HomeschoolingMy4 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) My four kids have finished their CAT tests. My oldest two are really good test takers & I'm not concerned. This was the first year my youngest tested and she told me that it was "easy because the test is for babies". LOL I'm the most worried about my middle daughter, who just finished 3rd grade. She really did well this year with her schoolwork but is just NOT a great test-taker. She gets nervous just knowing that it's timed. It didn't help that we didn't expect to see division on the 3rd grade test! We live in Virginia, where we're required to turn in results by Aug 1 of at least the 4th statine (24th percent). I'm so worried, she tends to make kind of careless errors and since the results are based on how she did in comparison to other kids, I have no clue where she stands. She did the Iowa Basic Skills Test last year, which I'm told is a harder test, and did okay. Any encouragement would be SO appreciated! Edited July 10, 2011 by HomeschoolingMy4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I gave my boys the CAT this week as well -- 4th and 5th. I checked their work so I would at least have an idea how well they did. I am always stressed at test time. Ben missed 10 and Nathan missed 4. I'm glad it's over. The failing grade is very low. :) PS, I'm in VA too. Oh, and I gave our eldest the IOWA ever year as well; it's so nice to have such a short test! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingMy4 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 LOL I wondered if I was the only mom who went back over and "checked" the test. I didn't show them their mistakes or anything.. but I couldn't help but peek to see how they did!! Do you mean 10 TOTAL for all the sections? That's probably about what my girl missed, maybe 3 or 4 in English and 6 or 7 in the math.. maybe less. LOL You're sure that failing is super low? I guess the kids who are totally off are included in those numbers.. My friend said it was inclusive for special ed kids but it still scares me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingMy4 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Does anyone know if CAT is like the other tests that start below grade level and go above it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 My four kids have finished their CAT tests. My oldest two are really good test takers & I'm not concerned. This was the first year my youngest tested and she told me that it was "easy because the test is for babies". LOL I'm the most worried about my middle daughter, who just finished 3rd grade. She really did well this year with her schoolwork but is just NOT a great test-taker. She gets nervous just knowing that it's timed. It didn't help that we didn't expect to see division on the 3rd grade test! We live in Virginia, where we're required to turn in results by Aug 1 of at least the 4th statine (24th percent). I'm so worried, she tends to make kind of careless errors and since the results are based on how she did in comparison to other kids, I have no clue where she stands. She did the Iowa Basic Skills Test last year, which I'm told is a harder test, and did okay. Any encouragement would be SO appreciated! My kids have taken both tests. If memory serves, the ITBS is longer, and I have heard the same, that it's harder. My understanding of VA law is that her total composite score must be fourth stanine or above. Did you get your test from Seton here in VA? The turnaround time is amazing, if you mailed it in today, you'll have results before the end of this coming week. Worst case scenario: She does poorly on the test. Have her retake it (tell her it's an opportunity to improve her score, that you want her to practice being a better test-taker). You still have time for her to test again, be scored, and submit your results. It's not expected that they get every answer correct. I was dreading dd's math scores last year. The actual taking of that part of the test was awful. We had to laugh when the scores arrived--she ended up well above 60th%ile in math. Breathe deep. It's over and you just have a short time to wait to see how it turns out!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingMy4 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 My kids have taken both tests. If memory serves, the ITBS is longer, and I have heard the same, that it's harder. My understanding of VA law is that her total composite score must be fourth stanine or above. Did you get your test from Seton here in VA? The turnaround time is amazing, if you mailed it in today, you'll have results before the end of this coming week. Worst case scenario: She does poorly on the test. Have her retake it (tell her it's an opportunity to improve her score, that you want her to practice being a better test-taker). You still have time for her to test again, be scored, and submit your results. It's not expected that they get every answer correct. I was dreading dd's math scores last year. The actual taking of that part of the test was awful. We had to laugh when the scores arrived--she ended up well above 60th%ile in math. Breathe deep. It's over and you just have a short time to wait to see how it turns out!:grouphug: Yes, we ordered from Seton. I have to mail it on Monday because my youngest was very difficult about finishing hers & I wanted to mail them in together. I guess you're right if it's that bad we can always retest and will probably have time.. AHHHHH!!! I hate testing! I think since I have some awesome test takers, it makes it a bit tougher on a child who testing just doesn't come easily, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 My DD just finished third grade too, and she took the CAT this year as well. It said that the level she took was given to students finishing third, fourth, and fifth -- the younger students aren't expected to have seen some of the stuff, much less finish the test or get everything right. My DD was a little freaked out that there were things she had never seen, but she ended up doing very well. Also, if allowed in your state, you might try Christian Liberty Press -- they have the CAT available for taking online, and the results come to your email within minutes of finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingMy4 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Really? I wonder if we took a different level. We did Test 13. It was the last level that you take where you don't use a scantron outside of the book (as in she marked IN the book). I will DEFINITELY keept Christian Liberty Press's info on hand just in case. I think she got about 80% of the English stuff right at 75% of the math stuff right.. I hope that's enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I wouldn't stress. You still have lots of options. I have a friend who last year didn't tell her child it was timed. she did time her just didn't tell the child. the child did fine, finished on time and did much better. There are untimed options out there as well as doing something like the Woodcock=Johnson test by a testor. Next year though do the test a bit earlier so that you have more time to deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingMy4 Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 I REALLY wish I had done this sooner. We definitely learned our lesson!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 LOL I wondered if I was the only mom who went back over and "checked" the test. I didn't show them their mistakes or anything.. but I couldn't help but peek to see how they did!! Do you mean 10 TOTAL for all the sections? That's probably about what my girl missed, maybe 3 or 4 in English and 6 or 7 in the math.. maybe less. LOL You're sure that failing is super low? I guess the kids who are totally off are included in those numbers.. My friend said it was inclusive for special ed kids but it still scares me.. Yes, 10 total for Ben. He missed 5 in Lang arts and 5 in math. Nathan missed two in Lang. Arts and two in math. It's funny that Nathan missed his two LNG arts in reading comprehension -- his reading comprehension is actually quite amazing. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingMy4 Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Thank you to everyone who kept my mind occupied. We got the results from Seton SUPER fast- we sent them in on a Monday and received the results in the MAIL on Thurs. I don't know why I stressed myself out so much.. they all did fine, in fact a TON better than last year. Of course, we did IBST last year and this year was CAT but still.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 :party:Yay, thanks for the update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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