Chris in PA Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I really want to enjoy this curriculum but why is it nothing more than a fact cram????:mad: My 8th grade ds does fine with the reading, questions and activities. He studies with my dh for the tests and then takes them and does poorly. I hate their tests! There are so many questions that are unimportant in the grand scheme of things..... why????? He is enjoying everything about the curriculum except the tests. Sorry but just my frustration of the day! Why am I even considering more of their curriculum for next year????? Thanks for allowing me to vent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I really want to enjoy this curriculum but why is it nothing more than a fact cram????:mad: My 8th grade ds does fine with the reading, questions and activities. He studies with my dh for the tests and then takes them and does poorly. I hate their tests! There are so many questions that are unimportant in the grand scheme of things..... why????? He is enjoying everything about the curriculum except the tests. Sorry but just my frustration of the day! Why am I even considering more of their curriculum for next year????? Thanks for allowing me to vent! :grouphug: Have you considered open book tests? That would help to retain the information because when looking information up for tests the information is more likely to stick with less frustration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Is there a reason he has to use their tests? You could write your own tests, if you were willing to put in the time to type them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Is there a reason he has to use their tests? You could write your own tests, if you were willing to put in the time to type them. :iagree: with this. We are using BJU Space and Earth science and my daughter does not use the tests. When we get to the end of the chapter we do the chapter review together. She reviews the vocabulary she can't tell me the definition for (dictionary definition and in her own words to check for full understanding) then I have her read the chapter summary. Later in the day (or the next day) we use the questions as a time for discussion. That's it. Works very well. That way I can tell if she learned the material. Some kids are just not good test takers. We will be changing this in high school because she will need to take tests and all that in college but for elementary/middle school that is how we do it. In 9th grade I am planning on having her study for the tests but be able to use the book if she gets stuck on something so that she will learn better study skills. Then probably 10th-12th grades she will take tests as they are intended :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Don't use the tests. Or, as someone else suggested, give them open book. I have a secret. I've used the dvd's with the high school level sciences. The teachers don't cover everything in the book... And, they really emphasize what things are covered on the tests. I even wonder if their tests are the same as the ones that come with the regular book package (non-dvd). I have not used the Space and EArth dvd's. I have used the packaged books. Oh, one more secret...I don't count religious questions as wrong when grading my children's tests. They are freebies...:lol: I don't know if it is because I used the dvd option for the other sciences, but I have found the Space and Earth to be the most difficult class so far! Or, perhaps it is because it is the science I am least familiar with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 We are also not using the tests for Earth and Space. And I agree with the other posters about the information covered on the tests. We have had a similar problem with chemistry. Dd does amazingly well on the chapter review, often 100%. Then takes the test and does not perform nearly as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Don't use the tests. Or, as someone else suggested, give them open book. I have a secret. I've used the dvd's with the high school level sciences. The teachers don't cover everything in the book... And, they really emphasize what things are covered on the tests. I even wonder if their tests are the same as the ones that come with the regular book package (non-dvd). I have not used the Space and EArth dvd's. I have used the packaged books. Oh, one more secret...I don't count religious questions as wrong when grading my children's tests. They are freebies...:lol: I don't know if it is because I used the dvd option for the other sciences, but I have found the Space and Earth to be the most difficult class so far! Or, perhaps it is because it is the science I am least familiar with? I totally agree with the bolded part. We have done BJU science for the last several years and this is by far the most difficult one yet. The tests are a huge jump in difficulty from the life science we did in 7th grade. I think I am going to break the material down into chunks and write quizzes to give him after every couple of sections in a chapter. Maybe that will help with retention for the tests. If that doesn't work then we will do the tests open book and see how he does. I know he doesn't have issues with taking tests. He has done fine up until this point and this is the only subject where he is doing poorly on the exams. Thanks for the great advice everyone! I am feeling a little better about things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 For BJU 6th, I give the test orally to my DD to see if there are any gaps. Then the next day she takes the test by herself. This has worked beautifully for her and removed any test anxiety. My older DD did fine on her own with the BJU Life Science tests, but she's a good test taker (she loves "test" days for math and science). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 We do the tests as open book. Even still, they are very difficult. It would be an incredible undertaking to write your own tests. It would require a complete knowledge of the material yourself to ensure that you are asking relevant and valid questions. Frankly, I'm glad to read this thread. Glad it's not just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Dd used Life science last year, but we never used E&S. I met Mrs. Vick at the Greenville convention last spring. I was talking to her about our state's 4 science credit requirement and not being sure which 4th science for dd to do because she's just not my math/science lover. She suggested E&S. She told me that it is a high school level course, and even the author says it is. Would you agree? As far as the tests go, I think you've been given good advice. If the tests are a big step up, I would use them but do open book. Really digging to find information is a good skill in itself, so I don't think open books tests are evil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I met Mrs. Vick at the Greenville convention last spring. I was talking to her about our state's 4 science credit requirement and not being sure which 4th science for dd to do because she's just not my math/science lover. She suggested E&S. She told me that it is a high school level course, and even the author says it is. Would you agree? This is what I was told as well when I called and talked to them. My DD will be using this for high school. Having looked at some of the PS high school texts used here, it looks like it will be plenty, especially if you do all of the Application and Investigation pages. I got an amazing deal on the teacher's guides and student books, but they didn't come with the tests. We are just going to use the Chapter Reviews as tests and some of the Application pages in the back as quizzes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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