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Wonder

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Everything posted by Wonder

  1. For the life of me, I can't currently find her 2nd grade Terra Nova Test. But I just came across her 1st grade one. I don't think it's very extensive - just reading and math. But still good to see. I know it's not the "same" test for comparison purposes, but I'm guessing it's still worth comparing. One of the greatest weaknesses of her K-2nd grade PS experience was that they hardly focused on phonics. Reading was very much "whole language" based. We've done some phonics (more in 3rd grade than this year) and it did help (along with other reading activities). The Terra Nova Test I'm looking at is Grade 1.1. So first month of first grade? Anyway, her reading was exactly at the 50th percentile. If my memory serves me correctly, I think she scored 60-something percentile for reading in 2nd grade. So I've compared that to this test in which her overall reading percentile was 80th. So I guess I just need to remember that she's making progress.
  2. Thanks for the encouragement. I honestly have been in tears, and I'm sure it's just ridiculous and silly. Her overall score by the way was 78%. And she HAD taken some standardized tests before in 1st and 2nd grade PS. But she didn't do any test prep for this test. I think I'm just having a "down moment" in my homeschool thinking. We're having an "easy" week right now, since summer has sort of "started" for us. My girls are doing a little math and reading and then just doing their own thing, which today was "doing science" with rocks, magnifying glasses, etc. with the neighbor kids. I'm using this week to go through all of our homeschool stuff, make portfolios, re-organize, etc. I've had some health issues, too, which have made me rather tired and irritable, so that explains the quick jump to crying. I wanted a fairly relaxed summer, although we did plan to do a "little" school, and I guess after seeing the test results I got thinking I need to use this "extra" time to get more caught up on stuff. I DID already plan on working on spelling a bit with my daughter through the summer.
  3. Found this thread which was kind of helpful: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/392674-how-have-your-kids-done-on-standardized-tests/ I admit I'm feeling a bit discouraged that she did not score 90% or above. But what does it mean when people are saying their child "scored above grade level?" What are they looking at to determine that? I was planning to add in some "fun" stuff that my daughter wants to do next year (ice skating, piano lessons, more art), but now I'm wondering if we should just spend extra time on the basics. Honestly, feeling rather depressed about all of this now and just want to cry.
  4. Okay, so "Mastery of grade level material is indicated by a percentile rank of 90 or above." But, so far, no one has shared how their kids have done on standardized testing.
  5. Heather, Thanks so much for your input! :) I think the main thing I need to remember is that I shouldn't get stressed over test scores. :) And standardized tests don't test for things that matter more to me: character building, creativity, a hunger for learning, etc. My daughter is improving in many ways and actually enjoys reading now! :) I wonder what they're testing for "Language Usage and Expression?" Her GE for that was 11.3. We didn't test our first graders, but I'm quite sure they would score at 90% or above. Just wish their older sister had gotten a better education in K-3. Keep Moving Forward, right?!! :)
  6. Heather, so (for homeschoolers), are you basically saying we should "aim" for 90+% NPR?
  7. Okay, so I'll just be brave and share some of her scores (this is for 4th grade). This was our 2nd year homeschooling (and the first year was only 3/4th of the year). I'm still kind of frustrated at the fact that my DD was not given a very strong "foundation" in her early years in PS. But I'm hoping her test scores indicate progress. :) This is the first time (for homeschooling) that we've done standardized testing. Overall Composite Scores: SS: 224 GE: 6.5 NS: 7 NPR: 78 We already know she highly struggles with spelling and the test definitely showed that: 26th% in Spelling for NPR! Wonder how much that affects the overall score...
  8. Hmm...interesting. After posting my initial post, I received some PDF pages helping me to "read" the test results, kind of. Under GE (Grade Equivalent), it says this: "For example, if Sally, a second grader, scored a GE of 4.7, it meas that she earned a score equivalent to what a typical student in the seventh month of fourth grade would make." It goes on to basically say that this doesn't mean she's ready for 4th grade material, but that she has "a thorough mastery of the material covered on the second grade test."
  9. So, as a homeschooler, knowing that some of the kids who are tested nationally don't get much academic support, what should my "goals" be for her scores? She didn't do well on spelling, which I kind of expected. She just really struggles with spelling, but we are working on that even through the summer with Apples & Pears. I was kind of hoping she would score above 90% nationally in most things, but that's not her "average." Can anyone else share how their kids have done on this particular test? What are reasonable expectations? For all the "scoring" methods: SS, GE, NS, Lexile, NPR, etc. Does %C Stu. mean the percentage that the student got correct? And, if so, then if they got 100% correct on something, how is that only the 72nd National percentage?
  10. Not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but this is the board I mostly use. Just wondered if someone can help me interpret ITBS results? My DD 4th grade had this test administered by a professional, and I just got the results back. When she went to Public School, I think they did some other kind of standardized testing (Terra Nova?). Those results seemed easier to interpret. Can anyone explain how to interpret the ITBS results in plain English, please? What are the main things I'm looking at? What does SS, GE, NS, NPR, etc. mean? I have a good guess at most of those, but want to be sure I'm looking at things correctly. :)
  11. Okay, so maybe the "drill," etc. is more for a classroom setting?
  12. Thanks. I'm specifically asking about the Grade 2 book, though. There is only a section A and B, and the instructions in the beginning of the teacher's book have the "teacher" doing drills, etc.
  13. Yes, my girls read several grade levels ahead. Perhaps we'll work through book 2 quickly through the summer... So are you waiting until 3rd grade to use the 3rd grade book?
  14. I've wondered the same thing, but have decided we're doing "enough." My 1st graders both worked through 2 whole Awana books (lots of Bible verses) this year, plus did all the of the "extra credit." Outside of that, they've just worked on some poems (which they LOVE), math facts, and some grammar stuff.
  15. After finishing up our 1st grade spelling & phonics, I decided to go ahead and start my girls on Rod & Staff Spelling 2. So far I only have previous experience with R&S Spelling 4, which I 'think' is quite independent. After looking at the beginning of R&S 2, I'm curious how others go about "doing" this spelling? Do you do the drills, etc. like the teacher manual suggests? More than one test? It says to do this even if they get them all right on the first test. I'm also wondering if this is going to be challenging enough for my girls. I know...I know...the challenge is in the "work." But my girls do have a very strong phonics base already. Thanks in advance for your input!
  16. Yes, it's still on sale through May 4th. I think I'm gonna go for it! :)
  17. I was looking into this program for my 5th grader for next year, but we've decided not to get it at this point. On the website, you can find a syllabus and samples, by the way. It does include grammar and actually looks like it's mostly grammar for a while before it really "gets to" writing. I wouldn't feel comfortable using it as my only grammar, though - doesn't seem very rigorous. But others who have actually used it may have better input. Hope that helps!
  18. Has anyone used the resources from this website? And, if so, was it worth the cost? Can you share anything else? Looks pretty cool. :) My girls love doing more "hands on" kind of stuff.
  19. Thanks for the input. We will already have grammar covered, so just looking at the writing aspect of these programs. :)
  20. We'll be starting this series this summer! So excited! My girls will be "just turned" 10 and 7.
  21. My kids aren't quite those ages (oldest is, but not youngers), but I've finally realized that, as far as science goes, it really depends on what your goals are and basically just "what works best" for you and your kiddos. If what you're doing is working, keep it up! We've kind of gradually become more laid back as far as science goes. In third grade my DD and I tried Apologia Flying Creatures, and we both just found it to be rather boring. But maybe it was just that book? Lately we just "do" science with science "kits," lots of library books, some narrating/coloring/drawing, nature exploring, etc. And we try to focus on one main science "area" for quite some time. :)
  22. Haven't used it for a very long time yet, but my oldest DD is enjoying Typing Instructor for Kids, Platinum. We've also just done a little bit of Dance Mat Typing (Free online).
  23. This is my top pick so far for writing for DD Grade 5 next year. I'm just wondering...for those who have used it...if your child is getting a good foundation in grammar from somewhere else, do you just skip the grammar sections? If so, is it still "worth it?" In these past couple of years of homeschooling (previously public schooled), my DD has done Abeka Language 3, some of FLL 3, and R&S Grammar 4. We plan to use R&S Grammar 5 next year. Also, do you generally place your child at grade level with EIW? I looked at Levels 5 and 6 and they look very similar.
  24. So, from two comments at least, it seems to not work well to do Spanish together with this big of an age gap? Thanks for the ideas so far!
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