ITBS Q's?

[FairProspects]

We are testing because I am curious, and I was hoping to use the results to tailor instruction for next year (also Dh would like to know if we are on par with PS). But since we've started, I've been frustrated with the test and come up with several questions.

 

For example, is there even a K version of the ITBS? I signed up for a K version, but I'd swear it is 1st and 2nd grade material. Ds has been on the point of tears a couple of times and I've tried to reassure him that the test is for "big kids" and not to worry if he doesn't know the answer.

 

There are loads of "school" words/situations like cafeteria and auditorium, which needless to say he missed.

 

The listening section today wasn't so much listening as it was making inferences about the story. Ds is a probable aspie, and while he can answer any questions about material directly in the story, inferences about how you know who did it and why will go right over his head. Is it common for listening sections of standardized tests to include analysis so young? I don't know how to teach him to "get" inferences :confused: if that is really what most standardized tests are like.

 

I guess I was surprised overall with the amount of "logic-stage" skills on a test for very young kids. I thought it would be more fact-based - can you decode this, how many waterbottles are there, etc. Instead so far, it has been a lot of mixing letters around to make new words (for a kid who doesn't even read fluently), literary analysis, summaries of main point (we haven't even reached narration age yet), etc. Are so many critical thinking skills typical of standardized tests?

 

While it is nice to have some kind of standardized gauge, I'm not even sure the ITBS is measuring skills I care about for this age. Anyone else have similar experiences or thoughts?