Testing Quandary

[Gil]

We live in a state that requires annual evaluation and we prefer to meet this requirement via portfolio evaluation, rather than state exams.

Given their age/grade, our new evaluator has requested that I administer and include tests in our portfolio. We like and want to keep this evaluator, so I'm willing to try and meet this request. The evaluator strongly suggests that I  test them in math, science and grammar/language, at minimum, though he'd like to see tests for other subjects too.

I am not good at writing tests at all. I could just find random tests online and have The Boys take them, but those tests wouldn't line up with the rest of their portfolio at all and since this evaluator actually peruses, takes an interest in and evaluates their work, I think that would not go over well. Again, we like and want to keep this evaluator.

So, if you had to write tests for your kids, how would you write them?

I might be able to tweak our examination model and make it so that I can flip it around to be a test for them, but I'm not sure if it would work well for their portfolio.

So maybe I should just cobble together tests from online?

Thoughts?

 

[Junie]

Did the evaluator say that you should write tests or that you should administer standardized tests?

We do yearly testing because it is easier for me than putting together portfolios. 

[Gil]

He'd like me to include tests as a part of their portfolio.

[klmama]

Do you use textbooks with review sections? You could type up those questions or similar ones.   For that matter, textbooks often have test books that go with them.  Do you have teacher materials?

Edited December 20, 2019 by klmama

[Gil]

1 minute ago, klmama said:

Do you use textbooks with review sections? You could type up those questions or similar ones.     

Unfortunately, no. We have used textbooks in the past--so I'm not philosophically opposed to using a textbook if it fits, but currently switching to textbooks won't fit  in with our plans for the coming year. (we count our school year Jan-Dec).

We'll have an evaluation sometime in May or June of 2020. I am thinking that I could do 1 test a month per subject.

 

 

[Jackie]

I’ve found the NWEA MAP to be an actually useful-to-me standardized test. It helps identify gaps, and I can see percentiles for all the grade levels, whereas percentiles for my child’s actual grade level are useless to me. It covers English and Math.

I find testing for English and social studies/history to be antithetical to my homeschooling philosophy and would push back against it. I would be amenable to nearly any other form of evaluation a portfolio reviewer might want. It could also be a moot point, since the MAP scores would meet the state testing requirement.

[Junie]

2 hours ago, Gil said:

We live in a state that requires annual evaluation and we prefer to meet this requirement via portfolio evaluation, rather than state exams.

Given their age/grade, our new evaluator has requested that I administer and include tests in our portfolio. We like and want to keep this evaluator, so I'm willing to try and meet this request. The evaluator strongly suggests that I  test them in math, science and grammar/language, at minimum, though he'd like to see tests for other subjects too.

I am not good at writing tests at all. I could just find random tests online and have The Boys take them, but those tests wouldn't line up with the rest of their portfolio at all and since this evaluator actually peruses, takes an interest in and evaluates their work, I think that would not go over well. Again, we like and want to keep this evaluator.

So, if you had to write tests for your kids, how would you write them?

I might be able to tweak our examination model and make it so that I can flip it around to be a test for them, but I'm not sure if it would work well for their portfolio.

So maybe I should just cobble together tests from online?

Thoughts?

 

Would the boys be able to help you create the tests?  Maybe not for math, but things like history and maybe science.  When they find a fact in their readings, they could write it on a notecard as an interesting piece of information that they learned.  You can use their own notecards to form the test questions and they can use their notecards to study.

[lewelma]

For math and science, make them open book tests.  Let your kids shine in their capability.  My older boy's math exams are open book and untimed. It is a valid way to assess.    

And I agree, let them help you design their exams to highlight their learning.  

In NZ, for many subjects, the kids know almost the exact questions to expect on the closed-book national exams. But the questions are hard enough that they must prepare an answer that they can then write down under exam conditions. 

Edited December 20, 2019 by lewelma

[Diana Smith]

57 minutes ago, lewelma said:

For math and science, make them open book tests.  Let your kids shine in their capability.  My older boy's math exams are open book. 

And I agree, let them help you design their exams to highlight their learning.  

In NZ, for many subjects, the kids know almost the exact questions to expect on the closed book national exams. But the questions are hard enough that they must prepare an answer that they can then write down under exam conditions. 

Great advice, thank you

[Clemsondana]

For math, I would put together 5-20 problems (depending on complexity and time it would take to solve them) that are the types of problems that you've worked on over the year. 

For science and history, I'd give open-ended questions so that they can show what they know.  For instance, in my class I've used questions like 'Compare/contrast mitosis and meiosis, giving at least 1 similarity and 3 differences' and 'Pick 1 biogeochemical cycle and explain its feature and how it works'.  Again, 5-15 questions, depending on how long it will take and how complex they are.   In history, we haven't used tests at our house - we have an essay at the end of each unit.  These essays could be turned into several short-answer questions if I needed to turn them into something more test-like.  

For language arts, I'd go with maybe having them pick a sentence or 2 to diagram or label the parts of speech, subject, verb, objects/complements, phrases, etc (we use Michael Clay Thompson's books with their 4-level analysis) and then maybe so a quiz over word roots, or poetry types, or have them define literary devices - whatever you've been working on.  You could also do one of those 'edit this paper with mistakes' things if you wanted to test grammar rules - I"m sure you could find some examples.  

In other words, for us it would look like the usual work that we do, but perhaps sampling several topics, done closed-book, and all written instead of some being oral.  I definitely wouldn't write multiple choice, true/false, or some other school-test format that isn't how we normally work.  

[Gil]

On 12/20/2019 at 1:19 AM, lewelma said:

For math and science, make them open book tests.  Let your kids shine in their capability.  My older boy's math exams are open book and untimed. It is a valid way to assess.   

I really like the idea of building the tests for content subjects around their notes. But re: math (and science) we have worked out this weirdish system of examining The Boys knowledge and abilities and it's very hard to condense or abbreviate.

....
**blah, blah, blah**
...

I have always been crappy at writing succinct assignments. Regentrude and a few other posters advised me on crafting assignments a while back. So for content subjects, I have followed that advice mostly, but I haven't gotten the nack for writing tests for like, math and science. We did a year or so of physics and we got through it, but I didn't do as good of a job as I would've liked. So I've just been focusing that teaching energy back into programming/IT for the time being. I'm not a good enough multitasker to do several subjects at high levels, so I'm planning ot direct the bulk of my teaching "chi" toward IT/tech/programming for another year or so.

Edited December 22, 2019 by Gil
snipped for privacy and brevity now that I've got that sorted

[lewelma]

I *love* your assessment approach.  Super cool.

If you want just tests, the NZ national exams are all on-line. These are the 12th grade exams -- there are 3 units for each subject.  I know your boys are super ahead in math, but if the sciences exams are too difficult, just drop down to the 11th grade ones. I just linked you to chem and physics because that is pretty standard content. There are obviously biology exams too, but the content is less set in stone so may not match what you guys have done. 

I just thought that these may give you some ideas, or you could just use them. 

Physics

https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=Physics&view=exams&level=03

Chemistry

https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=chemistry&view=exams&level=03

Calculus

https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=calculus&view=exams&level=03

 

[RootAnn]

Can they write quizzes or exams (math) for you & their "answer key" is the evaluator's quiz/exam proof?

Or would The Boys find having another "student" in their lectures distracting? I think the evaluator could sit in on one lecture per quarter?

[Gil]

Ideally, I'd like to administer a test for each subject, each month. It'd make it easier for the evaluator to "see" what material they're working on and that they are progressing--even if it's not very traditional in scope/sequence.

Based on their notes, summaries, and outlines, I can harvest or write enough essay questions to use on tests for history, geography, civics/government, etc based on their notes, summaries or outlines. Thanks @Junie for the tip.

@Jackie I want to keep a close and native eye on their secondary language development. A large chunk of their academics are done in Spanish and the evaluator is bilingual and willing/able to assess them in both Spanish and English, and he's open to our "quirky" style of doing things. We do value his input (to an extent) so while I don't really have the urge to "test" The Boys, I  think that the evaluator is being reasonable and just looking for traditional bench-marks that he can "categorize". We're better served being assessed by a bilingual, open-minded human than a well-designed and comprehensive test at this point in time. But the day that I no longer have to jump through anyones hoop is the day I jump for joy.

@ClemsonDana you are a genius. I really like your idea for a language/grammar test. I think that a "Proofreading exercise" would be a good way to demonstrate understanding of several grammar concepts  all at once and in a nice succinct package. Even better is I wouldn't have to change the tests composition/format month-to-month. I'll call it "mastery" and I could just keep the same format of 1) ID parts of speech, 2) proofread, 3) vocabulary dissection, and 4) define X, Y, Z -- literary types.
Best of all is that with that format, all I"d have to do is swap out the passages, different vocabulary, etc each month. Seriously: you, are a genius.

We don't have to test in IT/Programming--the evaluator said that he's happy to let them just demonstrate and discuss their programming projects and in the terms that they don't do anything in IT/Programming then it's fine.

 @RootAnn OMG you might have just struck pay-dirt with the Answer Key idea. I don't know why I didn't think of that. If they've written the math test, then their own answer key might very well be able to serve as "them completing a test."  Hmm...I don't have to broadcast  or announce where the test came from.

[Gil]

13 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Can they write quizzes or exams (math) for you & their "answer key" is the evaluator's quiz/exam proof?

Or would The Boys find having another "student" in their lectures distracting? I think the evaluator could sit in on one lecture per quarter?

You're a genius. The "create an answer key to their own test as their test" idea is a great idea.
 

I would probably find having the evaluator there distracting, but even if I wouldn't I really don't like to put them under spot-light so I wouldn't really want the evaluator there.

The Boys don't get to attend each others lectures anymore because they heckle, distract and tease one another too much and sometimes it's overwhelmingly distracting for whoever is the lecturer and I find myself glaring at the "student-brother" and trying to keep the "lecturing-brother" focused and on task. For my sake, it's easier to just have the lecture be 1-1.

 

[Gil]

@lewelma How do the levels for the NZ tests work?

I found the list of subjects and I see that they have a Digital Technology series of exams. Any idea how I can find the texts/resources that NZ schools use to prepare for those tests?

[lewelma]

2 hours ago, Gil said:

@lewelma How do the levels for the NZ tests work?

I found the list of subjects and I see that they have a Digital Technology series of exams. Any idea how I can find the texts/resources that NZ schools use to prepare for those tests?

Level 1 is 10th grade, level 2 is 11th, and level 3 is 12th. 

Content providers for all subjects except DT:

ESA: https://esa.co.nz/collections/study-guides

AME revision books (also has higher end questions) https://esa.co.nz/collections/ame-workbooks

Digital technology for the high school has been outsourced to the universities to develop the content.  They have just brought in all new standards last year because they wanted to focus more in CS than just programming.  Here is a link to some of the old standards.  I'll contact a homeschool friend of mine whose kids have done the DT assessments and ask where the content is now located.

https://www.dthm4kaiako.ac.nz/resources/resource/75/csfg-ncea-guide-for-as91636-344/

ETA: The TKI website has the detailed instructions for the reports and have some online resources linked within:

http://ncea.tki.org.nz/Resources-for-Internally-Assessed-Achievement-Standards/Technology/Technology/Level-3-Technology

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by lewelma