Maddysmom26 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Mid year is quickly approaching and so far I feel we are doing okay for first year of high school. However I know we have to test at the end and I am a little confused. My question is what tests do you all do for this level? I'm not sure I understand how those state mandated test results are going to show what we learned. How do you all determine which test to administer? I know there are several to pick from but how do they align with what we are teaching if we choose curriculum ? or are they just basic knowledge for the grade level? I am trying to sort this out before I have to let the district know which test we will do. Thank you in advance for any advice and info on this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in NY Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm not sure I understand how those state mandated test results are going to show what we learned. or are they just basic knowledge for the grade level? Hmmm... I am not sure the tests will 'show what you learned' very well. For us, their sole purpose was to comply with the regs. They are just basic grade level knowledge. We have always ordered ours from Thurber's Educational. I order the long CAT. I know friends have had success ordering the Short CAT test or the IOWA from Seton. I believe BJU is also a provider. Thanks for the reminder! It's time to place my order! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddysmom26 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm not sure I understand how those state mandated test results are going to show what we learned. or are they just basic knowledge for the grade level? Hmmm... I am not sure the tests will 'show what you learned' very well. For us, their sole purpose was to comply with the regs. They are just basic grade level knowledge. We have always ordered ours from Thurber's Educational. I order the long CAT. I know friends have had success ordering the Short CAT test or the IOWA from Seton. I believe BJU is also a provider. Thanks for the reminder! It's time to place my order! Oh Thank you Jen! I guess I will order soon to be sure! Appreciate the info! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I am in NY, do you mean the standardized tests or the Regents exams? Homeschool Students in NY state are entitled to sit for some of the Regents exams. It can be a good idea to take them if your student might attend a SUNY or other state college. If you are going to administer the CAT test at the end of the year, and if your end of year is June, I think January is early to order it. I think I remember from last year that it arrives pretty quickly, and once you get it you have something like 6 weeks to administer it and send it back. I don't order mine until the end of May and we test whenever we feel like it in June. The CAT tests are, frankly, very easy. They just show the school district that your kid is at least at grade level. The test is multiple choice and covers language arts and math. I see it more as just something I do to because the state requires it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddysmom26 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 I am in NY, do you mean the standardized tests or the Regents exams? Homeschool Students in NY state are entitled to sit for some of the Regents exams. It can be a good idea to take them if your student might attend a SUNY or other state college. If you are going to administer the CAT test at the end of the year, and if your end of year is June, I think January is early to order it. I think I remember from last year that it arrives pretty quickly, and once you get it you have something like 6 weeks to administer it and send it back. I don't order mine until the end of May and we test whenever we feel like it in June. The CAT tests are, frankly, very easy. They just show the school district that your kid is at least at grade level. The test is multiple choice and covers language arts and math. I see it more as just something I do to because the state requires it. Yes was referring to the Standardized testing. Thank you! Appreciate the info :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anne1456 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I am in NY and for high school I have always had my kids take the ACT as their end of the year assessment. So it doubles as end of the year assessment and practice for college admission testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 We used the CAT from Seton. Each section wasn't very long. It covers the state regs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 My school district accepted the PSAT, SAT, and ACT in lieu of annual tests that are listed in the NY State regs. Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I am in NY, do you mean the standardized tests or the Regents exams? Homeschool Students in NY state are entitled to sit for some of the Regents exams. It can be a good idea to take them if your student might attend a SUNY or other state college. If you are going to administer the CAT test at the end of the year, and if your end of year is June, I think January is early to order it. I think I remember from last year that it arrives pretty quickly, and once you get it you have something like 6 weeks to administer it and send it back. I don't order mine until the end of May and we test whenever we feel like it in June. The CAT tests are, frankly, very easy. They just show the school district that your kid is at least at grade level. The test is multiple choice and covers language arts and math. I see it more as just something I do to because the state requires it. We just finished our CAT. I did it this early the last time I used it. Nobody scoffed about that. They used to test this early in the district as well. Only fairly recently have they changed that. I agree that the CAT is ridiculously easy, but my only goal is to fulfill the requirement and git er done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddysmom26 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Has anyone used the New CAT 6?? I just looked on Seton and I do not see the regular available just the new 6 for 9th grade level. Just curious the difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddysmom26 Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Just another quick question about the testing. When do you normally do the testing? I know I have to let the district know which test we will be using in this next 3rd quarterly report but is there a certain time frame when it should be taken? Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 We've always used the CAT as a get-it-done test. Last year, we did it online with Christian Liberty and got the results instantaneously. I think it took about 24 hours for the test to be available after we paid. I used to have them take it in early May so I would be sure to have the results back in time, but last year we did it mid-June since I knew we would get the results the same day. I just mention in the 3rd QR cover letter that they will be taking the CAT test through Christian Liberty (or Seton - I have used them several times) for their annual assessment. HTH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 We always did the Stanford test with sd. Our homeschool group has a week in May where they do the testing so we just do our testing with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I am in NY and for high school I have always had my kids take the ACT as their end of the year assessment. So it doubles as end of the year assessment and practice for college admission testing. Huh.they allow that? I didn't think that was on the list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 For 9th grade I'll probably have ds do the CAT (Level 19) and I plan on ordering it in late May/early June next year. And from what I see, 9th and 10th grades take the same CAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anne1456 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Huh.they allow that? I didn't think that was on the list. The ACT, PSAT and SAT aren't on the official NY state list. But that list doesn't say only tests on the list are acceptable, it just lists ones that the state has officially said are ok. Many districts accept the ACT, PSAT and SAT, and some districts actually have them on a list of acceptable tests for high schoolers. So YMMV, but I have used all 3 of those tests with no issues spread out over the past 9 years in 3 school districts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Huh.they allow that? I didn't think that was on the list. I know that my school district will not accept the PSAT or the SAT. Well, as of 5 years ago they did not; I think I will ask again. And I will ask about the ACT as well - you never know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I know that my school district will not accept the PSAT or the SAT. Well, as of 5 years ago they did not; I think I will ask again. And I will ask about the ACT as well - you never know! Yeah they aren't in the same category as something like the CAT or Stanford. If they won't allow the SAT, I can't imagine why they'd consider the ACT acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anne1456 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I know that my school district will not accept the PSAT or the SAT. Well, as of 5 years ago they did not; I think I will ask again. And I will ask about the ACT as well - you never know! I have heard that some districts will take the ACT and not the SAT. Because the regulations say the test should be a "commercially published norm-referenced achievement test" and the ACT is considered an "achievement" test while the SAT is considered an "aptitude" test. Kind of silly distinction, but worth asking about. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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