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Question About Standardized Testing


Guest lahmeh
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This is our first year we are required to test my 3rd grader. I see there are tests that she can take at home. So my question is why do people send their kids to be tested from someone else and pay money? Is it because they are wanting a *specific* test? I know that some tests have to be administered by people that meet certain guidelines but what I'm asking is why not just go with the test that *can* be done at home? TIA :confused:

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And another is that my DD is very used to being able to stop and ask me questions. I'm guessing that it would be very, very hard for her to follow testing rules if mommy's giving the test. If someone else is, well, she's used to there being different rules at dance class or when she's visiting someone else's house, so I think it will be easier for her. I think it will also be more of an "Event" to get to go to somewhere else to take the test, and then get to go out to lunch or stop at the museum that's not far from the testing site vs having to do what, for DD, is likely to be a boring school day compared to what she does at home.

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There are various reasons to choose "at home" or "in a group" testing experiences. I've organized and administered the ITBS for families in our home school group for about 5 years now. It's all voluntary, just something families can choose to do, though it is one way of fulfilling the law (we're required to test using a "nationally standardized" test in 3rd grade and every three years after that). I've encouraged some people to test at home or with an individual rather than in our group. I don't have a stake in whether they test with us or not. :) I don't get paid -- we charge the price of the test plus about $15, and that goes toward the rental of the building for the 9 hours we're testing and toward extra pencils and kleenex, etc. ;)

 

Anyway, reasons I like group testing:

 

1) Fewer distractions. I know that seems counter-intuitive, when you've got a room full of kids, but actually, we're able to have a lot more control over distractions than I could have at my own home during that time. There are no younger siblings running around and needing care or attention, no UPS man coming to the door with exciting packages to open, no phone calls interrupting the quiet, no thinking about how the fridge is just a few steps away. ... Instead, the kids are all very focused on the task at hand, nobody can walk through the room where we're working, no phone calls, etc. And the different space makes it feel very serious and official. :)

 

2) The kids have *fun*. Really, the whole classroom thing and testing environment is so novel for so many of the kids, they often think of it like a game, like "playing school" for a few days. Their friends are there, we take breaks throughout the morning where we skip around the room or walk backwards (yes, the proctors do too, which generally gets even the most reluctant kids giggling and engaged) in an effort to keep their blood flowing to their brains... They like bringing packed snacks (and there's usually a raging snack trade), and there's always one longer break during the morning when they can all run around outside or in the gym...

 

3) It's easier for some parents. Dropping a child or two off for three mornings of work can be easier than trying to fit testing in.

 

4) Some parents aren't "qualified" to administer certain tests, and they'd like a more detailed test than the ones they can give at home.

 

5) Testing in a group when kids are younger and the stakes are low can help prevent testing when they're older from seeming overwhelming or intimidating. At least in our group, we try to be very encouraging and make it clear to kids that while they should make their best effort, this is just a measuring tool and there's no "pass" or "fail" they need to worry about.

 

For myself, my kids have a great time and really look forward to testing week all year. It's just so *different* than our usual daily schooling. :) I also think they work harder and focus better in group environment than they would at our kitchen table.

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We are not obliged by law to test but we do *almost* every year.

 

My reason is that later in her educational career, standardized testing will be very, very, important to her and us. A student's future can be partly determined or at least very heavily impacted by the results of a standardized test: think SAT or ACT. That's why she takes it. I don't want the first time she takes it to be the time it counts.

 

The reason she takes it in a group is b/c she's already good at taking a test in the quiet environment of the privacy of her home and the standardized tests that actually count are never in the quiet environment of the privacy of her home. So, I don't want the one that counts to be the first one that was a noisy, stressful, alien environment.

 

I want her used to it so that when it is the real McCoy, she's relaxed and ready for something she's accoustomed to.

 

She likes to go b/c it's a Par-Tay! She has friends that come over in the early morning and ride with us. They meet and visit with other friends AND with kids they only see at these annual tests but remember anyway b/f it starts, they visit and play afterward for a while, and above all ;), she gets to have a packed lunch and little thermos of water with a little napkin and a wee treat to share. She almost never gets to take a lunch anywhere and thinks this is probably one of the most exciting aspects of public education and one she feels is a cross to go without. The test is a small price to pay for such a treat.

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We have thought about doing it at home, but it seems to me the ITBS (which is the only one I knew about at the time that I could administer myself) was more expensive than the one given by our local homeschool group. And my daughter really doesn't do well with distractions, so we had her go do group testing. But I would really like to test my son this year at home. Does anyone know which tests you can administer yourself?

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Thought I'd just chip in that someone I know has started by testing her son at home to give him the experience but talked about having him do testing at the school later on for some of the reasons others mentioned. But for a first testing experience she thought home would be best. Just a thought.

 

We don't have to test for the "state" so I'm not even thinking about it for a few more years.

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