Does anyone not give tests for grammar stage?

[Aoife]

I hadn't planned on giving tests in general during the early elementary/ grammar stage but I have seen a few recent threads where people have mentioned giving tests in 2nd grade or so and was curious if it was a bad idea to avoid testing? I had decided to avoid it for the reasoning of building more confidence and staying away from pressure or measurement during the early years. I figured once we hit into maybe 5th grade or so we might start testing as the kiddos are better able to handle it. My DSDs are in public school and takes tests of course and I have noticed that it really injures their confidence and they tend to get more put off and in that "i'm not smart enough" rut rather then it making them want to improve.

 

What do you all do and how do you approach the idea of testing?

[momto2Cs]

Mine are going into 2nd and 4th, and I have no intentions of testing.

[Miss Marple]

All of my boys enjoyed testing in the early years. They thought of it as a game and we made it fun. Much of our success with testing was probably due to the way I presented the tests. I put them in the context of a game to improve their scores each time (just like their computer games or Xbox games). I never belittled them, agonized over their scores (well, privately sometimes), or allowed them to wallow in self-pity.

 

I think early testing was a key to the success my dss have had with later standardized testing. They are very confident (well, most of the time) and that makes them more relaxed and capable of thinking more clearly.

[Ali in OR]

I don't think tests in the elementary years are all that helpful. I don't think they are necessary--I know what my kids know and am very satisfied with their learning. And like you, I think testing can have undesirable consequences for some kids--test anxiety, thinking they're stupid, etc. I don't think my perfectionist kid would handle any mistake well (we work on this in other arenas like piano--I don't need tests to work on this issue).

 

I do know that eventually tests are a part of life (I taught high school math), but I think they can come later. We'll add tests to the mix during the middle school years, especially 8th grade. We reviewed multiple choice testing skills before dd had to take state tests in 3rd grade (she did great). We still do spelling tests (which are seen as pretty fun in this house) and we do the quiz pages in LFC, but not as a graded test. But no math tests, history tests, etc. We learn for fun, not because we have to know it for the test.

[patchfire]

We did nothing resembling tests in first or second grade. If it was quantifiably wrong, the work was redone. I specifically was concerned with exposure, not mastery, with regards to history, science, and the fine arts.

 

Around third grade, I would mark some things, periodically, so that dd could see about how she was doing - 12/15, for instance. I didn't convert this to percentages or letter grades, however. We are required by the state to test in 3rd grade, so I bought Scoring High for the third grade level test and had her work through it gradually for the two-three months preceding the test.

 

About a third to a half of the way through fourth grade, I occasionally would convert the fractional grading to percentages/letter grades. This was still only in certain areas - grammar, spelling, mathematics, vocabulary. I evaluated history, science, literature, etc. through writing. If it was incorrect, poorly written, or showed an inadequate understanding, it was to be rewritten/redone, plain and simple.

[4besitos]

I don't test their subjects and don't plan on it aside from their spelling test which the older ones want to do. :001_smile: The only "test" (for the sake of a test) we do is the McCall-Crabbs which is a 3min reading comprehension test and the only reason I do it is because in WA children have to be tested annually from 3 grade on; so the little 8 question bubble test helps them practice the skill of keeping track of what bubble your on for the CAT test. The older ones know that I am not in favor of the standardized testing and only do it to comply with state regulations.

[Dmmetler]

I don't test, but if there's a "Review", or a "quiz" in a textbook, I let DD do it by herself while I check the laundry or whatever. That way I can make sure she's solid without me standing over her (and possibly prompting). I've found a couple of shaky math topics this way, where DD could do them with just a slight hint from me, but not 100% independently. In general, the subjects with textbooks and formal exercises are, at 1st grade, the only ones I'm worried about actual mastery of specific skills, as opposed to building a framework for later anyway.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I do not test in grades K-4. I just want good exposure in those grades (except in grammer, I test in grammer starting in 3rd grade) I start testing in everything up starting in 5th. I do not test in math until then either. I can tell if they need extra help by their daily work! I figure in grades K-4 they WILL get everything again, so I just want them to learn and be exposed to a great deal of things. When they get older, and really start digging into what we learned before, then they are ready for testing~!

[Karen in CO]

Nope.

I will give end of chapter quizzes for review as scheduled in things like our French program, but I don't do tests.

[angela in ohio]

I give the tests in our math, spelling, and grammar books in the elementary years. I have found, looking back over the years, that always having tests has helped my dc to NOT develop test anxiety. They think of them as just another part of learning.

Edited August 26, 2010 by angela in ohio

[mrs.m]

I use CLE and they have tests built in. I treat it like it is another assignment and more review. Tests tell me if we need to go over something again. I have been surprised a couple times thinking he knew something and after a couple weeks, turns out he didn't retain it. But it isn't a "test" where he is assigned a grade.

 

The one exception to that rule is spelling. He knows it's a test. But we keep it fun and do that on the white board because paper spelling tests weren't going so well.

 

I have started testing my 5th grader to make sure she is retaining what she is learning because she often works independently. And she likes the feedback.

[robsiew]

Even though we must use standardized tests every year, I do not test. The kids have done fine on the standardized test... I'm not really worried about it. I see no reason to test at grammar stage. I just mark their errors and we go over them. Once they hit Logic stage (probably 6th grade as 5th grade will have enough adjustment...) I will probably start to "test" them. At this point I think they'll be more confident in what they know and they will be older maturity wise to handle it. JMO... I'm sure you'll get many different ones!

[Joyofsixreboot]

I do give the quizzes in math and la in the workbook but don't use them for anything but my own info about how well they independently understand the info. I don't test in history or science.

[mom2boys030507]

This year I have to give a standurdized test.

 

We use the tests/ reviews as independent practice. Those are the days I tell my son here is your assignment and we are going to see if you can do it after reading the directions yourself. This has been very helpful in increasing his ability to work independently. I am always around to answer questions and clear up confusion, but these days are independant days. Of course, he has then read the word test and asks for a grade because he has seen grades given on Arthur.

[SilverMoon]

The closest to a real test my little ones get is at the end of their spelling lesson. ;) They did get tests from their math books last year, but we treated them like any other workpage.

[NanceXToo]

I generally avoid tests. Other than doing "spelling quizzes" last year for 4th grade (my daughter likes and is good at spelling anyway), we did not do any tests. (Oh, we did do one standardized test at the end of the year which, as far as she was concerned, was "for fun.")

 

She'll be going into 5th this year and I still do not plan to test her, other than the mandatory standardized test I have to do per state law.

 

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of tests. I don't think a child should have to constantly "prove" that they know something. It's enough that I can see them learning it, have conversations with them about it, apply it where applicable... and that they learn for learning's sake, not for the sake of numbers or letters for grades, not for the sake or proving what they know on a test, etc.

[toddandleah]

We just do spelling tests.

 

Leah

[Tracy]

At the grammar stage, the only reason to give a test is to ascertain what the child has learned. In a homeschool environment, there are usually better ways to do that at this age. Children at this age are often still learning how to write, so that would skew the results. I do give tests for spelling, though, because I don't see any other way to determine if she knows how to spell.

[robsiew]

I generally avoid tests. Other than doing "spelling quizzes" last year for 4th grade (my daughter likes and is good at spelling anyway), we did not do any tests. (Oh, we did do one standardized test at the end of the year which, as far as she was concerned, was "for fun.")

 

She'll be going into 5th this year and I still do not plan to test her, other than the mandatory standardized test I have to do per state law.

 

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of tests. I don't think a child should have to constantly "prove" that they know something. It's enough that I can see them learning it, have conversations with them about it, apply it where applicable... and that they learn for learning's sake, not for the sake of numbers or letters for grades, not for the sake or proving what they know on a test, etc.

 

I agree with this to some extent, but I think at some point we need to expose our kids to tests. If they go to college they most certainly will need to take tests. I never thought much about it until I heard an interview with a science professor who LOVED homeschool students in his college classes. He did give some ideas for parents though of how to better prepare their homeschool children for college and one of these was to give them more experience with tests. I think I would be doing a disservice to my child if I didn't prepare them at some point for testing. I don't think that has to be in grammar stage though.

[Barb_]

Other than the Latin tests included in the Latin Primer teacher's manual, I don't test either. I wouldn't be using the Latin tests if they hadn't begged me for them. Then I have to grade them in red pen. It's my one concession to their school fantasy. I draw the line at having them call me Ms. Barb all day.

 

Barb

[Tracy]

I agree with this to some extent, but I think at some point we need to expose our kids to tests. If they go to college they most certainly will need to take tests. I never thought much about it until I heard an interview with a science professor who LOVED homeschool students in his college classes. He did give some ideas for parents though of how to better prepare their homeschool children for college and one of these was to give them more experience with tests. I think I would be doing a disservice to my child if I didn't prepare them at some point for testing. I don't think that has to be in grammar stage though.

 

:iagree: I read recently something written by a college professor that said that homeschoolers are great students with two exceptions--they are behind in science, and they stink at timed tests. They do need regular exposure to tests, but not at the grammar stage.