What ITBS level to give?

[skueppers]

I'm planning to give my daughter the ITBS in the spring. She's in Kindergarten this year, but is doing a lot of first-grade work (defined as reading books like "Nate the Great" and doing the equivalent of Math Mammoth Light Blue 1, pieced together from the Blue series.)

 

I'm not required to test, but my husband and I think it could be worthwhile to give annual standardized tests anyway. Since we have only two children, the cost is not prohibitive, and we want to our kids to be used to standardized tests and think they're fun.

 

The information I'd like to get out of the test is:

 

* I'd like to know how my child is doing compared with other children.

* I'd like to be informed if there are things other kids her age are learning that we're not covering adequately.

* I'd like to be able to track my child's performance from year to year.

 

I was planning to give her the level 6 test in March, which is the first month when national norms would be available for her as a Kindergartner on that test level. I want the test to be on the easy side so she doesn't get frustrated, without being so easy that no possible useful information would come out of it. She's not the kind of child who would get bored with the test if it were too easy.

 

If anyone has advice on any of what I've just said, I'd be interested to hear it.

 

But that's not my real question. I have a friend who has a daughter the same age. He's interested in having our girls test together, since I'm authorized to give the test and I don't think he necessarily wants to go to the trouble to get authorized. I don't object to having them test together, but he wants his daughter to take a higher level of test, so he's trying to convince me to give my kid the level 7 test. He thinks of his child as a "first grader," while I think of mine as a "kindergartner." My general sense is that the two of them are on about the same level academically.

 

My friend's objectives in testing are a bit different than mine. He's really hung up on grade level equivalents and on wanting his kid to be as "advanced" as possible.

 

What do you think? Should I be giving my child the level 7 test, or should I stick with level 6?

[MissKNG]

nm

Edited November 29, 2010 by MissKNG

[ElizabethB]

I would go with the higher level. You get more information that way, since there will be more questions that are challenging, at the lower level you might not be able to find areas you need to work on.

 

I would go look at some practice books and see what you think.

[skueppers]

I would go with the higher level. You get more information that way, since there will be more questions that are challenging, at the lower level you might not be able to find areas you need to work on.

 

I would go look at some practice books and see what you think.

 

Is there a specific practice book you would suggest? I hadn't thought of practice books, as I don't want my KID to do practice work.

[Ellie]

Use the level for the grade she'd be in if she were in school. That's the purpose of the test: to compare children with others of similar age.

 

If your friend's child is truly ahead of her age level, then the test would show that. OTOH, if your friend is fuzzy on what the purpose of a standardized test is and wants to compare her with children who are quite a bit older, that's his problem. Y'all just have to be sure not to compare scores when they come back, lol.

[ElizabethB]

Is there a specific practice book you would suggest? I hadn't thought of practice books, as I don't want my KID to do practice work.

 

You should be able to find one to leaf through at a local bookstore or through your library. I think they are all about the same, I have not actually used one, but supposedly they are a good representation of the tests.

 

If you see what is on each of the tests yourself, you will have a much better idea which will meet your goals.