The use of standardized tests in homeschooling

[Pergamum]

Do you homeschoolers also check your student against standard tests?


Which ones?

Why or why not?

How do you prepare? Any test prep/ tst practice books?


Noah is in 2nd grade and we are wanting to give him a standardized test in May or June. We are from Missouri originally. I have looked into Spectrum Test Prep/Practice workbooks.


In general, we review/test by oral means and so he doesn't have a lot of experience with multiple choice, True/False, etc.

 

[FCC]

Good morning Pergamum,

We have under gone a radical change in our home educating methodology. We decided to adopt a Hebrew based educational theory, rather than a Greek based one. We stopped having our son tested in any standardized way a while back. This was more due to the great difference in the subjects we were teaching him and the current standards promoted by most standardized testing groups. We generally review much the same way you do and I have used some prepared tests (multiple choice etc.) in science and a few other courses that I teach him. As long as he is learning the fear of the Lord and is showing us that he is learning what we are teaching him then we let it go at that.

Just my two cents, take it or leave it!

 

[Kim G]

I was homeschooled from 1st-12th grade. We took standardized achievement tests every year. Our homeschool community held testing for hundreds of children each spring. We took the California Achievement Test when I was in elementary school, and then they switched to the Iowa Achievement Test.

I think that testing was required in Florida--not 100% sure about that. But it was helpful to compare my learning with the average public school student so that I knew I wasn't behind (usually I was way ahead).

I did not prepare for the yearly tests because I found them rather easy. I did, however, prepare for both the SAT and the ACT college tests by using software created for that purpose. I found that helpful because the format for these tests were a bit more difficult and incompassed a lot more information.

Also, the yearly tests were the only tests I took until high school (except math and spelling quizzes). My mom didn't make me take tests throughout the year, but I still knew all the information and found standardized testing to be a breeze.

 

[Pergamum]

I was homeschooled from 1st-12th grade. We took standardized achievement tests every year. Our homeschool community held testing for hundreds of children each spring. We took the California Achievement Test when I was in elementary school, and then they switched to the Iowa Achievement Test.

I think that testing was required in Florida--not 100% sure about that. But it was helpful to compare my learning with the average public school student so that I knew I wasn't behind (usually I was way ahead).

I did not prepare for the yearly tests because I found them rather easy. I did, however, prepare for both the SAT and the ACT college tests by using software created for that purpose. I found that helpful because the format for these tests were a bit more difficult and incompassed a lot more information.

Also, the yearly tests were the only tests I took until high school (except math and spelling quizzes). My mom didn't make me take tests throughout the year, but I still knew all the information and found standardized testing to be a breeze.

Many thanks.

---------- Post added at 02:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:33 PM ----------

Good morning Pergamum,

We have under gone a radical change in our home educating methodology. We decided to adopt a Hebrew based educational theory, rather than a Greek based one. We stopped having our son tested in any standardized way a while back. This was more due to the great difference in the subjects we were teaching him and the current standards promoted by most standardized testing groups. We generally review much the same way you do and I have used some prepared tests (multiple choice etc.) in science and a few other courses that I teach him. As long as he is learning the fear of the Lord and is showing us that he is learning what we are teaching him then we let it go at that.

Just my two cents, take it or leave it!

Can you explain this more, I really have no idea what the difference is:

We decided to adopt a Hebrew based educational theory, rather than a Greek based one.

 

[SolaScriptura]

I place a great deal of emphasis on standardized tests. Partly it is because we push our kids pretty hard and we get pretty rough on them in tests (lots of advanced difficult questions, etc). So when I see them getting low Bs it discourages me. But when we test them and they're in the 90-95 percentile range, then I feel vindicated.

Standardized tests enable you to provide "qualitative data" should anyone wonder how your kids are doing academically. By placing their numbers against the "average" kid in the school system, well, the proof is in the numbers...

 

[fishingpipe]

The state of North Carolina requires that we administer a nationally standardized achievement test annually. We have chosen the California Achievement Test each year for our 5th and 6th grade sons. They both perform very well each year on this test.

My wife was a state certified public elementary school teacher for a number of years prior to our having children. She and I teach them many things including the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. She does not do much in terms of "teaching the test" to them. The last couple of weeks before the test is administered she does a good deal of review. For the most part our boys find they are easy.

Keep in mind that when your kids take the test they will be given questions above their grade level to see if they outperform it. i.e. If it is a 5th grade math test there will be questions on there up to several grade levels higher to determine if they are ahead of the game. Do not fret if your kids miss some or have no clue on some as they are only there to be indicators of advanced performance. I remember the first time we took it and my wife was dismayed thinking she should have been teaching them more than she did and how they didn't even comprehend some of the questions. We thought we had failed them! When we got the scores back they were in the upper 90's percentile ranking and a few grade levels ahead. That's when we discovered why they add the advanced questions.

 

[Pergamum]

We are not teachers. And we feel sort of exhausted at times trying to juggle everything. So, we are looking to these tests as "checks" to ensure that we are not missing something major. In June we will do our first standardized test (not sure which one, can you sugest any? Also, can they be done online) and then we can report the results.

 

[SolaScriptura]

We do the California Achievement Test. It is the "largest" and most common national wide. Thus your results will give you the most accurate picture of how your kids are doing relative to everyone else.

 

[TexanRose]

I like the idea of using standardized testing as "insurance" against nosy social workers. Is your child really being educated? Why yes he is, look here at his standardized test scores, he is doing just fine.

 

[SueS]

The state of Ohio requires either standardized testing or a portfolio evaluation at the end of each school year. We tested our daughter during her first year (6th grade) and then went to portfolio evaluation. We were building our house during her 8th grade year and pared our curriculum down to the bare minimum. Since there wasn't enough written material for a decent portfolio, I had her tested using the Stanford Achievement Test - she scored in the 96th percentile with post-highschool scores in everything. After a few days of gloating, I realized that her high scores were merely a result of the dumbing down of the test. We returned to portfolios for the rest of her homeschool career.

 

[SueS]

Another thing about Ohio - test scores as low as the 25th percentile are acceptable - if I had a child in a traditional school that scored that low I'd be raising caine as to why she was being so poorly educated!!! A standardized test score might help keep Children's Services at bay, but is a very poor indicator of the quality of a student's education. A portfolio evaluated by a competent evaluator is a much better means of determining a child's academic strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Pergamum]

Thanks,

Noah (7) will finish school (2nd grade homeschooling using Sonlight) in May. Then we will spend a week or two reviewing before he takes a standardized test (the Spectrum Test Prep and Practice books). Sometimes our paperwork gets lost between various locations so we figure the best way to go is to test at various intervals in case we lose all of our documentation.