EmilyGF Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I've been wanting to do standardized tests with my kids but haven't been able to set aside the time. I just realized their closest friends are out of town for the next three weeks before we go on vacation, so, if I can get a test, this is the time to do it. I realize there is a time crunch and that may determine which test we use, but which one do you recommend? Our district leans heavily on testing for placement, especially at middle school and above, and I don't want my kids to be locked out of a reasonable middle school due to little practice with standardized tests. My kids will all be taking the district tests in future years for practice, but I'd also like to have them do a test where I get more information than a single number, which can reflect so many different things that need to be worked on different ways. I'll be testing a rising 3rd, 5th, and 7th grader. The rising K-er got into a gifted school so he'll be getting plenty of testing without my help. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Personally, *I* am limited on which test I could order because I do not have a college degree. So for me, it would be the CAT6 from Bayside School Services. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 I've got a degree so that isn't an issue. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Well, I use the ITBS, but I don't know how quickly you could get it there or if you'd want to use it. (You should be able to administer almost all of those levels together. I think the 3rd grader has an extra listening section. We don't start testing until 4th grade, so I'm not sure.) If your district uses mostly computer-based testing, I'd use computer-based testing now. Stanford, for example. My district uses the adaptive computer-based testing. I'd try to use that if I needed my kids to be good at it for entry into the local school. I don't know if there is anything on the market like that for homeschoolers other than the Let's Go Learn ADAM and the DORA. I've linked the Seton Testing version of these, but there are many other providers out there who you can order through. I just linked through one that I knew had all the ones I listed (and more). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 We tested for the first time this year. We used the Stanford 10 Online through Seton. It was great! Easy for me, fast results. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I like the Iowa test which is a timed test. If you do not want timed Stanford is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 Hmmmm... online. That sounds like the way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 This is who I use http://www.setontesting.com . I'm not sure what part of the country you are in, but they are located in VA. I usually get my tests in the mail pretty quickly. I do the CAT, but would probably start mine on the IOWA to get ready for school placement. That is what they use in my state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 This is who I use http://www.setontesting.com . I'm not sure what part of the country you are in, but they are located in VA. I usually get my tests in the mail pretty quickly. They typically won't let you schedule a paper test for sooner than about 3 weeks out. I've gotten the tests about 2 weeks after scheduling, so that *could* still work for the OP. I've done the CAT6/TerraNova2, also because of lack of a college degree, though from what I hear people like the ITBS better. There are some places that have the CAT available online, though I'm not sure what version... you wouldn't want to go with a version that's very old. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 They typically won't let you schedule a paper test for sooner than about 3 weeks out. I've gotten the tests about 2 weeks after scheduling, so that *could* still work for the OP. I've done the CAT6/TerraNova2, also because of lack of a college degree, though from what I hear people like the ITBS better. There are some places that have the CAT available online, though I'm not sure what version... you wouldn't want to go with a version that's very old. I receive my CAT from them within a couple of days of ordering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 I receive my CAT from them within a couple of days of ordering. Ok. IME, their timeline is significantly slower, so, OP might want to keep that in mind. Of course, the only testing I have done was iirc in April, May, and right at the beginning of June, so they may be relatively busy those months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Ok. IME, their timeline is significantly slower, so, OP might want to keep that in mind. Of course, the only testing I have done was iirc in April, May, and right at the beginning of June, so they may be relatively busy those months. Could be because I live not too far from them :-). I order in late May every year -- for the past 6 or 7 years. I have only ordered the CAT though. I just looked on their site. It does say the IOWA is 3 weeks. The CAT ships next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotesFromTheParsonage Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 We use the IOWA with CogAT through Seton. Our state requires testing every 3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 We used the TerraNova and found it worthwhile. I mean, it mostly told us what we already knew. But, I liked hte reading passages, the font, the pictures, the graphs. I've heard it is more expensive and i can see why. It is high quality. You can also get a Christian version that covers Bible or something like that :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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