momto2blessings Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Today I received the opportunity to have my 5th grader tested for free with ITBS. It's in 2 days. We use Math-U-See and I'm wondering if there's any type of problems I should give her for a little extra practice. She just completed Epsilon (fractions) this year. The last lesson or two did VERY LITTLE on decimals and percents (.25, .50, .75). Any ideas/websites of problems I could give her just so it's not totally unfamilar? Thanks so much!!!! Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Here are some math and reading online practice tests. Here are sample test books in Illinois. Here are some released items from Colorado. Here are several years' worth of released testing material from Massachusetts. Just click on the individual years to find the grade levels available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Well, take this for what it's worth... Because MUS is so different in it's scope and sequence, my advice would be to just have her take the test and not worry. For one thing, you are not going to be able to teach to understanding the things she hasn't learned yet in 2 days. For another thing, you may just start freaking her out about what she doesn't know and that may produce anxiety for her. We just took the Iowas here. My oldest is 4th grade. We don't use MUS anymore, but I knew there might be things on the test that we haven't studied. What I tell my kids is this.... Unfortunately, you are not going to be able to show all you've learned this year on this test. That is because we homeschool and we do things differently/at different times than kids in public school. That's okay. All I want you to do is try your best. If you don't know an answer give it your best guess. Try to use the skills you do know to figure out things you might not know. The nice thing about the Iowa is it breaks down how they did on each individual thing. When you get the results back, just take into consideration that your daughter hasn't studied decimals (or whatever the topic) and disregard that portion of the score. Really, it's not for anyone but yourself to see and use to evaluate how she's doing. And, you might be surprised at what she can figure out, even if you haven't studied it! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 My son just took the 5th grade IOWA and he said there wasn't anything in the math section that he wasn't familiar with. He has not covered percents at all, but has covered with decimals. Will you be able to see the actual test and what your child had trouble with if there are areas of weakness? That is the one drawback I find with having someone else do the testing. If my kids do great in everything, then no problem, but if there is an area of weakness, I have no way of knowing if they made a glitchy error, ran out of time for the problem, if it was an area we just hadn't covered yet, etc. I find that frustrating. For us, I still prefer having someone else administer the test (and it is free), but there are drawbacks. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Don't worry about what you haven't covered. The math score might reflect that but you know what you haven't done and that is ok. I've tried to "hurry up and cover it" and the kids just pick up on my stress. This year, I did go over a few things. "You'll see this on the test. We have not done it yet. Watch me work this problem. You might not remember and that is ok. But you'll know what it looks like anyway." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 My son just took the 5th grade IOWA and he said there wasn't anything in the math section that he wasn't familiar with. He has not covered percents at all, but has covered with decimals. Will you be able to see the actual test and what your child had trouble with if there are areas of weakness? That is the one drawback I find with having someone else do the testing. If my kids do great in everything, then no problem, but if there is an area of weakness, I have no way of knowing if they made a glitchy error, ran out of time for the problem, if it was an area we just hadn't covered yet, etc. I find that frustrating. For us, I still prefer having someone else administer the test (and it is free), but there are drawbacks. Lisa Testers are not supposed to let others see the tests. When you get the actual results, there will be columns showing detailed subsections with number of problems, number of problems attempted, the percent the student had correct, and the national average. By subsections I mean categories. Here are some examples from my dd's test last year (7th). CONCEPTS & ESTIMATION Number Properties & Operations Algebra Geometry Measurement Probability and Statistics Estimation Here are some of her actual results. My dd had under Algebra 8 items, 8 attempted, 100% Correct for her, 64% correct was national average. My dd had under Estimation 11 items, 11 attempted, 82% Correct for her, 57% correct was national average. Some other subcategories: MATH COMPUTATION Add/Subtract Whole Numbers Multiply/Divide Whole Numbers Add or Subtract with Fractions Multiply/Divide with Fractions Add or Subtract with Decimals Multiply with Decimals Divide with Decimals READING COMPREHENSION Factual Understanding Inference and Interpretation Analysis and Generalization SOCIAL STUDIES History Geography Economics Government and Society Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I think one of the biggest things you can do to help a child take a standardized test is helping them learn to fill in the bubble sheets, completely filling in the bubbles. Also, talk to them about not skipping problems and coming back to them. You'd be better off to guess and move on than chance getting off on which answer goes on which line. There is some help in that answers usually rotate, such as one problem will have choices ABCD and the next will have EFGH. I like the standardized test practice books from school supply stores for this reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Thanks to you all for the very helpful links and responses. If I understand correctly, I don't get to see detailed test results of qu. missed, but composites of different areas. Not sure how detailed that is! I'm glad it's on short notice. Part of why I didn't plan it was I didn't want to waste a bunch of profitable school time to teach to a test. But will go over some bubble filling in and do some review (presented in a relaxed manner, of course:) Is it better to guess at answers than miss? The lady who organizes this for our homeschool group said that she instructs kids not to guess. Which is better? Thanks again for the quick, helpful responses!!!! Blessings, Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Thanks to you all for the very helpful links and responses. If I understand correctly, I don't get to see detailed test results of qu. missed, but composites of different areas. Not sure how detailed that is! I'm glad it's on short notice. Part of why I didn't plan it was I didn't want to waste a bunch of profitable school time to teach to a test. But will go over some bubble filling in and do some review (presented in a relaxed manner, of course:) Is it better to guess at answers than miss? The lady who organizes this for our homeschool group said that she instructs kids not to guess. Which is better? Thanks again for the quick, helpful responses!!!! Blessings, Gina It is my understanding that it is better to guess on the ITBS than to leave an answer blank. That is what I instructed my kids to do. Make sure she understands that she'll have to work quickly on the math computation portion. That one is the most difficult to manage time effectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 so does anyone know how guessing affects overall composite? If it's left blank, is it totally counted against your score? Trying to figure out why the organizer said not to guess. And do you let your kids use calculators? My daughter has never used one, but it would be simple to show her if it's advantageous time-wise. I shouldn't fret this (I'm not too much). But dh commented tonight that he thinks tests are good....I do want her to do well (but I don't think she's feeling any pressure). Thanks for all the help! Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Focus on test taking skills. The directions do cover them and the less stressed your student is the better. Reassure them that they may not be able to complete every section and that is okay. It's just a test; make sure they understand it's really a bunch of little timed tests;). You can see a sample report on the BJU website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 that's helpful! You guys are great, this is such a wonderful site---esp. when you need good answers QUICKLY:) Anybody have a comment on whether or not it's better to guess on the ITBS or leave it blank? I don't know if I like the organizer telling them not to guess. I gave my daughter a practice test yesterday and she totally skipped easy problems because they looked unfamilar, but she could have figured them out. For ex., a really easy problem figuring the area of a rectangle---she skipped it because it was in kilometers and she hasn't learned kilometers! Just seeing the word made her think she didn't know it. But now that we've practiced, hopefully she won't do that:) I just don't know how it's scored---doesn't make sense not to guess, unless it can hurt in some way. Thanks:) Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 The reason not to guess would be so that you get a more accurate picture of what they know. The report indicates items attempted out of how many total. Guessing correctly will improve your score, of course, and I don't think it's bad to guess if you read the question and can't decide between two answers. But, it wouldn't be so helpful to just bubble in random answers to the last 5 questions as you ran out of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Thanks, Penelope!!!! I think we're relaxed about it:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 The reason not to guess would be so that you get a more accurate picture of what they know. The report indicates items attempted out of how many total. Guessing correctly will improve your score, of course, and I don't think it's bad to guess if you read the question and can't decide between two answers. But, it wouldn't be so helpful to just bubble in random answers to the last 5 questions as you ran out of time. :iagree: Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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