Do you show your dc their standardized test scores?

[JeanM]

I'm giving my two dss (ages 9 and 6) the ITBS this week. I'm sure they'll both get really high scores, except maybe older ds and spelling. My older ds took the ITBS in 1st grade, two years ago, and I think I told him afterwards that he did well, but didn't go into detail on the actual scores.

 

Do most people show their kids the score results? I'm a little worried that it might lead to laziness, because they are doing so well why should they work hard. I'm also worried that it could lead to bragging, especially if they look at how their scores compare to the national norms. OTOH, it is the truth and this is what they have achieved.

 

Jean

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

The way I see it is they're allowed to see their MEAP scores, ACT socres, SAT scores, etc. while in public school, so why shouldn't they be allowed to see them when they are home schooled?

 

I would show them, but maybe add in a little talk about bragging to other kids, and how rude it can sound. As far as the laziness thing, I would like to think that most children would like to score even better the next time around; like a competition against him/herself.

[Melinda]

FWIW, I was a gifted kid. My parents always let me know my test scores/percentiles, but refused to tell me my IQ until I was an adult.

[plansrme]

It's my defense against any claim (which she hasn't made yet) that I'm asking too much of her. :)

 

Terri

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Yes, I let dd see her scores from anything she takes. Funny memory- when she took her 1st IQ test at 4, we went to pick up the score report. In the car on the way home she asked how she did, so I just handed her the report, told her to read it, and let me know when we got home what she needed me to explain. At the time, it seemed like such a natural thing to do, but it was definitely one of those "you know your child is gifted if..." moments.

 

As far as telling scores to other kids, to us it's like medical information and nobody's business. We were in a class situation recently where kids were sharing EOG scores. Afterward, dd said she thought that was tacky.

[abbeyej]

Yes. Ds saw the envelope come in and new what it was and was naturally curious. I put him off at first, till I'd had some time to consider before I presented them to him. I tried to keep it very light and not allow him to analyze or dwell on the scores. I said, "You did very well. I can especially see where all your hard work in math has paid off. Unfortunately, see that number? It shows that because we didn't do your daily drill this year, you didn't do nearly as well in math computation as you did last year. I'm sorry I didn't make sure we worked on that this year, but it's a good reminder for us that that's still important. You did awesome in spelling -- you didn't miss a single word this year! But you had a little trouble in vocabulary, so I'm going to try to make sure we really talk about vocabulary a little more this year..."

 

I do not present the information about what percentiles mean at this point. It's all about where he did well (as well or better than I expected) and where there's room for improvement -- testing him against himself, essentially.

 

And then I put the papers away, with no chance for him to peruse them for hours on end. (That's for me to do. Late at night. While I'm agonizing about why on earth his vocabulary score has gone down for two years running when everything else has improved by leaps and bounds...?!? aaaaaah!) lol...

[KAR120C]

We did a quick unit on statistics, percentiles and normal distribution. Also we discussed exactly what was tested, and what he thought of it. So when we finally got around to the scores, he had a pretty good idea of what they meant (and more importantly, what they DIDN'T mean!) Basically the message I wanted to convey was that they represented his being able to do the work -- whether by native ability or by hard work was yet another issue.

 

We haven't shared his WISC scores yet -- actually we've managed to avoid mentioning that he's had it at all (and it happened to come in a series of research project participation, so at the time I think he assumed it was just another research project he was volunteering for...). I don't mind letting him know those eventually, but again I want him to have the background to interpret them first. More statistics, more about test design and the theories of "intelligence"... It's the same reason I don't share that particular number with people in general -- I'm just not really convinced of the general public's knowing what it does and doesn't mean, and I don't want it mis-interpreted.

 

So far we've not had any problems with laziness or bragging -- I think he knows that either one would go over like a lead balloon here, and we've had plenty of discussions about the need to work hard and grow, and the need to be modest and to sincerely appreciate the strengths of others.

[JeanM]

I think I'm convinced - I'll let them both see their scores. I do like the idea of putting it away fairly quickly so they don't dwell on them, thanks Abbey. And I really like the idea of doing a little study on statistics and percentiles first. We haven't even sent the tests in yet, so we have plenty of time for that.

 

Thanks everyone!

[Reya]

I'm giving my two dss (ages 9 and 6) the ITBS this week. I'm sure they'll both get really high scores, except maybe older ds and spelling. My older ds took the ITBS in 1st grade, two years ago, and I think I told him afterwards that he did well, but didn't go into detail on the actual scores.

 

Do most people show their kids the score results? I'm a little worried that it might lead to laziness, because they are doing so well why should they work hard. I'm also worried that it could lead to bragging, especially if they look at how their scores compare to the national norms. OTOH, it is the truth and this is what they have achieved.

 

Jean

 

I would. It energizes DS to see that he's ahead and to chart his progress.

 

He tried to talk me into doing 50 math lessons tonight. Yeah, right. We did do 8, though.

[TravelingChris]

I have no problems with my kids seeing their test scores but they never have thought that test scores means they don't have to do work or that they are special somehow. What did bring my two younger children's self-esteem up is being prepared for their homeschool co-op or academy classes. The fact that they prepare and some others don't totally impresses them. They can't believe that people wouldn't get their assignments done.

[LynnG in Arizona]

We usually share their scores if they ask. Something we've had to be careful about, however, is to do it privately. We have 2 teens, and through the years one of them typically does better (by 5-10 percentage points) than the other.

 

I have found it a tricky balance to be open and transparent with them about their scores, but without putting too much emphasis on them either.

[Laura Corin]

We share achievement scores but not IQ scores.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Firefly65]

The biggest problem that I have run into with showing my children their test scores is that my oldest is exceptionally bright and has consistently scored at the 99th percentile every year from first grade through tenth grade. I naturally didn't feel the need to hide her scores from her because she always wondered if she was as smart as her public-schooled peers. It was hard for her to see how her education compared to her friends'. So, I never thought twice about showing her scores.

 

The problem we ran into is that her sister, who is three years younger, scores closer to the 75th percentile. Even though that is above average, it looks bad when compared to our oldest's test scores. So, we discreetly decided to avoid showing test scores anymore. We always reassure our oldest (in private, of course) that she has scored the same as each and every year she has taken the test. But, when we are talking together about test scores, we usually try to bring to light areas we think each girl should work on in the future. Not the actual scores themselves.

 

Even if your children score mere percentile points apart, it might get to be competitive. I don't take too much stock in test scores, though. I just think that, if you have to test, it is best to talk to each child individually no matter whether you choose to show them their scores or not. It should be a private thing.

[Harriet Vane]

Dd was curious and wanted to know more specifics beyond, "You did very well." I didn't want to show her. I didn't want her to get a big head about the areas in which she excelled, and I didn't want her to be discouraged about the areas that were more difficult for her.

 

In the end, though, I recalled how angry I felt at my doctor's office not too long ago when they wouldn't let me look in my own file. I know there are laws about how that's done, but it upset me nonetheless. This is MY body, and the file is full of information that I HAVE TO LIVE WITH. I should be able to access that information at any time. I needed a copy of an x-ray report--I knew what it looked like and what it said, and the nurse kept insisting it was not in there. (It was--I made her get her supervisor.)

 

So I ended up deciding that this is my daughter's mind, HER education, HER life. She has a right to know. Also, there was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in her test scores. She did very well.

[summer]

No, I do not. If they asked, I would let them look, otherwise no. Last thing they need is to become obsessed over what their scores are each year. What if they drop a percentile the next year? Then how will they feel? Showing them the scores, instead of making them feel good, often just gives them a sense that they have to improve on it and so on. I am also working on my children having identities outside of their intelligence. It is fine for them to feel great about being so smart, but as a child who only ever had that, I was always so stressed out and trying to do better and in the end, only felt bad about myself. I read a story just today about a senior in high school who was possibly going to be valedictorian, who committed suicide, because despite all the A+ he made, he realized he had no place else to go but down. He fell to the pressure and killed himself. Up until the actual suicide, there were no signs at all of it coming...no signs of depression, drug use, etc. He left notes behind about it all though which is how it was figured out that those were his reasons.

[JWSJ]

We've told our son that he did well with testing. We did not give him any details.

 

My family was interested in his scores which I felt uncomfortable mentioning. I didn't want our son hearing his scores being discussed or bragged about by other family members.

[mysterious_jedi]

My parents always let me see mine...I think we still have them filed away somewhere. Did you have them practice filling in the bubbles? That was the hardest thing for me in elementary (poor fine motor skillls and OCD was a rather bad mix when it came to that; I don't think most kids have that much trouble.)

[sarah in tenn]

I wish my parents had not told me about my test scores until I took the PSAT in 7th grade. :chillpill:

sarah

[Nestof3]

I've always shown my children their scores. It has never led to any problems. I never place much emphasis on them, though.

[Testimony]

I explain and we talk about what we should do to improve.:001_smile:

 

Blessings in your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony