Zoo Keeper Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 My state requires yearly testing or portfolio review by a state certified teacher. We did the Stanford test last year with a private school, and were able to do so for a very low fee (group rate thing). I was all set to do a portfolio review this year through a homeschoolers' group, but after finding out that it would set me back $125 (!), I'm having second thoughts. Any ideas for an easy to administer test that won't cost a small fortune? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 The ITBS is easy if you have a degree. My daughter things it's a pain! :) Her best friend here tells her she's lucky she only has to take one test a year. I told her the same thing, but it had more impact coming from her friend. We don't have to test where we currently are, but some states we may have to test so I want her to get used to the process, I've tested every year since K using the ITBS. I picked it because it was what I took growing up in the Seattle area and it is a test that many states accept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I gave the ITBS for nine years. I then found out about the CAT (which I order from Seton Home Services). It is shorter, cheaper, and graded much more quickly. Since I only give them to satisfy my state's requirement, I choose the CAT now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 The CAT is inexpensive and you don't need a degree to administer it. We used Seton's this year, but next year may use CLP. CLP just put the CAT available online with immediate results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I agree about the CAT. You can get it from Seton for I think $25.00. With fast results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearnpurple Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I gave the ITBS for nine years. I then found out about the CAT (which I order from Seton Home Services). It is shorter, cheaper, and graded much more quickly. Since I only give them to satisfy my state's requirement, I choose the CAT now. :iagree: We use CAT through CLP for $25 but for $5 more you can do it online with immediate results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfcartmama Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Glad to see this thread! I am worried about the state required testing! He took the CRCT this year and did fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artchristie Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I agree about the CAT. You can get it from Seton for I think $25.00. With fast results. :iagree:this is what we used and we have been very pleased with the customer service. We usually receive the test in about a week and grading in about a week or two at the latest. I had to call them one year with a question and they were extremely helpful. I took one week to administer the test doing a small bit per day not to tire the child.:thumbup: The test we used only tested for math and language arts, BTW. I am considering moving to test her in science and social studies to prepare her for such a thing but for the lower grades and for state requirements I think CAT from seton is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Did you find the information you got from the Stanford to be helpful in planning? If so, you may be disappointed with the CAT-E. My poor DD had to take 2 standardized tests this year because we didn't get enough information from the CAT and so had to re-test her with the ITBS. The next time we decide to test her, I'm going to go straight to the ITBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedwith6 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 We have used the CAT from CLP for 4 years now. I really like their service. This year we used the onlilne version and I LOVED it. kept the time for me and instant grading. I have ordered the CAT for my K from Seton this year and not as happy with them. They didn't send me the return envelope and CLP always did that for me when I used the paper test. We will be using the online test from CLP again. This year my 2nd, 5th, and 7th grader all used it. It is $30.00 per test. When you order and pay they email you a code and then you log in to Test Point and enter that code. You can start taking it right away. Each sessio is timed, but in between the sessions you can take as long as you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 We used CAT last year and it went well. This year I tried BASI and (because I know ds is mostly ahead and I don't really use his test scores for anything other than reporting) I found it a better fit. It's very short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest momk2000 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 We have used CAT from Seton for 4yrs now. Have always had results in our mailbox within one week. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Did you find the information you got from the Stanford to be helpful in planning? If so, you may be disappointed with the CAT-E. My poor DD had to take 2 standardized tests this year because we didn't get enough information from the CAT and so had to re-test her with the ITBS. The next time we decide to test her, I'm going to go straight to the ITBS. May I ask what you find helpful about the ITBS for planning? We're required to test and have used the CAT with science and social studies. I'm thinking about looking for a different test for next year. What information does ITBS share beyond percentages and grade level in various areas? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Did you find the information you got from the Stanford to be helpful in planning? If so, you may be disappointed with the CAT-E. My poor DD had to take 2 standardized tests this year because we didn't get enough information from the CAT and so had to re-test her with the ITBS. The next time we decide to test her, I'm going to go straight to the ITBS. I agree that the CAT results we received from Seton were not that in-depth. It was more you got __ out of __ on each section, then the percentile and stanine. I was kind of disappointed that there wasn't the grade equivalent or the bar graph that showed where they placed like the ones we received in school. Does anyone know if the results from CLP's CAT show more? I liked the ease of the CAT and not needing a degree and a long time for testing. I just wish that there was a more in-depth results page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 May I ask what you find helpful about the ITBS for planning? We're required to test and have used the CAT with science and social studies. I'm thinking about looking for a different test for next year. What information does ITBS share beyond percentages and grade level in various areas? :bigear: The CAT-E from Seton didn't have the breakdown by skill. All it said was things like "Language Mechanics: _ correct out of 20, xth percentile, _ stanine". That didn't tell me which areas I needed to work on with my DD. Whereas the ITBS had a much more detailed breakdown. See here for a sample report. From the ITBS, I was able to figure out which specific types of skills she needed more work on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 The CAT-E from Seton didn't have the breakdown by skill. All it said was things like "Language Mechanics: _ correct out of 20, xth percentile, _ stanine". That didn't tell me which areas I needed to work on with my DD. Whereas the ITBS had a much more detailed breakdown. See here for a sample report. From the ITBS, I was able to figure out which specific types of skills she needed more work on. Those are the type of results I remember from school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spock Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 May I ask what you find helpful about the ITBS for planning? We're required to test and have used the CAT with science and social studies. I'm thinking about looking for a different test for next year. What information does ITBS share beyond percentages and grade level in various areas? :bigear: Seton sells the survey form of the CAT--a shortened version of the full SAT, and not covering science or social studies. There is also a full version of the CAT available from various sources. I don't know exactly what scores you get from the survey version. However, the full version of the CAT and of the ITBS has a score analysis type section at the bottom of the score report that breaks every subsection up and tells how the student did on each part. For example, the full CAT score report breaks readin comprehension into "recall information" "construct meaning" and "evaluate, extend meaning". The full ITBS score report breaks reading comprehension into "factual understanding" "inference and interpretation" and "analysis and generalization". For each of these subscores there is a graph indicating whether the student scored average, above average, or below average. All the areas of the test are broken up like this. I like to use this area to analyze the stronger and weaker score my children get. For example, my daughter scored lower in capitalization and spelling than in other language areas. Looking at the subscores, I can see that she had no trouble with capitalizing place names, but that she had trouble with dates and holidays. I can also see that there were only 3 questions on this topic, all of which she attempted, but only one of which was correct. Combining this with what I have seen on her schoolwork, I can decide to make her write the full date on her paper more often, rather than the numbers with dashes. [i can also note the puzzling fact that my 2nd grade son did much better on multi-step word problems than on single-step word problems.] Since the survey version of the CAT has only a few questions in each subject area, it really can't give this kind of detailed analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedwith6 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 The Cat from CLE gives you scores in: Raw, Grade Equivalent, Percentile, and Stanine. This is done on both the paper and the online test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 Thanks for all the replies--this helps me think through my options. It looks like the CAT could be very quick, easy, and not so painful. :) I'm really not so worried about how they score; I think I already have a pretty good feel for their weak areas that need more work. I just want to fulfill my state's requirements and then keep on going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHouse Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Can someone link to the online CAT? I've been googling to no avail. Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 http://www.christianlibertypress.com/services.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artchristie Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Can someone link to the online CAT? I've been googling to no avail. Thanks. :) http://www.christianlibertypress.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TS-CAT02 Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHouse Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 D'oh! CLP. I was searching CLE. :D Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 :iagree: We use CAT through CLP for $25 but for $5 more you can do it online with immediate results! :iagree:this is what I have used 3 times now. Very easy to administer, my daughter did it very quickly and inexpensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I was really excited when I read this thread, especially about the online CAT available through CLP because my dd is due for her 5th grade standardized testing required by our state. After checking this possibility out though, I was reminded that my state requires the test to be proctored by a neutral party. The online testing is therefore not usable for us here in Oregon. Be sure to check your state laws before jumping on the bandwagon like I did on this. :banghead: Drat!! Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Can someone link to the online CAT? I've been googling to no avail. Thanks. :) Never mind, just saw it~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearnpurple Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 https://www.cestesting.com/home You can see descriptions/breakdowns of the CAT/5 which is the 1993 version of CAT plus science, ss, study skills and word analysis. I believe the cost is about $55. Not sure if any of you need that.....we looked at it but since we don't need it, we didn't go with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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