Placement tests

[mountains27]

Can anyone recommend a good way to give my kids placement tests? Do you get them online or go through the school district? This is my first year homeschooling and want to make sure we are on target. Well I know my daughter is, in fact I think she might have jumped up a grade and want to be sure we covered everything she needed for second grade before officially calling her a third grader. I am pretty sure my son is on point for grade 1 but he hates math and possibly has ADHD so I want to make sure!

[Dmmetler]

I like the DORA and ADAM tests from WeGoLearn. You can get them from the Homeschoolbuyers co-op pretty cheaply. They're done online and are adaptive tests, so they show where the child actually is. They're not 100% indicative (the reading comp is more a test of memory, and if a DC hits a section of multiple problems they don't know on math, it won't move them on even if that's the one topic your series hasn't covered yet and they'd be able to do the rest of the test), but it's a good tool for reassuring parents and planning at home.

 

 

[Ellie]

Can anyone recommend a good way to give my kids placement tests? Do you get them online or go through the school district? This is my first year homeschooling and want to make sure we are on target. Well I know my daughter is, in fact I think she might have jumped up a grade and want to be sure we covered everything she needed for second grade before officially calling her a third grader. I am pretty sure my son is on point for grade 1 but he hates math and possibly has ADHD so I want to make sure!

 

Are you thinking of a standardized test like the ones schools do at the end of the year? Generally, a "placement test" refers to placement in a specific subject, such as math, to determine where to start a child in that subject, and is usually written by the publisher of that specific text.  Alpha Omega, Christian Light, and ACE have placement tests; again, those only apply to their own materials.

 

A standardized test compares a child with the normed group for that grade level. Some of the standardized tests are the SAT (Stanford Achievement Test, not to be confused with the Scholastic Aptitude Test which is for college entrance), the CAT (California Achievement Test), and the CTBS (Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills). You buy those yourself; rarely, rarely should you contact the school district for anything. Really.

 

What your daughter "needs for second grade" is very subjective. If your dd would be in third grade if she were in school, then that's where she should be. If you think she has learned well the things you've taught so far, then she's a third-grader...which is really a label that's only mildly helpful. You would still want to teach her at her own level. :-)

[mountains27]

Are you thinking of a standardized test like the ones schools do at the end of the year? Generally, a "placement test" refers to placement in a specific subject, such as math, to determine where to start a child in that subject, and is usually written by the publisher of that specific text.  Alpha Omega, Christian Light, and ACE have placement tests; again, those only apply to their own materials.

 

A standardized test compares a child with the normed group for that grade level. Some of the standardized tests are the SAT (Stanford Achievement Test, not to be confused with the Scholastic Aptitude Test which is for college entrance), the CAT (California Achievement Test), and the CTBS (Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills). You buy those yourself; rarely, rarely should you contact the school district for anything. Really.

 

What your daughter "needs for second grade" is very subjective. If your dd would be in third grade if she were in school, then that's where she should be. If you think she has learned well the things you've taught so far, then she's a third-grader...which is really a label that's only mildly helpful. You would still want to teach her at her own level. :-)

 

I guess I don't mean a placement test as in the CAT. Just looking for a little something to test their level in math and reading so I can make sure I'm doing this right :)

My daughter would be in second grade in public school but would be bored (one reason I HS her) she is older for her "grade level" and is a great learner so was always a little ahead in PS. She loves HS because she can go at her own speed and so far that speed has been fast with all the second grade level work I give her. I'd just like to see where she tests at as it might help me feel more confident about skipping over some second grade things and moving forward more.

[Farrar]

Pick your curricula and then most programs, especially math programs, have free placement tests on their websites.

[FO4UR]

Pick your curricula and then most programs, especially math programs, have free placement tests on their websites.

 

:iagree:

 

 

Choose a curric that you think you will enjoy teaching, and then give those individual placement tests.  Some materials vary widely as to what is taught when.

[Ellie]

I guess I don't mean a placement test as in the CAT. Just looking for a little something to test their level in math and reading so I can make sure I'm doing this right :)

 

My daughter would be in second grade in public school but would be bored (one reason I HS her) she is older for her "grade level" and is a great learner so was always a little ahead in PS. She loves HS because she can go at her own speed and so far that speed has been fast with all the second grade level work I give her. I'd just like to see where she tests at as it might help me feel more confident about skipping over some second grade things and moving forward more.

 

Ok, I see by your siggy that your dd was 8 in October? And the cut-off date in your state is probably September 1 or so, yes? That would make her older than many children in her class.  :-)

 

Let me reassure you that it isn't important to be sure you covered everything for "second grade" before moving on. If you were to look through "second grade" materials from many different publishers, you would see that there isn't much that is standard among them. If your dd has completed the materials you have given her already, then by all means move her on to the next level.

 

I would encourage you, though, not to think you need to refer to her as a "third grader." She would stay in the same Sunday school class, or scout group, or whatever, because those children would be her age peers, yes? And they don't move from one group to the next in the middle of the year, right? As a homeschooler, "grade level" when it pertains to what our children are capable of learning is irrelevant. If you move her to third-grade-level materials now, I promise that there is nothing vital that she would miss.

[MotherOfBoys]

We did the doma (math) test mentioned above from homeschool coop. It was $15 I think and very informative. It gives you a great breakdown of skills and scores. It does have an order to it that might not match your curriculum exactly but it isn't too noticeable. We did it in October to get a base score and we will do it again in May to see improvement. It helped my confidence and hushed the grandparents. We will add the Dora (reading) this May also. I'm more confident in reading though because he either struggles in one grade or flies through the book in a lower grade. Thus I work in the both grades. One for confidence and the other for stretching.

[boscopup]

You can put her in whatever level materials she needs without changing her grade level on paper. If she finished 2nd grade math and is ready for 3rd grade math, move on ahead in that subject. Really not a big deal.

 

My oldest started Prealgebra in 4th grade. I didn't call him a 7th grader. I just gave him math materials that fit where he was in math. He works in various levels across subjects. He's in 5th grade now because he was 10 before September 1. His grade level has absolutely nothing to do with what level material I give him in each subject. We also tend to switch levels in different subjects throughout the year. There is no point where we switch from x grade work to y grade work. None of my kids fit in a particular grade box across all subjects. That's one of the biggest reasons I homeschool. Even my youngest, who is advanced in all subjects (as opposed to his brothers who each have a subject they're behind in), he's not equally ahead in each subject. In reading, he's several grade levels ahead, but in math he's only one grade level ahead. Choosing a grade level based on his abilities wouldn't work at all. Instead, I call him a Kindergartener, and I give him first grade math, have him read to me from a reader that is meant for mid-elementary students, and use a speller that's also meant for mid-elementary students.

 

I've never needed a test to determine if we covered grade level materials. I taught the material we just finished, so I know if they got it or not. I do give math tests as built in to the curriculum, but that's about it.