Why test and which one?

[kwg]

I am starting to question if I should test my ds10. Could you please share some advantages you got from testing/disadvantages, which tests you did/how much, any other info?

 

Part of me can't see how it would change my instruction now anyway (I doubt we can afford much) but still I keep worrying that I am not doing enough. That I am holding him back-. At the same time, how would testing help that?

 

A few years ago we did an achievement test- Woodcock Johnson - and the tester said his reading skills would have "got him in the gifted class" . It kinda scared me a little and I remember reassuring myself that she didn't call him gifted- just that he could get in the gifted class (really, what is that anyway, lol)- and sort of ignored it all. Lately though things pop up and I wonder 'how does he even know that'? I am his mom though :p

[regentrude]

My kids were tested at age 8 when they were still in public school to determine eligibility for the gifted program. They took the WISC IV.

Having them tested did not tell me anything I did not already know anyway from observing them daily for many years. It has not changed the way I interact with them and does not affect the way I homeschool. Testing does not tell you whether the curriculum you are using is appropriate for your student's level and learning style; you still have to figure that out from careful observation.

 

I can see the benefits of testing for certain situations:

• if you need a test result to demonstrate eligibility for programs, talent search etc (Contrary to what I had believed, younger students can take the ACT/SAT without being part of a talent search program; you can simply sign them up yourself.)
  
• if there are behavioral issues that require diagnostics. Gifted student sometimes exhibit behaviors similar to ADHD because they are not challenged adequately; a diagnostic will usually include IQ testing.
  
• if the student is severely underperforming and you need to determine whether there is an underlying learning disability or simply an intellectual limitation.
  

For a well adjusted, normally functioning student with no difficulties in his academic work, I personally see no need for testing.

I know that other parents feel differently.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I found this recently thanks to one of the other threads. Scroll down a little and there are a lot of links for information under the subheading "Testing."

[SarahW]

Are you wondering about an achievement test or an intelligence test?

 

I had my kid tested by the school district with an intelligence test a few months ago. (I posted the results here). Basically, it was because he was having issues in class, and the test told his teacher and me that, yes, he was thinking, and no, he wasn't going to talk about it. It helped the teacher understand where his mind was going, so that smoothed things out - at the very end of the school year. But better late than never, yeah?

 

But now that I am teaching him myself, no, his scores don't really make much of a difference. I am expecting him to consider concepts, and then discuss them verbally with me, but I would probably do that anyways since I know that's how his mind works and that he needs language practice in a house of introverts. But the scores do give me peace of mind that I'm hopefully on the right track.

[kwg]

Testing does not tell you whether the curriculum you are using is appropriate for your student's level and learning style

 

 

I think that is where I feel stuck. He is so difficult! (for me- sometimes) and I worry that I am not doing enough for/with him. *sigh*

 

Thank you for your input/links everyone :coolgleamA: I am reading and thinking.

 

 

ETA-I just checked out John Hopkins and there is no way we can afford that. We would not qualify for free lunch either so. Cool classes though. I can see that he would enjoy some of them.

[kwg]

Adding--- another reason I am pondering, is my ds thinks he is, not smart. I try to pick curricula that will challenge him and he has no clue that other children his age might not be doing the same thing. I finally showed him some of his math scores b/c he was crying about how dumb he was :confused. That seemed to boost his confidence for a day or so anyway and he "liked math even if it did take a long time to solve the problems".

[kohlby]

Perhaps he's defining smart incorrectly. One thing I had to teach my oldest, and am still working hard to teach my middle child, is that being smart isn't about knowing all the answers all the time. My middle child is an anxiety-ridden perfectionist, so it's a struggle. My oldest, also 10 years old, zipped through math and then we found AoPS so he finally had to actually work at it, so he went through a transition. I taught him that a huge part of smart is being willing to not give up when things get tough. That sticking with it and working hard make you a lot smarter. I explain the brain like a muscle. If you exercise a lot, you may be sore and it may be ha rd, but then your muscles build stronger as a result. Just doing work that you know the answers to don't give you growth. With math, I explained to him that this curriculum was a lot different than the one we used before, that this one was a brain workout. I explained that he would get more wrong now - but that was okay since he was now moving forward and learning a lot more. I had to teach him that the struggle was part of the process and that the struggle was actually a good thing. The struggle didn't mean he wasn't smart - it meant that we had finally found a curriculum that would teach him more. (Having a proper amount of struggle was important too. He does breeze through most of his subjects. If I had put everything on the struggle level, it would have been too overwhelming for him).