How do you USE the results from testing?

[lulalu]

I gave ds the CAT test from Christian Liberty. I picked this one because I could do it online. We are not in the states so online was needed. Although, I don't know what to think of it being from 1970. The site says it is more difficult than recent tests. But I think it is normed to 1970 as well, so I think that may skew results. 

I wasn't required to do testing, just wanting to for ourselves and have a record from year to year. This was his first year, and I followed the directions of him going into 3rd grade. He did very well above average in every area. 

Anyways, looking over results I wasn't surprised by some areas. However, some things we have worked on all year (FLL 2) it was like he hadn't seen at all! He has everything memorized, but couldn't put commas or quotation marks in the right spots at all. He still ranked 85 percentile in Language Mechanics. 

So how have you used the results of tests? Do you decide if curriculum is working or not through the results? I am thinking more along the lines of if I need to find a more spiral program. But maybe a test doesn't show results well? 

[8filltheheart]

I don't.  When I have lived in states that have required testing, the kids tested b/c they were required by law.  But, I have never learned a single thing from testing that I didn't already know.  SInce I already know that I am teaching my children using a different scope/sequence, I am not surprised by supposed missing content knowlegde.  I ignore it bc I know we will cover it eventually.  I have also had kids that tested very poorly on certain sections (like scoring in the 3rd %ile in spelling).  Not surprising and was already being addressed.  Severe dyslexia can't just be "taught away." 

If, however, I had ever been surprised by a test bc I thought my kids had mastered concepts that were covered on the test and then couldn't answer the questions, then I would have deliberately made sure we revisited the concepts.

[73349]

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Edited October 2, 2020 by Carolina Wren

[MeaganS]

Yeah, I'm going fall in the camp of "I don't." I've done tests with some of my kids as states require. I watched them do the tests, so I know what's on them. Nothing surprised me at all. I guess if you didn't know where your kids were in certain areas, it would be helpful. But I help them daily, so I can evaluate better than a test. 

I did use it to point out to my husband that we are doing just fine. But in his case, he doesn't see their progress every day, so having another evaluation besides my opinion was validating. 

[MeaganS]

Yeah, I'm going fall in the camp of "I don't." I've done tests with some of my kids as states require. I watched them do the tests, so I know what's on them. Nothing surprised me at all. I guess if you didn't know where your kids were in certain areas, it would be helpful. But I help them daily, so I can evaluate better than a test. 

I did use it to point out to my husband that we are doing just fine. But in his case, he doesn't see their progress every day, so having another evaluation besides my opinion was validating. 

[Lori D.]

As I recall, your child is in early elementary grades? Because children are so all-over-the-place up through 3rd/4th grade, standardized tests are pretty much pointless prior to then. I certainly wouldn't use the testing results for a child below grade 3-4 as the reason for switching curricula, unless I already had doubts about the program being a good fit for the student -- you, working with your child every day, are going to be a much better judge of how the child is really progressing or not, and if the materials are "clicking" with the child or not.

Also, it is VERY easy, esp. for a young child, to make mistakes in the testing process (accidentally fill in the wrong bubble or click on the response they didn't mean to click on) -- which can skew test results away from actual knowledge/ability. Or to make mistakes because the test format is very different from the way they are used to seeing things presented in the curricula.

Similar to above posters, I worked so closely with DSs that I was very aware of their working levels, so I wasn't using testing to tell me that. However, I did test for several years in grades 4-8 range, mostly to give DSs practice in taking standardized tests. Also, as a box-checking activity in case our state went from low-regulation to more regulation, or in case we ever moved to a higher regulation state.

But those were reasons *why* I tested, not "how I used test results"... In answer to your original question of "how do I use the test results"...  The only thing I can think of about how I used test results was to make sure we didn't have any "gaps" of content areas that I might be missing. I think one year results were lower than I expected in reading/using graphs and charts, so I added in a little practice in that area as a result of the test scores...

Edited April 29, 2020 by Lori D.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Another "I don't" or rather "I didn't" since my kids are all done homeschooling.  I did use them to give to the neuropsych when requesting testing for my kids for learning disabilities etc. because it helped them to see where they might want to focus their attention.  But for the day to day, I had a much better idea of where they were having difficulties from their daily work. 

[athena1277]

When my ds was in 1st grade, we had just moved to a non-required testing state.  I was curious as to what the test would show, so I gave him the CAT test.  Based on 20 vocabulary questions, they determined my 6yo had an 11th grade vocabulary.  He had only started reading well 4 months before. On the other hand, his social studies score was low because he couldn’t identify people like George Washington and Martin Luther King.  We had been using SOTW1, which is ancient history, so of course he didn’t know the people on the test.  
 

Factor in what you know about your kid and what you have studied in the last year or 2 into interpreting the scores, especially at the early elementary level.  Unless there’s a big discrepancy you can’t account for, don’t worry about the scores too much.

[purpleowl]

To confirm that my own assessments of my kids' learning are more or less accurate. If something doesn't match, I try to figure out why; generally, it's that different-scope-and-sequence thing that 8 mentioned. 

It's also part of my "if I get hit by a bus" plan - if my kids need to be enrolled at a traditional school for some reason, I figure it will be helpful to have test results that, again, confirm that my own notes about the kids' learning are more or less accurate.

[8filltheheart]

1 hour ago, athena1277 said:

When my ds was in 1st grade, we had just moved to a non-required testing state.  I was curious as to what the test would show, so I gave him the CAT test.  Based on 20 vocabulary questions, they determined my 6yo had an 11th grade vocabulary.  He had only started reading well 4 months before. On the other hand, his social studies score was low because he couldn’t identify people like George Washington and Martin Luther King.  We had been using SOTW1, which is ancient history, so of course he didn’t know the people on the test.  
 

Factor in what you know about your kid and what you have studied in the last year or 2 into interpreting the scores, especially at the early elementary level.  Unless there’s a big discrepancy you can’t account for, don’t worry about the scores too much.

For accuracy, that is not what standardized tests state.  Those types of assessments mean that that is what the avg 11th grader would have scored had they taken the same assessment.  Those are very different categorizations.

Here is an explanation:

Quote

Grade-Equivalent: This is the most commonly misunderstood term in interpreting test scores. The first digit represents the year of the grade level and the digit after the decimal represents the month of that grade level. If a 2nd grader gets a 5.4, it does not mean the child is ready for the 5th grade. It just means that an average 5th grader would have scored as well on the same test. It also lets you know the 2nd grader mastered the material very well and answered most of the questions correctly

 

[athena1277]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

For accuracy, that is not what standardized tests state.  Those types of assessments mean that that is what the avg 11th grader would have scored had they taken the same assessment.  Those are very different categorizations.

Here is an explanation:

 

I had to go back and find the results because I knew I wasn’t wrong.  I was wrong on his grade (he was 2nd grade), but the GE was 11.8 for vocabulary. 

[8filltheheart]

8 minutes ago, athena1277 said:

I had to go back and find the results because I knew I wasn’t wrong.  I was wrong on his grade (he was 2nd grade), but the GE was 11.8 for vocabulary. 

Your interpretation of what grade equivalent scoring means is what I was saying was incorrect.  I do not doubt that his test states GE 11.8.  You stated, " they determined my 6yo had an 11th grade vocabulary."  I'm simply clarifying that the GE scored does not mean that he has the vocabulary of an 11th grader.  It means he scored as well as the avg 11th grader taking the 2nd grade test would have scored.  That is how the test results are interpreted.  I included information in the last post, but this is more explicit:

Quote

GRADE-EQUIVALENT SCORES The Grade-Equivalent score compares your child’s performance on grade-level material against the average performance of students at other grade levels on that same material and is reported in terms of grade level and months. If your 5th grade child obtains a grade-equivalent of 10.5 on a standardized math or reading test, it does not mean that your child is solving math problems or reading at the mid-10th grade level. It means that she or he can solve 5th grade math problems and read 5th grade material as well as the average 10th grade student can read and solve 5th grade math problems.

His GE score is awesome and means he has a great vocabulary and his vocabulary is greater than the avg 2nd graders.  But, beyond that, GE scores don't give that much information.

[Based on Faith Academy]

I wouldn't say I use the test results for anything. I do use the test itself to see where my dc need additional help.

I always pre-grade the test before I send it back. This way we can go over anything she missed.

[Ellie]

On 4/29/2020 at 6:37 AM, lulalu said:

I gave ds the CAT test from Christian Liberty. I picked this one because I could do it online. We are not in the states so online was needed. Although, I don't know what to think of it being from 1970. The site says it is more difficult than recent tests. But I think it is normed to 1970 as well, so I think that may skew results. 

I wasn't required to do testing, just wanting to for ourselves and have a record from year to year. This was his first year, and I followed the directions of him going into 3rd grade. He did very well above average in every area. 

Anyways, looking over results I wasn't surprised by some areas. However, some things we have worked on all year (FLL 2) it was like he hadn't seen at all! He has everything memorized, but couldn't put commas or quotation marks in the right spots at all. He still ranked 85 percentile in Language Mechanics. 

So how have you used the results of tests? Do you decide if curriculum is working or not through the results? I am thinking more along the lines of if I need to find a more spiral program. But maybe a test doesn't show results well? 

We only tested a couple of times, because it wasn't required in my state. I compared the test results with what I had taught that year, thought about whether we had done it before and whether it was likely that we'd do it again, and whether it was something to worry about or not (no, it wasn't).

[Familia]

We tested with the CAT test each year at the end of the school year.  Although I was not one to test during actual school work during the school year.  Since it was a novelty for us, it was actually something our children looked forward to.  Sort of.  My #1 goal for testing was to help eliminate future test anxiety.  I set up a very quiet desk, fed everybody a good breakfast, and donned a timer.  Then, I read the official rules and left them alone in each section to do the work.  I made sure to be upbeat and pleasant through the process, telling them that it was a way to see where our schoolwork lined up with the average school and to give me ideas for the next year.  I also made it clear that some of the work on the test would likely be topics that they haven’t covered.  We went out for fast food those days to make the day extra special.  A relatively rare treat for them.

I worked on this primary goal of eliminating test anxiety because I knew testing was an inevitable part of their future.  Eldest, especially, hated being timed from a young age, and I thought this process would help him get over that.  I was low-key about and hardly ever mentioned results.  When they arrived, I read the results, shared with DH and barely mentioned to the children.  Maybe I got by with that (not sharing much about results) because I began so young, and that had always been the routine.  They were trained that it was about the process.  End of story.

What did I do with the results?  I could see not as much academic strengths/weaknesses as personality traits.  Careful workers, workers who knew info and didn’t bother to apply it, or what they truly didn’t get.  I knew how they performed during normal school work, so it was obvious to me the difference between not knowing it or not applying it.  And, simply the test taking was telling.  Eldest went from not liking being timed to accepting it.  But...once, when time ran out before he had finished a math section...broken pencil and tears!  That from a relatively calm child.  In seventh grade.  It helped me help him work through that type of frustration.  Lastly, I did consider what the test covered and how it matched what we were covering a little bit, but I didn’t have much concern there.

I did not test in high school.  We worked on PSAT/SAT/ACT prep as an actual separate subject for roughly a half hour each day to make sure those where familiar, and they took the PSAT each year 9th and 10th grades at the local high school with me demonstrating the same low-key attitude.  I felt like they were well prepared for their college entrance testing when the time came, academically pretty much and depending on child, but especially from an good-as-can-be-attitude-about-it perspective.

[EKS]

There were two instances where I used standardized test results to alter (or, more accurately, add to) the curriculum we were using.

The first was when my son had NO CLUE what to do with the maps in the maps and diagrams section.  I was stunned because one of his pet interests as a little kid was maps.  So we added a workbook called Daily Geography Practice and his score improved from the 79th percentile to the 96th the next year.  The other was when we had been using MCT exclusively for grammar.  He completely bombed the capitalization section.  So I added Hake/Saxon grammar, and his score improved from the 39th percentile to the 98th the next year.

[EKS]

I did also want to mention that I gave my kids the test myself each year and the thing that was more interesting than the actual results for me was seeing how they responded to each section.  Did they work right up to the time limit or did they finish with half the time left?  Were they struggling or breezing through?  Which questions gave them the most trouble?  That sort of thing.

[smfmommy]

Rarely does the test show anything I don't already know.  We have to take tests odd years starting in third grade.  I only give them the CAT test, so we don't test for history or science topics.  The last test taken was for my son who didn't really start reading on his own until this past year (he's 12).  His spelling was really low, which is not surprising (actually none of my kids tend to test well in spelling).  But his reading levels were at age level or a bit higher.  That surprised me, I thought they would be lower since he was such a late reader.  So I won't be changing what we are doing for reading and we had already started direct instruction for spelling.

I guess all that to say, I don't do anything with test results unless there is something that actually surprises me.

 

[EKS]

1 hour ago, smfmommy said:

I don't do anything with test results unless there is something that actually surprises me.

This.

Though I will say that with my older son, who has dyslexia, it did give me a standard yardstick to measure his progress that went beyond my "feeling" about the situation.  And in his case, it ended up being one factor in my decision to (finally) back off a bit on the reading remediation.