I live in Minnesota and we are by law required to test our kids once a year. Well, I have never had to do this until now. So, I ordered the California Achievement Test Level 2 which is for students who are entering grade 3. I went through it on my own and was surprised to find that they are testing them on Multiplication, and division facts 0-5. Is this normal? We have not even looked at this yet, and we just finished MUS Beta as she is only finishing 2nd grade. They also test for reading and language, which is fine, but she is only spelling at a 1st grade level. Should I continue with this exam? I'm not sure what to do.
Does the state care what score she gets? If not, I'd continue the test. And yes, it's normal for 2nd graders to do 0-5 multiplication and division, but it's also normal not to. Depends on the publisher. I didn't even start learning multiplication until the 2nd semester of 3rd grade when I was a kid, and I wasn't tested on it until 4th grade. Today's public schools vary, too. The kids in my area start multiplication at the end of 1st grade while the schools where my sister lives don't start it until 4th grade.
Just found the MN state standard for math. Looks like MN doesn't teach multiplication or division in 2nd. I wouldn't worry about it. http://education.state.mn.us/mdeprod/groups/Standards/documents/LawStatute/035171.pdf
The state doesn't get to know the score of the test. Only the parents, and the people who score them. The state just needs to know that the test was indeed given to the student.
I guess I was just worried because I was looking at myself as a "bad teacher", who didn't teach all the things my child needed to know, resulting in a possible failure.
Also realize that standardized tests always have items that are above average for that grade level in order to score the stanine.
It says that I need to time her for each section. My daughter gets extremely flustered when she knows she's being timed for anything, and there's no way that I can't tell her, because there's a different time frame for each. How do I make this go smoothly?
I would (and do) just say, "For this section, we're going to work for xx minutes, and then take a little break." But that's one reason I like using the Stanford, because it isn't timed.
So, would it be totally unacceptable and dishonest if I didn't time her? I mean, why is it ok to be timed during one exam and not in another?
It depends on how the test was made. The Stanford, for example, was designed to be untimed, so the scores are compared to norm groups who were not timed. The scores are based on how many correct answers you get when allowed unlimited time to think about what you are doing. The Iowa, CAT, and others were designed to be done within a specific time limit for each section, and the scores are based on how many correct answers you can get within that time limit. If you allow unlimited amounts of time on a test that was normed for a time limit, you might get an unrealistically high score, and never know whether your child is actually doing that well, or whether this would be an average score if everybody took it without time limits. In order to get the most accurate score, it's best to follow the procedures as outlined in the instructions. My suggestion is to do little timed activities during normal school days until she gets used to a clock running, such as math speed drills (so many math facts in so many minutes). Get and give test-prep activities (such as Spectrum test-prep and other workbooks of that sort). Emphasize doing her best and not "the clock".
Ok, I understand now. Maybe I'll have to check out the other two you suggested for next time. Thank you for all your advise Lindina, you've really helped me out.
