how do you use test scores?

[serendipitous journey]

... the thread RE ordering tests has me thinking about how homeschoolers make use of test results.

 

How do you use these results in educating your children? and how might I? In our case esp., we have a (very) good estimate of the IQ, and the child is being challenged by his work and is not bored; test scores will almost certainly not help us design math curriculum for him (we are really at bleeding edge of performance & custom curriculum there!).

 

But clearly the tests are useful. Could you share how you employ them? and how one goes about adapting plans for the child?

[regentrude]

I do not use my kids' test scores at all. I observe them and choose curriculum that challenges and stretches them without overwhelming them.

The IQ tests did not give us any information we did not have already. It confirmed that DD was stronger verbally than spatially, something we already knew, and that DS was equally smart but chose not to show it.

While they were in school, the mandatory standardized tests each year gave us no information because they always topped out.

DD's 7th grade SAT score in the 88th percentile of college bound seniors did not tell us anything other than that she is smart; the lower math vs English score was no surprise because she had not yet covered enough material.

Her 10th grade ACT confirmed that she is naturally more gifted in language than in math - something we knew since elementary school.

 

The only useful information all the testing gave me was the confirmation that for DD unschooling high school English and not employing a formal vocabulary program were good decisions.

I am not sure what I would expect of a test that it should be helpful for customizing their education.

[EKS]

The only time I specifically used test scores was when after a year of MCT my younger son's capitalization and punctuation scores were *a lot* lower than everything else inspiring me to add Hake Grammar the next year. Apparently it was a good decision because after using Hake his capitalization and punctuation scores were higher than everything else.

 

Of course if I had tested him at grade level I wouldn't have known the extent of the problem or the extent of the cure.

[TracyP]

Sit with him while he takes the test and watch for any areas of weakness. I realized that my dd had no idea how to properly format a letter or envelope after watching her test. She still topped out on that section of the test, so I would have had no clue that she bombed those questions if I hadn't seen it.

 

I'm not sure I would call that useful, but it's the best I could do. I only test because I have to.

[Lilaclady]

My kids are still in elementary but for us, I used her last test from explore to booster her vocabulary. My dd1 is a voracious reader and sees reading in the same light as breathing. She reads classics, high vocabulary books but still scored lowest on the reading section of the explore. So this year, we have been working more on vocabulary and comprehension so that was the only surprise I got from testing.

[Crimson Wife]

I find that using an above-level ITBS and reviewing the problems before sending in the answer sheets (NOT changing any answers, just looking them over!) helps identify gaps. Not all gaps are things I feel worth remedying, but like EKS, I decided to start supplementing MCT with mechanics practice after seeing relatively lower subtest scores compared to the other verbal sections. I also realized one time I did the ITBS that my DD needed more work on estimation in math.

 

The IQ and EXPLORE tests were less useful for planning, but they did give me the confidence to accelerate without worrying about it being too much for DD.

[mathnerd]

If you are looking to enroll your kids into EPGY (the gifted program with Stanford tutoring) and CTY programs, you need some kind of testing and scores.

[serendipitous journey]

Thanks, everybody.

 

I think, from what I am hearing, that the tests might be useful a bit later, or for a program (thinking of the Epsilon math camp); but prob. not necessary for our own teaching right now. DH -- I ran these responses by him -- and I are thinking some sort of testing around the middle school time, in terms of testing without such a low ceiling as the state standard, if we want to more thoroughly assess weaknesses. Thanks to following this board for a couple of years, we are already doing things to prevent large gaps; esp. in the language arts, which are weaker for Button than the maths, we're using materials to boost his tested-comprehension and his understanding of mechanics. In maths, I cannot imagine what I could do for the child that I'm not already doing (that is, what I could do and still live in the real world I inhabit!).

 

I'll list what we're doing along these lines and why, just in case it is interesting/useful to anybody.

 

math: Button is exceptional at maths, but he is 7 1/2 years old and forgets arithmetic quickly if he doesn't use it regularly. He can handle advanced concepts but the arithmetic in upper levels causes frustrating glitches. So, after flirting with AoPS pre-algebra & MUS algebra, we're wrapping up SM5B right now. We may spend the summer on RightStart geometry, and plan to start Singapore's Discovering Maths Common Core 7 in the fall. When he's mature enough I'd like to transition him to AoPS. With Singapore as our base program, I am not worrying about gaps but may supplement money & measurement.

 

language arts: We've used Evan Moor Spelling to bring his spelling up, now he's on their 3rd grade program. I used Winning with Writing to remediate his writing (he was actually below grade level for writing in 1st grade, in terms of being able to write easily on standard entry-level grade 1 worksheets) and we've transitioned to Galore Park's Junior English 1, which addresses comprehension, vocabulary, mechanics, grammar, and so on. His reading level is not great; he was a late reader; I'm using CHOLL's literature to get him easily just reading more stuff. We're upping the literature gradually. We'll be incorporating MCT over the next year.

 

On the production end, we're incorporating IEW this year and requiring more independent writing.

 

ETA -- we're on the high-structure end b/c otherwise Button sort of cracks up. it's unpleasant. so that's why not more living math/unschooly things.