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Standardized Testing in Kindergarten


keirin
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Is anyone doing standardized testing of their kindergarten student? I'm considering doing one with my twins since it's one of the ways that my state allows me to turn in an end of year evaluation. I'd also like to get a sense of how I'm doing with them and what areas they are doing well or not so well in. But... I'm also leery of sitting down my 5 year olds to do a long fill in the bubble sort of test. I don't think it's developmentally appropriate for them to do so. I looked at the Iowa Assessments and there was over 100 questions for the kindergarten level.

 

Does anyone have any experience giving this test to this age? Recommendations on another test that might not be so intensive or administered differently?

 

XPOST on K-8

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I've not heard of one--hopefully someone else can help. But...are you certain that you are required to turn something in at age 5? (Does your state require students to start school at age 5, and were your twins age 5 by the required cut-off date?) It just seems so young! But my state is on the higher side and doesn't require that kids start school until age 7. (Or at least it was 7 back when we started--might have changed, LOL!) 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have done the Iowa testing with my daughter and niece when they were 6/kindergarten. They did really well, but that was 6 years ago. It didn't seem stressful at all. Not sure why I felt the need to do it, but it did show me where they were in their knowledge,

 

Now , I'm lucky if my last ker is out of his pjs during school. TIme does that to ya , though.

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  • 1 month later...

We did the Stanford 10 test this year with my K - it was done well we have always done Stanford for my kids end of the year tests and have been pleased.  However beware when I gave this test to my son he was so petrified if he got one wrong he is such a perfectionist...that was hard for me and him but we got through it.  I wasn't crazy about how they scored the K year but hey it met requirements and I can check the box.  :)

 

Also if they are not 6 by September they don't require testing in our state maybe you should check on that one...if they don't need it I wouldn't recommend giving it!

Edited by Homeschoolmom3
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  • 4 weeks later...

Probably too late now, but maybe useful for someone else for next year. My youngest took the CAT6/TerraNova last June when he was 5.5yo. It's really not that big a deal - he did the complete battery plus, so that's the longest version available, and he did the 1st grade level, but they also have a level for K - the instructions say to break it up into 2-5 sessions (I think - at least that's what the 2nd grade instructions say, and I think 1st grade was pretty much the same), we spread it out over 3-4 days iirc, and then even within that they say to give the kid bathroom breaks, etc at the end of individual sections. Most of the questions at the 1st grade level were read aloud to the kid, so the kid only needs to bubble in the correct answer (in the test booklet - they don't have a separate answer sheet until 4th grade). And they gave ample time, so the test should be done faster than the times listed.

 

I told my kids (oldest took the 3rd grade version last year) that they weren't supposed to know every answer - that if they knew everything, the test was too easy, so that probably helped with any potential test anxiety. My youngest is actually looking forward to this year's testing (just got the test delivered today), and was already talking about wanting to do the 3rd grade test prep book (silly kid). To be clear, it's not like he got a perfect score on last year's test - he was average in some sections, well above average in others, and well below average in word analysis - overall, he scored above average (81st percentile), but it's not like he liked the test because he aced it - he didn't ace it. I think it was just "something new and different", which can be fun, especially if you don't know there are people who are stressed out about tests.

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Probably too late now, but maybe useful for someone else for next year. My youngest took the CAT6/TerraNova last June when he was 5.5yo. It's really not that big a deal - he did the complete battery plus, so that's the longest version available, and he did the 1st grade level, but they also have a level for K - the instructions say to break it up into 2-5 sessions (I think - at least that's what the 2nd grade instructions say, and I think 1st grade was pretty much the same), we spread it out over 3-4 days iirc, and then even within that they say to give the kid bathroom breaks, etc at the end of individual sections. Most of the questions at the 1st grade level were read aloud to the kid, so the kid only needs to bubble in the correct answer (in the test booklet - they don't have a separate answer sheet until 4th grade). And they gave ample time, so the test should be done faster than the times listed.

 

I told my kids (oldest took the 3rd grade version last year) that they weren't supposed to know every answer - that if they knew everything, the test was too easy, so that probably helped with any potential test anxiety. My youngest is actually looking forward to this year's testing (just got the test delivered today), and was already talking about wanting to do the 3rd grade test prep book (silly kid). To be clear, it's not like he got a perfect score on last year's test - he was average in some sections, well above average in others, and well below average in word analysis - overall, he scored above average (81st percentile), but it's not like he liked the test because he aced it - he didn't ace it. I think it was just "something new and different", which can be fun, especially if you don't know there are people who are stressed out about tests.

 

I'm still considering ordering a test to use so thank you for your input. :)

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I'm still considering ordering a test to use so thank you for your input. :)

 

 

Okay, so, the shortest version is just reading/language arts and math, I think. We use Seton, and they seem to only have testing dates at least 2-3 weeks out (I don't know when your deadline is), but there are also places that have the CAT 5 online if you wanted to go that route (not sure if the CAT6/TerraNova has an online version).

 

And, like the others, I'm surprised you have to test a 5yo - here you might test a K-er if they turned 6 before the end of Dec of their K year (unlikely, since the cut-off here is either Dec 1st or Dec 31st), and even then you have the choice of a test or a narrative assessment.

Edited by luuknam
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