Standardized Testing?

[Forgiven]

This is my second year homeschooling. Last year I didn't even think of doing standardized testing, but I've decided to do it this year. My problem is that I'm afraid of the results. It's not that I don't think my children are smart, but that I'm afraid this type of test will show how badly I'm failing them. ugh. I want them to test because they need exposure to taking tests like this, and I honestly would like to see how they do so that we can focus on areas they're weaker in. It's the small voice inside me that is afaid of the what-ifs. What if they fail horribly? What if my son isn't prepared to sit in a room all morning and afternoon to take a test. We don't school all day long. We're usually finished by lunch time, maybe a bit after lunch time, and he's offered a lot of play time between work. Will he be able to sit through a test? Ugh.

 

I'm not worried about my daughter. She went through 2nd grade in a private school. My DS only made it through K and he's been home ever since.

 

Anyone have exprience in sending their kids to do standardized testing? Anyone else doing it this year? I guess I should note that it's not mandatory in our state for homeschoolers to do standardized testing.

 

Help calm my nerves!

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Since testing isn't mandatory, I would consider doing the first standardized test at home or have someone you know administer it privately. I would also try to use one of the shorter tests. (Some states don't allow the parent to administer the test. That's not an issue in your situation.)

[freesia]

Your son is only 7, right? I wouldn't worry about standardized testing at this point. For a lot of children that age maturity does influence how they do and, therefore, the information gained from the test is not necessarily reflective of their knowledge. I test for the first time at third grade but, with my first, found that fifth grade is when he really showed "all" he could do. Debra Bell says the same thing in her book, The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling (or some such title).

 

I prep with The Scoring High. . . series. I would also recommend an untimed test (Stanford, PASS).

 

Some states: NY, TX and CA have released copies of old tests on line that you could print out and use to give yourself a "rough" idea of how they are doing.

 

But, really,I think testing in the primary grades isn't very productive. Think of the first 3 years of life and how kids talked, walked, etc. at different ages. In my experience as a primary teacher and homeschool mom, it is the same with the first 3 years of school.

[mschickie]

NYS does have sample state test online that you can do for practice. If you are just doing it at home for your own results I would suggest the PASS test by Hewitt. It starts in 3rd grade and is designed for the homeschooler to give at home. I usually break it up and do one section a day.

[journey00]

Your son is only 7, right? I wouldn't worry about standardized testing at this point. For a lot of children that age maturity does influence how they do and, therefore, the information gained from the test is not necessarily reflective of their knowledge. I test for the first time at third grade but, with my first, found that fifth grade is when he really showed "all" he could do. Debra Bell says the same thing in her book, The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling (or some such title).

 

I prep with The Scoring High. . . series. I would also recommend an untimed test (Stanford, PASS).

 

Some states: NY, TX and CA have released copies of old tests on line that you could print out and use to give yourself a "rough" idea of how they are doing.

 

But, really,I think testing in the primary grades isn't very productive. Think of the first 3 years of life and how kids talked, walked, etc. at different ages. In my experience as a primary teacher and homeschool mom, it is the same with the first 3 years of school.

 

Old thread, I know but I tried to find the TX test online, no luck.  Do you happen to know the website or do you have a link? :)

 

[freesia]

Old thread, I know but I tried to find the TX test online, no luck.  Do you happen to know the website or do you have a link? :)

I think this will have what you want: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/testquestions/

[Ellie]

1. It's not required in your state. I don't see a point in doing it with children so young.

 

2. So what if they don't do as well as you think they "should"? You're already convinced you're doing a bad job; things can only look up, right? :-)

 

3. So if they don't do as well as they "should," you'll know what to work on next. Easy peasy. :-)

[journey00]

1. It's not required in your state. I don't see a point in doing it with children so young.

 

2. So what if they don't do as well as you think they "should"? You're already convinced you're doing a bad job; things can only look up, right? :-)

 

3. So if they don't do as well as they "should," you'll know what to work on next. Easy peasy. :-)

 

Ellie: Your #3 is the reason I thought about giving my kids a standardized test.  lol

[journey00]

1. It's not required in your state. I don't see a point in doing it with children so young.

 

2. So what if they don't do as well as you think they "should"? You're already convinced you're doing a bad job; things can only look up, right? :-)

 

3. So if they don't do as well as they "should," you'll know what to work on next. Easy peasy. :-)

 

Ellie: Your #3 is the reason I thought about giving my kids a standardized test.  lol

[Santi]

What if my son isn't prepared to sit in a room all morning and afternoon to take a test. We don't school all day long. We're usually finished by lunch time, maybe a bit after lunch time, and he's offered a lot of play time between work. Will he be able to sit through a test? Ugh.

 

If you do decide to take one but you're still worried about this, I'd take a test you can divide up easily. We did the cat5 which has different sections so you can split it up.

[Ellie]

Ellie: Your #3 is the reason I thought about giving my kids a standardized test.  lol

 

Ah, but notice I put "should" in quotation marks. :-)

 

I'm not sure that anything would need to be changed after one standardized test, especially not for young children. You have to read the results carefully to see which things your dc didn't answer correctly. If your dc missed things because you did not actually teach those things, you have to decided whether you care; I mean, supposed you're doing a four-year history rotation, and there were questions on the test pertaining to American history, but you taught Ancients. Of course your dc didn't know that stuff. Does it matter? No.

 

And so many people who test say that they didn't learn anything from the test results, although the test itself was interesting, lol.