CAT test anyone?

[Catalytic]

Has anyone used the online CAT from Christian Liberty before?  (I believe it is the 1970 version?)

 

Have any thoughts regarding the grading?  Is the grade equivalent accurate?

 

Ugh, I'm so confused.  Gave my public-school K (just turned 6) the 1st grade placement test from Christian Liberty, he got 35 out of 35 on all three sections, it seems to cap out at grade 1.5 on the recommendation.  So I started the 2nd grade online CAT, he's taken 6 of the 10 tests, and he's showing grade equivalents from 3 to 5.9.  Does that really mean he's on 3rd to 5th grade levels??  I'm trying to get a baseline, because I tend to be a lackadaisical homeschooler, and hubby and I want a good baseline to make sure we're keeping on track.  We intend to test him annually, and also intend to put him back in public school for (possibly) 4th grade.  (We are moving to a really bad school district for the next 2-3 years, but eventually we intend to put him back in public school, and they do require testing before he can be placed in a grade)

 

If he's really on those grade levels, I may need to reevaluate our curriculum plans?  (He did pass the end of year Kindergarten tests at both schools he's attended at the beginning of the school year in each school.  And yes he did manage to catch the beginning of the year in 2 schools, his first school started in early August, and then we moved in early September, and he started at the 2nd school a week after the school year started for them.)  I've worked with him some during the school year, but not as much as I would have if he wasn't spending 8 hours a day in the classroom already.

 

Is there a better or more comprehensive test I should give him?  I really would like a good baseline, and I wouldn't mind if it had more than just LA and math on it.

 

This is what we did today:

 

Placement test:  http://i.imgur.com/rYH20LD.jpg

 

CAT results so far:  http://i.imgur.com/uyheJoJ.jpg

 

(He hasn't taken the red sections yet)

 

Section 1: Reading Vocabulary - 33 minutes

Section 2: Reading Comprehension - 18 minutes

Section 3: Math Concepts - 8 minutes - no score yet, but I'm sure he got all these right (32 problems)

Section 4: Math Computation - 16 minutes

Section 5: Math Problems - 11 minutes

Section 6: Language Auding - 7 minutes - 15/15 correct 

Section 7: Language Capitalization - 6 minutes -I think capitalization and punctuation were combined to get Language Mechanics, if so he got 29/38, it was obvious he didn't understand commas, nor periods inside of a sentence (such as the period in Mr.)

Section 8: Language Punctuation - 6 minutes

Section 9: Language Usage & Structure - 12 minutes - 16/20

Section 10: Language Spelling - 11 minutes - 20/20 (He cannot spell all of these words when I ask him to spell them, but he was able to determine they were misspelled on the test, for example, friend was spelled frend on the test, he knew that was wrong, and told me that friend has 6 letters, but he could not spell it when I asked him to spell the word.  When he writes the word at school (where they are told to sound it out to spell it), he writes 'fren')

[JennSnow]

The CAT test is notoriously simple..which is why most homeschoolers in my area use it..it's quick and easy.  I have no idea how it stacks up with regards to grade level in other states but in NY there isn't even a comparison to the yearly NYS standardized tests that the school kids take...those are much more difficult.  I'm not saying your son isn't ahead in grade level..I just don't think I'd use the CAT test to evaluate grade level. I wish I knew of a good tool to help you get an accurate baseline so that you can effectively plan your curriculum, but unfortunately I don't.  Hopefully someone else will be able to point you in the right direction! :)

[Catalytic]

The CAT test is notoriously simple..which is why most homeschoolers in my area use it..it's quick and easy.  I have no idea how it stacks up with regards to grade level in other states but in NY there isn't even a comparison to the yearly NYS standardized tests that the school kids take...those are much more difficult.  I'm not saying your son isn't ahead in grade level..I just don't think I'd use the CAT test to evaluate grade level. I wish I knew of a good tool to help you get an accurate baseline so that you can effectively plan your curriculum, but unfortunately I don't.  Hopefully someone else will be able to point you in the right direction! :)

 

NY is actually where we are headed, ugh.  So (it's late, I apologize for being dumb here) there is nothing available to HS'ers that is equivalent to the tests that NY gives?  I know my kiddo is ahead of his K peers, but I don't think he's 2-3 grade levels ahead of them.

 

(NY is NOT where he will end up back in PS, though.  He'll be HS in NY, I'm completely unimpressed with the district he is zoned for there.)

[Carrie12345]

 So I started the 2nd grade online CAT, he's taken 6 of the 10 tests, and he's showing grade equivalents from 3 to 5.9.  Does that really mean he's on 3rd to 5th grade levels?? 

 

Not exactly.

 

"Grade equivalent scores represent the grade level (year and month separated by a decimal point) of a student's ability compared to the median score of students at the same academic level.

Scores that are above a student's grade level do not by themselves indicate proficiency to skip to the next grade level in the particular academic areas. These scores more likely show an understanding of only some of the concepts of that higher grade. Conversely, scores below a student's grade level may indicate a gap of understanding in those academic areas. Scores equal to a student's grade level are considered the minimum for grade level ability."

 

I find the CAT to be "okay".  I've had 4 kids work on testing over the years with various results, my most academically inclined kids getting the higher scores and my less academically inclined kids getting the lower scores.  I do think they're a little extreme, though.  And they DON'T necessarily reflect actual work.

 

For example, my rising 9th grader scored very high in language mechanics/usage&structure, but her spelling section was comparatively low.  Her language composite score still put her as a high school senior, higher than 90-something percent of her peers.  But coaxing an essay out of that child is like pulling teeth (over and over, with multiple edits and revisions), so what does any of that actually mean, anyway?!?