Jeanine in TX Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 My 6th grade dd took the Explore Test in February through Duke TIP. She just received her scores today. I am not exactly sure how to interpret these scores. Do they predict how well she would do on the ACT? Did she do well? 21 - English 18 - Mathematics 15 - Reading 17 - Science She has scored better in ITBS science tests in the past. Unfortunately, the testing site had a large glass door which opened to the outside. Several parents knocked on the door and waved at their children during the science test. It was very distracting to my dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I saw this on another board and it may help: http://bbc.honors.uiowa.edu/talentSearch2009/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Did you get a copy of the Results Summary? If I check her against other 6th graders taking the test through 4th/5th talent searches, her percentiles would be: English - 64th percentile Mathematics - 60th percentile Reading - 24th percentile Science - 18th percentile Now, those percentiles will be lower than if she were compared against 8th graders. Because the 8th grade percentiles are based on national averages and the talent search participant percentiles are based on kids who self-select from the top few percent of younger students. So most talent search 5th graders do better than the "average" 8th graders. So don't be distressed if those percentiles are lower than what you would expect on a test that was nearer grade level and compared against "average" students. Also, I wanted to point out that the science section on the Explore (and ACT) is *very* different than the science test on the ITBS. ITBS asks what you've learned -- do you know the *answer* to some general science question. The Explore and ACT ask students to *figure*out* the answer based on information given on the test. ITBS focuses on science content to a greater extent, while Explore focuses more on science reasoning. So it's not surprising that a child would perform better on one test than the other -- they're testing different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexiR Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 (edited) Abbey, where were your percentiles from? I'm curious because they are pretty significantly different from the data I have from C-MITES 6th graders. C-MITES only has a sample size of 780, but the scores come out quite a bit higher... English, 21, 83rd percentile Math, 18, 74th percentile Reading, 15, 41st percentile Science, 17, 51st percentile Those would be percentiles against the 780 kids who are supposedly at the 95th percentile or higher on grade level testing. Edited April 1, 2009 by LexiR spelling error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 The ones I gave are from the "2009 Duke TIP 4th/5th Grade Talent Search EXPLORE Test Results Summary: Your guide to understanding your EXPLORE test results". The percentiles are for 6th graders tested in 2008. They say 2,391 6th grade students' scores were analyzed for those numbers. (4,902 students participated overall.) Comparing all the scores (5th *and* 6th graders, not just 6th) would translate to: 21 - English - 72nd percentile 18 - Mathematics - 72nd percentile 15 - Reading - 33rd percentile 17 - Science - 27th percentile Is it possible your numbers including younger students as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexiR Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 That's quite a difference, especially since my numbers are just from 6th grade. (I have separate data for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th.) My sample size is small (780 for 6th), but I remember the C-MITES means being higher in previous years (could be wrong there!) Here are my (C-MITES) numbers for 5th... English, 21, 90th percentile Math, 18, 90th percentile Reading, 15, 59th percentile Science, 17, 54th percentile Well darn, maybe my kiddo isn't as impressive as I thought, LOL!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 LexiR -- do you have a link to the 3rd grade scores? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 That's quite a difference, especially since my numbers are just from 6th grade. Curiouser and Curiouser! I wonder what the explanation could be? I mean, obviously the sample size for C-MITES is much smaller, but I'd be surprised if that explained it alone... (Now I want to know if CTY has their own set of data too -- and why aren't these programs sharing data?!?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexiR Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Sorry Heather, no links, just a mailed printout. Here are the mean scores they quote for 3rd grade... English 12.2 Math 11.1 Reading 12.2 Science 14.5 Composite 12.7 (Sample size 971) Abbey, I just ran the OP's numbers in the Belin Blank link, and the norms there aren't too far off from C-MITES (science is different). CTY doesn't use the Explore, but yes....why can't they all collaborate for us? I have my own issues with CTY and their gender based data, but that's for another thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks Lexi! We didn't receive anything like that in the mail yet -- just the report from Explore comparing his scores to 8th graders. We took the test in Feb. through NUMATS, however, so maybe we'll still get the additional report? I appreciate you typing that out for me. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexiR Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 No problem, just keep in mind the data is from the "dumb" kids here in PA, LOL! I did find Abbey's stuff from last year online, and am off to see how far my kids' data drops, :( . http://www.tip.duke.edu/talent_searches/grades_4-5/2008_results__summary.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexiR Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I've analyzed it enough to turn in for the night. The means scores aren't that terribly different (comparing C-MITES to last year's TIP). I guess I just never noticed in general how the data JUMPS with each scaled score point. It makes sense though given the limited range of the test. For example... (Using 6th grade composites) A score of 17 gives a 29th percentile A score of 18 jumps to the 43rd A score of 19 the 56th A score of 20 the 70th IQ tests do this as well, so I shouldn't be terribly surprised, but it felt like I'd dropped my daughter on her head for a minute there. A good reminder just in the limits of data I suppose. It also hit me that while the 100 percentiles look more dramatic on the C-MITES data, they are probably not as I'd previously imagined 99.6th or above rounded up. From the TIP data it's pretty clear that all "high" scores get that designation, even if the next score down drops to the 93rd. This differs from say the Stanford test where if a full 5 percent hits the top score, they all get 95ths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ida Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 My 6th grader did the February test date through NUMATS. The initial score report just gives the percentile compared to 8th graders nationally. My understanding is that NUMATS will send out another mailing later in the spring with the percentile results compared to other NUMATS students in each grade level. Of course it is important for those of us used to seeing our kids percentiles near the top to remember, as has already been stated in this thread, that when we see those comparisons they are no longer being compared to all students nationally but only to other very high achieving students so a lower percentile has a very different meaning. Here's a chart that shows the scores a 6th grade student would need to get on the EXPLORE to qualify for the Center for Talent Development online Honors courses. So, confession, I don't actually know how to post a link. If it doesn't happen automatically, you'll have to cut and paste because I'm just not academically gifted enough to figure it out! http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/docs/gll08-09course_ref_chart.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ida Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Hey, look at that! My link is really a link! Go me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanine in TX Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thank you everybody for trying to assist. The course list from Northwestern CTD was especially helpful. I see that my dd would qualify for honors classes in English and math. I was just wondering how people used the test scores to help plan their children's education. If I wasn't homeschooling, I would probably talk to a teacher or guidance counselor. The WTM boards are the next best thing for me. Jeanine in TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I was just wondering how people used the test scores to help plan their children's education. On the back of the score report is a list that indicates what the student is "probably able to" and "to improve your skills you can" in each area tested. After looking at the scores and the list on the back I determined the following: My son is ready for pre-Algebra, even though math isn't his strongest subject, he is ready. His science scores were lower than expected because he hasn't had a formal lab course that includes predicting outcomes, recording and interpreting data (he plays with science). No problem - the test is for 8th graders - he will have some labs in the science that I have chosen for both 7th and 8th grades to help him learn these skills. If I hadn't already chosen the science curriculum, I could have taken this tidbit into consideration as I made my choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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