freeze up if I tell her I am timing her on the math sheet (Saxon math - multiplication/division practice) she does daily. So I usually don't time her. I think if we do test I might just not time her, or not tell her I am timing her. Thanks so much to all who put in there advice Great group of women here
As a former teacher, I was taught that standardized tests are a joke and a waste of time. I don't give them AT ALL, EVER! OK, not exactly! Rachael had to take the Ohio Graduation Test because we transferred her to an on-line public school. She went in to it cold, and did excellent. She also took a practice ACT test, because she wasn't use to taking standardized tests, and I wanted her to have an idea before she actually sat for her ACT. And again, she did well. She took the ACT three times, and had VERY high scores. Faythe needs to sign up for the ACT, but she's not had any standardized tests at all. I understand wanting to shut the family up , but when it comes to things like my kids' education, I really don't care what they have to say! It's our decision, and if you (family) don't like it, you don't have to come around!
DD completed the CAT test today. This was the first time we tested. We administered the "entering 2nd grade" test. We've been doing some curriculum compacting and general acceleration, and I pursued the testing (we did it online at home) as a way of making DH and I comfortable with our academic approach. DD is a perfectionist and seemed really concerned about getting every single question right. Doing the test gave us an opportunity to talk about the purpose of testing -- that it was just information for our family, not for others, and that there's not a "prize" or a job on the line, etc. This really helped calm her down, and she relaxed about taking the rest of it. Interestingly, she was proud of herself simply for finishing and didn't ask about results. Since we took it online, we got the results via email, and I'm now glad we decided to do it. DH and I reviewed the information tonight and now feel that we're on the right path -- we thought so instinctually, but we're data-based people and having additional information was comforting. As an added bonus, I emailed the results to my mom, who's been very anti-homeschooling since we began. She feels DD should be in public school and is missing out. Seeing the test results broke the ice with her, and after talking, she said for the first time :!: that she feels homeschooling is a good fit for DD right now. Yay!
That's the best outcome from my perspective! I've been hoping to sway her for quite some time. So glad I found this supportive community.
My parents have always been my number one supporter from day one. Mom even attended the homeschool conference with me! Dh's brother, however, was a youth pastor and he "knew" from experience that EVERY SINGLE homeschooled kid was a social misfit. DH's parents weren't keen on it, but had he wisdom to stay relatively quiet. His dad (and mine, too!) did raise some questions about how I planned on doing high school, but they were fair questions and once I explained, they were OK. But anyway, one day out of the blue, my mil told me, "It's a good thing you've kept Faythe (middle child with ADD/ADHD tendencies) at home, because she really needs the one-on-one attention!" My mouth hit the floor!!! And they've seen my kids take part in sports, church, camps, missions, 4-H.... The funniest time was when this homeschool 4-H group had a squaredance at the bill's church. Bil was there to help clean up afterwards. He was watching a room of over 100 people dancing...parents with teens, teens with younger siblings, etc. He questioned me as to who these people were. I explained that probably 90% of the young people were homeschooled. I learned later that he called his wife: "JEN!!! They're NORMAL!!!" LOL!!! (And I thought, I'd like to see the kids in your youth group enjoy being with THEIR parents and younger siblings so much!!!)
I administer the Stanford test to my two boys. I chose the Stanford over the IOWA because I liked the reports generated by the Stanford better. I chose to test for a couple of reasons: 1) to highlight any strengths/weaknesses that I may not be aware of, 2) to give them loads of experience and comfort with standardized testing because, like it or not, standardized testing bears great weight down the road, and 3) because, as someone else mentioned, it gives me peace of mind that my kids are, in fact, learning. I am naturally drawn to data, so I feel 'armed' with good data if anyone were to question what we're doing and whether it works (no one ever has, but it feels good to be ready)
You just reminded me that I need to order tests this year. I do them mainly for my records since I don't have any requirements or records that show my kids are learning. I expect it to give me some information, but day to day work would have a higher weight with me.
heriome310 thank you so much for your reply. It's exactly what I needed to hear Jackie you are so blessed to have a family who is behind you. I was actually homeschool myself and have horrible memories of being made fun off by my dad's side of the family. And then when I told my mom (who is the one who homeschooled me and my sisters) that I would be homeschooling she looked at me like I was crazy ?! I can't believe she does not support me doing something she did. dumartin13 Can you tell us a little about the Stanford test? The CAT has about 5/6 small (20 min) individual tests.They say you should only do about two or three of the tests a day for 2/3 days. How does the Stanford lay out? Thanks
The Stanford, like the test you describe, is spread out over 2 or 3 days, depending on the age of the child. We are actually starting tomorrow. We will test for about 2 hours each day for 3 days. The Stanford covers reading comprehension, mathematical computation and reasoning, spelling, social science, science, listening, language, word study skills, vocabulary. The report gives you info. on how your student's score compares to a nationally normed sample group. Also, you get a reading lexile score, which I use to help plan the level of books my boys should be reading.
I just ordered the Stanford I had an email message stating there had been another reply to this post. Thanks for the reminder. I finally sat down to order what I needed.
