IOWA (ITBS) test question for 3rd grade

[newhsmommy]

I have decided to let my daughter take the ITBS test this spring. I am doing it has a guide for me to see how she is doing overall and areas we may need improvement on in our studies.

Is there a place I can find a study book or how do you prepare your kids on the areas tested?

 

Thanks for any insight!

[abbeyej]

I think the best things you can do are:

1) Consistently cover the basics (phonics, grammar, mechanic, mathematics)

2) Read widely (fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, history, science) and discuss it

3) Practice the format of the test

 

I'll assume you've been doing the first two all along. :) The ITBS is a basic skills test, not a "state standards" type test, so you really don't have to worry too much about specific content. The social studies and science questions are general knowledge type questions and a child does not have to get a terribly high percentage right in order to do well. It's good for kids to know this going in. Sometimes children do very, very well and are confident of their answers in the skill subjects, and then panic when they don't know all of the answers on the science and social studies. Make sure she understands going into the test that there will questions she doesn't know, and that's okay -- she's not expected to know all of the answers.

 

For preparing for the format of the test, I'd recommend Spectrum Test Practice. I like it best because it includes a "bubble" answer sheet in the back (which you can tear out or photo copy) and use to mark answers to the questions in the book. This will give her practice and confidence in handling a separate test booklet and answer sheet.

 

ETA: One more thing. If she doesn't have much experience with reference materials, you might spend a little time on that. Make sure she knows the difference between fiction and non-fiction, basic reference tools like an Atlas, a dictionary, an encyclopedia, how an old-fashioned card catalog works, reading a simple graph, and the basics of following a simple map (legend, etc). Those are things some home schoolers don't cover as much as the schools do, especially in the early years.

Edited January 24, 2011 by abbeyej

[AngelBee]

:lurk5:

[Marie in Oh]

Scoring High. They make them for ITBS and the Stanford. You can get them at Rainbow Resource. We have to test every year, and my kids do better when we got through the test prep. Even though we consistantly go cover the basics like crazy, the format can really throw them off, so it helps them get it before they are faced with it. For instance, the Mechanics and Usage section would throw some kids off if they had no experience with it, so I think a little familiarity is a good thing. It calms the test phobics down a bit. HTH>