Choosing the most appropriate test

[pgr]

DD just turned 8 this month, and is a rising third grader.

She took the IOWA for appropriate/actual grade level both this spring and last, and both times made only a few mistakes (around 5 total?). She's working we'll above grade level in LA, and about one level ahead in math.

I've been reading through all the talent search threads, and am thinking of testing this year- only now I'm still not sure which test to chose. :P

 

We're in PA - I believe CTY/Johns Hopkins is our home program. We are planning to move in the coming months - likely to either WI or ME.

 

My main goal is to try to figure out where she's truly at, especially with LA. It seems SCAT (through CTY) wouldn't really achieve that?

 

A secondary goal is being able to take advantage of local resources, though it is not certain how long "local" will = PA, nor what our new "local" will be.

 

She also is a very distractable child - even more so than DS who is 5 yrs old. She was able to think through all the EXPLORE sample questions, but needed help focusing - like me repeating the phrases "read the question" & "what are they asking?"...

 

I had planned to do SCAT this fall and wait until next year for EXOLORE.

 

Though now I'm wondering if there would be a better test than SCAT?

 

Finally, PA requires testing in 3rd. If we're still here, I had planned to continue with the IOWA at grade level- assuming that's what she would be given in PS?

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated...

[pgr]

Anyone?

[Dana]

For talent searches, you don't have to test only in ones in your area.

Duke is the one that's our area, but my son took the SCAT in 2nd to qualify for JHU-CTY courses (and took one of their Young Reader's Courses... good, but they were changing software at the time and he didn't get as much additional time online as I'd have liked with chat features). He's also qualified with Northwestern NUMATS although he hasn't taken courses from them.

 

Testing really depends on your purpose for testing.

If it's to qualify for a program, use the test they want (SCAT or Explore or SAT/ACT at higher levels).

If you're testing for your knowledge - test depending on what you're trying to find out (so possibly individual test or out of level test).

If it's to meet the needs of a state's requirements, you may want the minimum needed.

 

If you're trying to do multiple things at once (as it sounds like you may be), that's where it gets trickier.

 

I also found that when we were getting started homeschooling, I was struggling with figuring out WHY I was testing and what I was looking for.

 

I found SCAT results to be useless, other than knowing that my son could test in a setting outside the home.

Explore test results are more useful through NUMATS than through Duke. NUMATS gives in their toolbox a much more useful comparison of test scores for all test takers.

 

For individual tests, I liked the ITBS score reports better than CAT score reports. We did on level CAT one year, out of level CAT next year, on level ITBS, then just Explore and haven't looked back. The ITBS and CAT were useful for me to get confirmation that places I was seeing weaknesses were places that our son had weaknesses. It gave me more confidence to make changes.

 

Based on your first post, if I were making suggestions, I'd say, look at CTY courses and family programs (they have some cool family programs). If you think you'll use any of them, do the SCAT this fall or spring. You do NOT get anything useful - just qualification.

 

If you're not going to do CTY programs, take the Explore in Jan through NUMATS.

If you need a test for PA, try to give the ITBS and I'd go on level. That lets you see how she does with a standardized test (and if you can administer it, you can see any missed questions). Then with the results, you'll get a comparison with other similar age kids. Doing the Explore in addition lets you see how she does in a standardized setting which can also be useful.   (or... since she's rising 3rd... hold off on Explore until next year when she's in 4th).

 

To see where she's truly at, I think you'd need an individual achievement test - something like Woodcock Johnson. I haven't found any of the testing to tell me that for my son.

 

HTH some... good luck!

[pgr]

Dana, that is very helpful. Thank you!

[Dmmetler]

Since you're in PA, look at C-MITES at Carnegie Mellon. They might well have more local to you than CTY, and they start at 3rd grade. Once you have an EXPLORE score, it will let your DC access courses at TIPS or NUMATS, which have a lot of online stuff, too-you'll just need to send the score and pay the fees.

 

I will say the EXPLORE can be a tough row to hoe at 3rd grade-my DD took it last year just having turned 8 and did well, but was a little overwhelmed by the size of the high school the test was given in, the size of the desks, and the kids being bigger and older than she was (her room was all TIPS kids, but there were also middle schoolers doing EXPLORE for high school enrollment that day, and even the TIPS kids were mostly 10-12 and quite a bit bigger than she was). They ended up having her sit on a history book so she could comfortably reach the top of the desk to write, and her feet didn't reach the ground (which was the first comment she made coming out of the test). It was a big difference from taking the SAT-10 at the homeschool administration where the test was not only easier, but the kids were in a Sunday School classroom designed for their age group, got to go out on the playground and play between sections, and, generally, the whole feeling was more "primary school" than "high school". I don't know that I'd pick EXPLORE as the first group standardized test experience for that reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pgr]

Wow, that's something I wouldn't have thought of. Thank you!