Help me interpret CAT scores

[Sharilynn29]

Here are the scores my son received on the 1970 CAT given by Christian Liberty Press. He's 13 and beginning 9th grade in the fall.

 

Reading. Grade Equivalent. Percentile

Vocabulary. 11.9. 83%

Comprehension. 11.7. 80%

 

Mathematics.

Computation. 9.1. 50%

Concepts & Problems. 11.3. 74%

 

Language

Mechanics. 9.8. 58%

Usage & Structure. 8.8. 47%

Spelling. 7.6. 33%

 

Okay, I thought that he did well, although he needs to work on some things. Hs has obvious strong points and weak points. My dh, on the other hand, thought that he did terribly. He said he'll never get into a good college and that I am accepting average because I'm not disappointed. He said it's like bringing home a report card with 3 A's, 3 C's and an F. He said that he should be above grade level and that I need to do a better job or he'll send him back to PS.

 

I'm really torn up over this. I know he wants our son to do well because he didn't care about school and has a bad job now. He wants good for our son, but it seems like he's not good enough and I'm not good enough. Help!

[sassenach]

Here are the scores my son received on the 1970 CAT given by Christian Liberty Press. He's 13 and beginning 9th grade in the fall.

 

Reading. Grade Equivalent. Percentile

Vocabulary. 11.9. 83%

Comprehension. 11.7. 80%

 

Mathematics.

Computation. 9.1. 50%

Concepts & Problems. 11.3. 74%

 

Language

Mechanics. 9.8. 58%

Usage & Structure. 8.8. 47%

Spelling. 7.6. 33%

 

Okay, I thought that he did well, although he needs to work on some things. Hs has obvious strong points and weak points. My dh, on the other hand, thought that he did terribly. He said he'll never get into a good college and that I am accepting average because I'm not disappointed. He said it's like bringing home a report card with 3 A's, 3 C's and an F. He said that he should be above grade level and that I need to do a better job or he'll send him back to PS.

 

I'm really torn up over this. I know he wants our son to do well because he didn't care about school and has a bad job now. He wants good for our son, but it seems like he's not good enough and I'm not good enough. Help!

 

Grade equivalent means that he scored what they would expect the average ___ grader to score on the same test. So basically, spelling is the only thing he scored below grade level. Usage and mechanics, he scored what an 8th grader in the 8th month of school would score. In my mind, that's close enough for a just finished 8th grader.

 

Percentile means out of a hundred kids taking the test, he would rank above __% of them. So, once again, usage and structure he's just slightly below average (remember 50% is average) and spelling he's in the bottom third.

 

Spelling is not something to freak out about. I'm sorry your husband is having such a fit about it. I would be pleased with those scores, and just use the lower portions to give you more focus next year. Or, send your son to public school and let your dh b*(# at the teachers instead.

[brownie]

Is your husband thinking a 50% is failing? Because that is dead on average/typical the way these tests are scored.

 

Spelling is not really an issue these days as long as he is diligent about spell check and aware of his own weakness when he has to handwrite something.

 

Get something like Editor in Chief and/or IEW fix-it to work on mechanics and usage, and see what computation is covered on the 9th grade test. He may just need some math facts speed work over the summer to improve the score. He clearly understands math. I bet he can bring his scores up in a matter of 2-3 months with some targeted effort.

 

The CAT is available online now...I don't know if you did it that way, but it could be a quick way to retest at the end of summer and get those scores up so your dh is happy.

[Sharilynn29]

Is your husband thinking a 50% is failing? Because that is dead on average/typical the way these tests are scored.

 

Spelling is not really an issue these days as long as he is diligent about spell check and aware of his own weakness when he has to handwrite something.

 

Get something like Editor in Chief and/or IEW fix-it to work on mechanics and usage, and see what computation is covered on the 9th grade test. He may just need some math facts speed work over the summer to improve the score. He clearly understands math. I bet he can bring his scores up in a matter of 2-3 months with some targeted effort.

 

The CAT is available online now...I don't know if you did it that way, but it could be a quick way to retest at the end of summer and get those scores up so your dh is happy.

 

It's not that he sees 50% as failing. He just doesn't think average is good enough. I don't know how two people could look at the same results and have such different responses. I'm thrilled with his strengths. I can see that we need to work on some things, but I definitely don't see my son as doomed. Ugh!

[PeterPan]

Well when I look at your scores, I see three that are all in ~top 25% (math concepts, reading comprehension, vocab). To *me* those are the things you can't push but the things that really just show how your student interacts when taught grade leveled material. So when you isolate just those scores, he's actually doing really, really well. Then you have spelling, mechanics, and computation as the outliers. Those are the things that can reflect either an inherent issue on his part (tendency, LD, adhd, whatever) or simply a hole in your curriculum and methodology or both. That's the part YOU can do something about.

 

I think it's totally fair game to say that your goal is to see how much of that you can budge on the computation, spelling, and mechanics. If it can't budge and you've worked hard on it, then you'll do some testing and find out why. (That would be a real common spread for a kid with an unrealized SN to have great scores and then these outliers 20% lower.)

 

However just to say he's going to pull them out of homeschooling if the scores don't go up is ridiculous. What were the scores BEFORE you started homeschooling?? Did you get a baseline?? How old is this child. He is above average except in his troubling areas. And those things that are troubling him are the ones most commonly NOT remediated well in school. But they're something you can do something about. Dictation, copywork, a good spelling program, math fact review and games every single day, a GOOD SPELLING PROGRAM, DICTATION. If those aren't budging it, get his eyes checked by a developmental optometrist. I always recommend that yes, but it's because it can be a problem and is so easy to catch. ;) COVD is where you find a developmental optometrist. They screen a few more things than a regular optometrist (convergence, focusing, tracking, etc.) that affect school work.

 

Did your dh have problems in school? Is that why he's sensitive to this? I just toss that out because sometimes my dh's reaction, bless his soul, is colored by his own experiences. He had bad experiences in school, and to him the issue was that he needed to be pushed harder, PUSHED HARDER. So everything he says to me is "push harder." I'm like honey dear, the dc has done 3 years worth of history this year, she's done all the writing for a high school comp course when she's in 7th, and she's doing math a grade level ahead. Isn't that good enough?? No, push harder-she doesn't work hard enough! But it's because he's colored by his experiences. I'm saying husbands have to be handled very carefully. ;)

 

Be calm, get outside interp and then spin it that way to him. In our state we do standardized testing or a portfolio review with a certified teacher. Several years I did both, taking our test scores to a teacher to give her additional information. That might be a really useful feedback process for you, since this is your first year. I HIGHLY recommend it. It can be very reassuring to have someone see things, tell you flaws, and then tell you the things you're doing right. This lady spent several hours with me, going over stuff, talking about my plans for the coming year, making suggestions. I think in general you need to see those test scores as showing a strong student with a few weaknesses that you need to work on. If he were a 50% student, it would show that across the board a bit more. Instead I see a 75-85% student who has some serious weaknesses in a few areas. You wanted to know that, which is why you did the testing, but that doesn't mean you have to get all in a muddle and assume the worst just because a couple scores are low. Those are the outliers, not the whole or showing where he is as a whole, and those are the MOST COMMON problem areas, totally normal pattern, nothing to freak about. Tell him I said so. You're going to work on it and it will be fine. :)

 

PS. I wouldn't expect those trouble spots to catch up all the way to his other scores in one year. Be realistic and hope for 20%. Don't tell him that, I'm just saying. Or split the difference (25%/2=12% improvement). If you see something like that, that will be astounding. And you can post in this thread or start a new one to ask for suggestions on what to use to work on those low scores. It's not always so much curriculum but using a different way what you already have or were planning on doing. Ok, sometimes it's a new curriculum, lol. If you do that, make sure you fill in your sig so people know what you're using already. :)

Edited June 10, 2012 by OhElizabeth