truebluexf Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I'm looking to give my son the CAT soon, and I'm baffled at the way it works. If I give him the 4th grade test bc that is the grade he is going into, he's not going to know most of the the questions. I don't get it. The 4th grade math portion has things like fractions, decimals, etc that have not been touched on yet. He's going to panic looking at a test like that! It's the same with the 2nd grade test my 1st grader is supposed to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truebluexf Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 Wait...maybe this is the issue, maybe someone here can correct me if I'm wrong. I plan on using CLP's online version....which is apparently based on 1970's test, whereas the samples I'm looking at are from the 2000's. Are these ones leveled differently? Seton's site isn't working so I can't check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truebluexf Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 OK, nevermind, I feel really silly. I've had these practice tests bookmarked for once, and only now as I'm completely puzzled, do I see that these are California STANDARDS Tests, lol! No wonder I'm so baffled!!!! It's not even the same thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oleladyintheshoe Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I believe you test them on the grade they just completed. Therefore, evaluating what they learned that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spock Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I'm looking to give my son the CAT soon, and I'm baffled at the way it works. If I give him the 4th grade test bc that is the grade he is going into, he's not going to know most of the the questions. I don't get it. The 4th grade math portion has things like fractions, decimals, etc that have not been touched on yet. He's going to panic looking at a test like that! It's the same with the 2nd grade test my 1st grader is supposed to take. Unless you believe your child is ahead, he/she should take the test for the grade level he/she is in now, or has just completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truebluexf Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 Unless you believe your child is ahead, he/she should take the test for the grade level he/she is in now, or has just completed. Thanks, but that's not what they CLP site says. I think it has to do with which edition is being used. :) Either way, I wasn't even looking at the right test's samples, apparently, LOL!:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy P. Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 My children are in the middle of taking the CAT tests right now. They take the tests for the grade that they will be entering. My daughter who will be going into 7th grade is taking the test for students entering 7, 8 & 9 grades. My other daughter who will be entering 5th grade is taking the test for students entering 4, 5 or 6 grades. There should be things on the test they wouldn't know for this reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 (edited) At the end of a school year, you give him the grade level test for what he just finished. Yes, some things he won't know, but that's how it works. At the beginning of the school year, you give him the test for the grade he's going into (I believe you can specify that when you order: which time of the year it is), which becomes the benchmark for the year (some schools test at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. Seems like test overload to me, but there you have it.). A standardized test compares all children with the normed group. The results don't show how much children know; only how they compare with that group. Edited June 6, 2011 by Ellie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 If you're doing it for placement purposes, you'll need to test at whatever level your ISP tells you. If it's for your own reference, I would test at whatever grade was just completed unless the child has previously scored >95th percentile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 If you're doing it for placement purposes, you'll need to test at whatever level your ISP tells you. If it's for your own reference, I would test at whatever grade was just completed unless the child has previously scored >95th percentile. If she's not in California, she won't know what "ISP" means. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 If she's not in California, she won't know what "ISP" means. :-) Sorry- Independent Study Program. One of the posters I believe mentioned something about Christian Liberty's CLASS, so that's why I brought up the placement issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbeth Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 We test last month using CLP's online service as well. We were very pleased with the experience and will use them again. Like the OP I was baffled by them wanting us to test a grade level ahead. After a phone call they clarified that the norms used to compare are based on the 1st month of the school year of the grade indicated. IOW they compare your student to those at the beginning of the grade level they are entering. I remained skeptical but went ahead and got the 4th and 8th grade level tests for my 3rd and 7th graders. They ended up testing accurately as far as I was concerned. Both had a minor weakness (nothing that shocked me) but tested well above grade level in their stronger areas. All this to say that I do believe the CLP recommendations are accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Sorry- Independent Study Program. One of the posters I believe mentioned something about Christian Liberty's CLASS, so that's why I brought up the placement issue. No, only Christian Liberty Press, not CLASS.:-) Only California homeschoolers ever use the term ISP, and even that is passé. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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