Testing homeschoolers can be tricky (funny)

[Amber in SJ]

Because we homeschool through a charter school we are required to allow the ES (educational specialist) to administer some beginning-of-the-year placement tests. We always tell them to do their best. My very young kindergartener would be given the test orally.

 

The tests were ridiculous. In fact "ridiculous" was one of the words she was supposed to read. She is 4 yo. I could tell she was getting frustrated with having to say, "I don't know," for every question once the words got that big, but instead of stopping once she couldn't read so many in a row, the ES kept on going through the next five pages of small print columns of words.

 

When they got to the spelling portion (spelling for new kinders?) Dd was done. The ES would say "Can you spell ----?" and then would write down the letters Dd would recite. Once they got to the words she didn't know dd started throwing out letters. The strings of letters got longer and longer for the ES to write down. It started to look like this:

 

ES: "Spell neighbor."

Dd: "N-A-B-R-S-T-Q-M-M-A-E-L-G-P-P-Y-M-O-M-B-N-F-G-"

ES: "OK spell..."

Dd (interrupting): "I wasn't done with neighbor. P-O-T-L-M-W-E-A-J-C-A-

(big pause, then a loud sigh) R-V-F-O-O-D-N-A-M-E

 

After a few words that required the ES to fill 3 lines of notebook paper with letters, they were all done and didn't have to complete all 5 pages of words.

 

I think that one is going to be trouble!

 

Amber in SJ

[Lovedtodeath]

LOL! Way to go girl!

 

Continuing to test a child on things they don't know... that is ridiculous. My perfectionist daughter would be in tears and saying she was stupid and hating herself. :(

[Carol in Cal.]

Some of the ES's use a little more discretion in how they administer it, but many of them are new enough to be very 'by the book' about it.