Jenny in GA Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm planning to give the ITBS in May, and I'm trying to decide if I should give my eight year old (third grade) a fourth grade test instead. Does anyone ever do this, and is there an advantage either way? The testing is for our family's own personal usage only. The reason I am considering it is because I'm wondering if a third grade test wouldn't demonstrate her strengths fully, and might not even cover some of things she is doing. She is in MUS, eight lessons into Delta already, and we have twelve weeks of school left for this school year. At the rate we're going, she will have almost finished Delta by test time. In about 2 weeks she will be completely finished with the entire MCT Island series and is eager to begin doing Town right away. She gets it very easily and always want to do extra sentences in Practice Island. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't imagine that Direct and Indirect Objects, etc, would be on a third grade standardized test. Not sure what her reading level is. She is doing WWE 3 and recently has been reading Encyclopedia Brown books on her own. Last spring she scored 93 percentile on the ITBS for second grade. She would have scored higher except she made about 3 careless errors on math problems -- things like adding when the problem said to subtract. Any thoughts? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We are going to do the opposite. Dh wants to test the kids sometime soon. We don't have to test, but Dh would like to be able to tell his siblings that the kids are doing well. He wants to give Dd8 a third grade test even though we consider her to be a fourth grader. I think that makes the test worthless as a diagnostic tool, but Dh wants her to take the test she would be given in PS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Do you have to report the scores to anyone? Or are the scores something that only you see? If you don't have to report the scores, I would absolutely go up a grade for a student who previously scored in the >90th percentile. You'll get a lot more useful information for planning purposes if you don't have to worry about "ceiling" effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My DS 12 has always scored in the high 90 percentiles on his tests. We test him at his grade level anyway. IMO, the tests are not given to challenge the student, but rather to assess where they are comparative to other kids their age. However, we have to provide test scores to the district. What is your reasoning for giving the test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&M Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I knew a woman who tested her children according to the grade that they had completed not their current grade. So a child tested in the spring of 4th grade would be tested with the 3rd grade test. I have no opinion on which is better, we haven't tested our children in years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in GA Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Do you have to report the scores to anyone? Or are the scores something that only you see? If you don't have to report the scores, I would absolutely go up a grade for a student who previously scored in the >90th percentile. You'll get a lot more useful information for planning purposes if you don't have to worry about "ceiling" effects. The scores would be just for us; we do not have to show or report them to anybody at any time. Could you explain to me about bit more what you mean about getting more useful information that way? How so? That is why I'm wondering about doing it a grade higher? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Yes, I did this several times. My kids typically scored 99 percentile on the math and in the 90s for the English sections. Since those were the 2 I was most concerned with, I tested at a higher level in order to see where they were finally challenged. I also got a better breakdown in the subsections so that I could see the areas in which they were lacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 For me, the value in standardized testing is to see comparisons to age/grade peers. The only reason I might consider going up a grade is if the child in question were scoring 98-99% in pretty much all specific testing areas, but as long as there is some variation in the scores, I think it would give the information I needed. An overall score in the mid-lower 90's is still useful information IMHO and I probably would not test up (based on my own reasons for testing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I have done this more often than not. My then-13 year old took the 10th grade ITBS last year, and she took the 9th grade test at 12 (that took a couple of calls to BJU to explain that I wanted her scored as a 9th grader, not as a 6th grader taking the 9th grade test). I also test my youngest a year ahead. It does me no good to see them in the 99th percentile of their age-mates every year, as that is not where they are working. Just a quick note for when you order your test: list the child as being in the grade in which she is being tested, not her age grade, if you want her scored against others in the grade in which he is being tested. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghanL Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 You might want to consider a test like the Woodcock-Johnson Normative tests. These tests allow you to test by age and then tell you what grade equivalency the child is working in on all the different subjects. That would more fully show the strengths and allow you to gauge more accurately the strengths & weaknesses of a particular child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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