Standardized Testing Iowa vs. Stanford

[Guest vamary]

Testing to reassure myself mostly, and also to pick up any big holes. I am wavering between the Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED) and the Stanford. I will be testing a 11th grader and 9th grader. Is one of these better than the other? I know that I want an achievement test, not an aptitude test, but after that I am at sea. Can anyone offer their experiences with these two tests? Thanks in advance!

[Laura K (NC)]

The Stanford test is an achievement test in high school more so than in elementary school. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be any reason they measure the achievements they do. For example, there is a lot of statistics on the 9th grade math portion and virtually no algebra. So unless your child is brilliant, has remembered some of his Saxon 8/7, or has been doing math outside of his algebra/geometry, he won't do very well on the math portion.

 

I have not seen the Iowa since my oldest was in elementary school, but at that time the two tests were similar, but I was frustrated with the Iowa because of its random and outdated questions (one of which involved a card catalog. No card catalogues with drawers and alphabetized cards exist in our county that I know of (I checked later).

 

The ACT works in NC for our required standardized test. A friend of mine used the ACT for her 9th grade ds, and at first I was skeptical, but after seeing the subject matter on the 9th grade Stanford I don't think my son would be any less discouraged taking the ACT at 9th grade than he would with taking the Stanford. I'd use ACT to check for "holes" rather than the Stanford. Better yet, SAT subject tests would be a better measure of performance for both you and colleges. The Stanford is worthless as a measure, in my opinion. You know much better than any impersonal test whether your child has grasped the material you have taught him. If you are worried about gaps, you can always check yourself against the curricula of public and private schools or online homeschools... if you choose those as your standard.

[King's Kid]

With the IOWA test, you can test your own children, as long as you have a college degree. With the Stanford, I believe you have to test other children in addition to your own.

 

IOWA is available through Bob Jones University.

[Michelle in MO]

administering both. I've used the Iowa with my own kids a couple of times, but when I've taken them to another place to be tested, typically they've used the Stanford. I prefer not to test my own kids. I haven't used the Stanford with my own because Stanford requires there to be at least two other children at the same grade level taking the test as your own children. There were never enough people in our homeschool group who wanted to have their children tested, so I typically brought my kids somewhere else.

 

The tests are fairly similar, I think, except I do believe the Stanford has a listening comprehension portion on the test, whereas the Iowa does not. In Missouri, when we purchase the Iowa through the test provider I've used in the past (BJUP), we're limited to using the test which is geared towards 1995 norms. In other words, we have an old version of the test. But, that's just Missouri. Homeschoolers in other states probably have access to a more updated version of the test.

 

I think this is echoing what Laura said, but do you feel that the Stanford would be the best choice, given the grades/ages of your kids? For your 11th grader, you might look more towards the SAT or ACT. Last year my oldest was in 9th grade, and I did have her taken the Stanford with her two sisters. However, I told her I wasn't going to have her take the end-of-the-year achievement tests (either the Stanford or the Iowa) because at this point she'd be gearing up for the college entrance exams. But, that's just her. She really dislikes testing, even though she has good test-taking skills. She really took me to task when I signed her up for the ACT in June! She said, "You told me I wouldn't have to do these tests at the end of the year anymore!" I tried to explain the difference between the tests, and also tried to patiently explain that I missed the deadline for the April 12 ACT (which she would have hated taking on that date, anyway, because it was also the day of their annual piano/voice recital and she really would have been overwhelmed!). I guess I can't keep everyone happy. ;)

 

Nevertheless, with her the strategy from now on is going to be doing the ACT's and the PSAT again in the fall.

[ga girl]

The Iowa is also available through Piedmont Education Services - they act as the procter, so there's not so much paperwork as with BJU press.

[Gwen in VA]

You cannot give the Stanford to your own children. You can give the Iowa to your own children. If you expect to use the scores outside the family circle and the school authorities, the Standford has a bit more credibility because the parent cannot be the proctor.

 

However, if you are just giving the test scores to the school department to satisfy the legal requireent, I don't see that it would make any difference.

[Laura K (NC)]

(as Michelle said) if there are two other children to test at the same time. I've never noticed there to be any question of credibility among parents who administered the Stanford over those who administer the Iowa or the CAT. In my experience, if a parent plans to show the test to anyone it is a local public or private school. In that case, the best test to take is the one that that target school will use. I originally started with the Stanford because the local private school my son went to also used it, and I had heard some other local schools also used it, so it seemed the most "useful" in our area if we ever needed to put the kids in public/private school. Back in my day, schools used the CAT so that would have been a preferable test.

 

Like Michelle, I just prefer not to administer to my own kids one-on-one... it's too stressful for me. I do just fine administering to them as part of a larger group. I had a nice group of high schoolers in my home to test ( with Stanford) about a month ago. We turned it into a party and had pizza and played cards during one of the breaks. There were 7 of them including my son.

[Laura K (NC)]

is that you can test some of the ages at the same time. The past few years a group of women have coordinated testing in our area, and 4-6th graders can all test together, 7-8th graders can test together, and 9-12th graders test together. This way you can get the number of students you need to test a little more easily.

 

The problem then comes to the listening section, which is different for each grade. Then you need someone else's help to test your own child if she's the only one in her grade group. It's pretty easy to get certified as a Stanford tester. You watch a movie that they send you before the first year you test (if you order through BJU), but the other requirements are the same as Iowa. I've never had to get re-certified in all the years I've been testing.

 

The high schoolers don't have a listening portion on their test. That makes for a shorter testing day and it's easy to test them all at the same time. In our group setting we would test for three separate days, 9am-12noon, and the high schoolers would need only the first two days. The proctor for the high schoolers would take some of the younger grades on the 3rd day for the listening tests.

 

A heads-up for the Stanford... the 11th and 12th graders use the exact same test. I think the 12th grade test is a waste of time if a student has already used it in the 11th grade. This isn't a secret or anything... the test is marked for both grades, and both have the same order number.

[Gwen in VA]

Yes, Laura, you are totally correct -- a parent CAN administer the Stanford if there are two other kids present. I forgot that exception!

 

As a Stanford test coordinator, I never allow parents to proctor their kids' classes/grades, so I forgot that yes, under that circumstance it is legit.

 

Sorry for not being clear!

[Grace is Sufficient]

Five years ago we moved to a state that requires either testing or portfolios. I decided to go the testing route and for three years did the Iowa at home.

 

Last year, when my oldest was in 8th grade, I chose to join a large group of homeschoolers doing Stanford, and I did the same this year. My reason for doing so was that I wanted them to be familiar with a setting more similar to upcoming tests (PSAT, SAT, ACT, etc,. etc.) in highschool. Somehow, I wasn't sure sitting at home with me proctoring the Iowa was an ideal preparation!

 

However, I've been disappointed that the Stanford no longer have time limits. They have a suggested time, but the proctor doesn't stop the test until all the students have finished. So, I'm thinking that's not necessarily great preparation for the 'big' tests either.

 

Anyway, those are some of the factors we're thinking about.