LMD Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Help me feel better! Actually, I'm not too bad. It wasn't an accurate reflection of his math ability, but it was an accurate reflection of his work ethic and test taking skills! It was his first ever testing experience and I half expected it. I joked to dh last night that he'll either ace it or bomb it. That's my boy lol! He got 23%. He is nearly 9, a bright kid, but tends to over think things, gets flustered, and gives up. I'm pretty sure that at least half of the test was guessing. He's the kid who struggles with the easy problems and flies through the beast academy starred problems. It doesn't count towards anything so it's not a big deal. But I don't want to be naive about where my kids are, I want to make sure I do a good job. We will do some more low pressure tests in the coming months, just for my own information. Any tips, commiserations, funny anecdotes?! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Sorry ! That's why I don't like standardized testing before fifth grade. There are too many immaturity issues earlier. Your plan seems good. Head up--its ok. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 Thank you! His sister, 5/6th ish, did better, about as I expected- it was her first test too. Maturity does definitely help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 I had a friend in college who frequently bombed tests. We studied together, she knew her stuff as well as I did, and she'd over think every test. I tried to help her go with her first instinct but tests just freaked her out. I am not a fan of tests, they do not always accurately portray knowledge or ability. I've passed tests I should have failed based on good test guessing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Also, if it was the speed test computation part if the ITBS and not the concept part, I wouldn't even give it a second thought. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 My 3rd graders scores were crummy this year. He hit the 8th percentile in math computation. Yes, single digit 8th! He didn't want to take the test. I didn't want him to take the test. But the law required us to do it, so we did. (Overall, his scoring was middle of the road, despite the 8th percentile there.) One of my dds scored pretty low (for a homeschooler) in 3rd grade, too. Her 5th grade test was much improved. My other dd improved from 3rd to 5th, and again from 5th to 8th. We never, ever, ever, ever, ever taught to the test or spent more than 5 minutes discussing how to fill bubbles or click answers, so they were at a "disadvantage" in that department. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Help me feel better! Actually, I'm not too bad. It wasn't an accurate reflection of his math ability, but it was an accurate reflection of his work ethic and test taking skills! It was his first ever testing experience and I half expected it. I joked to dh last night that he'll either ace it or bomb it. That's my boy lol! He got 23%. He is nearly 9, a bright kid, but tends to over think things, gets flustered, and gives up. I'm pretty sure that at least half of the test was guessing. He's the kid who struggles with the easy problems and flies through the beast academy starred problems. It doesn't count towards anything so it's not a big deal. But I don't want to be naive about where my kids are, I want to make sure I do a good job. We will do some more low pressure tests in the coming months, just for my own information. Any tips, commiserations, funny anecdotes?! :) :grouphug: but really, I can't get worked up over an 8yo child's test scores. Because 8yo. I also wouldn't expect an 8yo to have much of a "work ethic." Because 8yo. Also, if it was his first test, of course he would bomb it. Because first test. How he does when you are working with him is more indicative of how he's doing academically than a standardized test score. If you think that standardized tests are going to be a part of his life, then probably you'd want to do them more frequently, and help him understand how they work. :D 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 My younger who refused to read for my hubby did grade levels ahead for his kindergarten teacher at the start of Kindergarten. My hubby was shocked. This kid however consistently fail the time/clock section of math until he was much older. "Threatening" this kid with more practice helps improve his test taking attitude. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 My kids all have to do annual testing starting at age 8. I never put to much weight in the results. I tell my kids that the tests are based on what a group of people think people their age should know and it may not be something we have covered yet and that it is okay. They know we only do it because the law says we have to, but that I expect them to do their best. DD always tests high. She is a natural test taker and loves testing. My 13 year old is average in most areas except for spelling where he almost always tests the 3rd or lower percentile. He has dyslexia so it is not a huge surprise. My youngest gets test anxiety and is a perfectionist. His first year he did okay because they put all the kids his age (5 of them I believe) in a room with one adult tester who was wonderful working with him. The test was very laid back and he did well. The next year he did private testing because group testing would have had food allergy issues. He had a couple meltdowns that I was able to help him through. He has trouble with timed tests and was in tears because he didn't finish everything on time. This year he was able to do group testing. First day went great, second day he missed a practice problem and mentally shut down. He didn't finish testing that day. For one section he just filled in random bubbles and others he just didn't do anything. When I got there he was sitting at the table with his head down. I am not sure what to do next year. We can do a teacher evaluation instead of testing, but I really don't know how to pursue that or if it would really make much difference. I fear any public school teacher I asked would be critical of homeschooling and would expect him to be on the same page as public schoolers and that would not be good for DS to go through. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Agreeing with previous posters that testing before 4th/5th grade can be rather pointless, as students are so all over the place in their learning and brain development. :) However, if you are in an area that requires or recommends testing younger than that, you might get a test prep book and go through that for 15 min/day 3-4x/week in the weeks before testing. With both DSs, we used a test prep book for the 2-3 months before taking that specific test (Iowa Basic). We just considered the 10-15 minutes it took as part of our morning "brain warm up" activities. I went over the test tips and info with them, and then they did 1-page of practice test. We didn't bother with timing the testing, but if you have a super-anxious student, you can do a dry-run of the entire testing process once you go through the prep book. The prep books are great for giving specific test-taking tips, and then practice questions, which also allow for practicing things like filling in the bubble completely but no overage, and transferring your answer from the test booklet to the bubble answer sheet. It also gives the student an idea of the types of topics that will be in the math section or language arts section. Prepping really helped reduce the anxiety for my anxiety-prone DC, and helped my struggling learner see how to approach testing. That allowed them to test in such a way as to give *me* a more accurate picture of how they were doing or what areas we might want to address or add to our day for the following year. ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 Thank you everyone! I appreciate your responses! You made me smile. Really, I'm not particularly worried. I know my kid and what he can do. I know his personality and why he didn't do well. It was a good experience for all of us. I won't be changing our approach, except to continue doing tests of some kind occasionally, so he can get used to them (low pressure, we are not legally required). And so that I don't slip into slacking off too much... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Pick your tests. We used untimed PASS tests that were given at home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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