Quiver0f10 Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 (edited) I recieved my upcoming 9th grader's IOWA results today( taken at the end of 8th grade) and I am less than thrilled. Last year she did well in reading comprehension but did below average in math. We switched from Saxon to Chalkdust and her math score this year is about the same as last. I really had hoped her scores would have improved after a year of CD. Also, her reading comprehension scores went down, which shocked me. The subsections are: Factual Understanding Inference and Interpretation Analysis and Generalization We used TOG last year and my plan is to continue with that this year. What do you recommend I use/do to help with the reading comp? I have no idea what to do about math either. She doesn't like it, has always struggled and I am not sure CD is the right choice for her anymore. I am open to any ideas. Thanks! Edited June 25, 2009 by Quiver0f10 added info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Katia Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Having proctored the Iowa tests before, I will say that at the high school level they seem to really, drastically expect more academically in the math area than previous grade levels. I know my dd was scoring 98% and 99% in math from 4th - 8th grades and in 9th grade it went down to like 67% (but the speed drill test that didn't count was 99%).......and she was still understanding and comprehending her math just fine. It freaked me out at first, but then I realized it was just a standardized test and didn't make a hill of beans worth of difference in her life. It wasn't her math program; it was the test. Her first try at ACT at 16yo she scored much better than I thought she would (based again on her 9th and 10th grade Iowa test scores) so I'm glad we didn't alter her program. It was working for her. Once again, I firmly believe it's the test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Hi Jean, I have no experience with the test your daughter took, but I am a TOG user, so I will address that! How have your discussions been going? Do you require your dd to write out answers to the A and T questions? (I am assuming you are doing R level) Sometimes the reading selections are quite challenging in terms of reading level or topic covered or number of pages, both for history and literature. However, careful application to the A and T questions in preparation for discussion will help with the ares you mentioned. The task can be daunting for a young R student, however. All that thinking is hard work! You may need to read aloud with her and stop after every paragraph or so and ask her to summarize what you (or she) just read, what she thinks might happen next, and why it is important. Sometimes we assume that our children have gathered these skills along the way (I have been guilty of that!), especially if they read quickly, when they really haven't. Forcing them to read slowly (which can seem counter intuitive and counterproductive at the HS level) combined with modeling can really help to polish those skills. Hope this helps! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Just another quick thought - if you want something light to work on reading comp, you could check out the Reading Detective series by Critical Thinking Co. The reading levels would be very easy for her, but they are structured to give practice in the areas you want to target. She might find it an easy thing to do over the summer. Blessings again! April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 Thank you, April. I will look into those books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 Having proctored the Iowa tests before, I will say that at the high school level they seem to really, drastically expect more academically in the math area than previous grade levels. I know my dd was scoring 98% and 99% in math from 4th - 8th grades and in 9th grade it went down to like 67% (but the speed drill test that didn't count was 99%).......and she was still understanding and comprehending her math just fine. It freaked me out at first, but then I realized it was just a standardized test and didn't make a hill of beans worth of difference in her life. It wasn't her math program; it was the test. Her first try at ACT at 16yo she scored much better than I thought she would (based again on her 9th and 10th grade Iowa test scores) so I'm glad we didn't alter her program. It was working for her. Once again, I firmly believe it's the test. I am not one to usually worry @ test and I am sure you are right that it was the test and not her. She loves to read and reads daily. I will try to work on bringing up her comprehension. Math is a whole nother ball game LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Conley Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) Dear Jean, The Reading Comprehension section of the ITBS is definitely an example of a standardized test where "test taking skills" and "test preparation" can make a big difference. In other words, it doesn't test reading comprehension nearly as well as it tests experience with this style of question. My rising 8th grader nearly melted down over this section of test preparation. She did just fine after I explained to her that an experienced test taker 1. Reads the first half of the questions, 2. then scans the text looking for the answers 3. making a mental note as to each answer. 4. Half way through the passage s/he pauses to read the 2nd half of the questions, 5. and scans the remainder of the text looking for the answers. 6. S/he expects that roughly 20% of the questions will not be presented in the same chronological order as they were encountered in the text, 7. or will require some degree of critical thinking, rather than mere recall - and therefor doesn't panic over the need to come up with an answer that was not directly stated within the text. It sounds crazy to be so methodical, but it is very reassuring for most people to know this strategy. The vast majority of people who are comfortable with reading comprehension tests are not blessed with perfect recall. They use variations of this strategy to make the best of their information processing skills. It is possible that your daughter was able to do just fine without these strategies when dealing with the previous, less sophisticated years' material, but needs a new strategy to deal with the high school level material. For this reason I suggest that if you have not done so already, you coach her in reading comprehension test taking skills. If this is the case, her current difficulties are not a reflection of her reading comprehension ability, but merely a matter of learning a few new tactics. These skills will serve her well in the Science and Social Studies sections of the ITBS, and many, many future tests she will almost certainly encounter. Blessings, Elizabeth Edited June 26, 2009 by Elizabeth Conley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) Jean, The Iowa test has a practice test available called Scoring High, I'll post a link you can check out. http://www.pesdirect.com/test_prep.html The practice tests are a good idea not only because many ps schools use them, but they offer the answers. This gives a student the opportunity to see the choices and subtle differences between the answers as well as the opportunity to boost their speed. Looking over the questions first is a great test strategy and I believe there are more suggestions in the practice booklets. My dd's least favorite/most difficult sub is math too. Last year she asked to go back to Saxon mid-year:001_huh:. Strange suggestions coming from her, (She was using the ABeka DVD program.) Anyway it was just not sticking and her average was slipping . So during Christmas break she tried Saxon. After that month, I asked her to compare the two and give me her opinion. She immediately said the constant review helped as well as the lesson numbers by the problems. She didn't finish the book before her test, and still managed to score nicely in math. Math will never be her thing, but Saxon is a good program and imo works especially well with students who aren't wired to do math. I've got the DIVE CD for next year and check her work daily. The standardized test are what they are, but there are many ways to help boost the scores. hth Edited June 26, 2009 by Tammyla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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