Standardized Testing - What do you do?

[Stacey in MA]

This is the first year we will have to provide standardized testing (for DS9 3rd grade - up until now we've gotten around it for various reasons).

I am finding the specifics of my town's requirements a little obscure. How and what are you, in your town, required to provide them as evaluation? What standardized test do you use, how do you get it, and who administers it?

Thanks ladies (and gents)! - Stacey in MA

[Marie in Oh]

I administer the Iowa Test to my 1st graders and up. I get the test from Piedmont Educational Services. They are a wonderful little company and the customer support is great.

Here is the link:

http://www.pesdirect.com/itbs.html#cost

[Beth in Central TX]

Our state does not require any testing. Even though I still do standardized testing through my local homeschool support group every year. We use the Stanford Achievement test through BJUP.

[momofkhm]

The organizer gets the IOWA. The results are easy to read. I help out by proctoring.

[Soph the vet]

Dd9 and Ds7 are taking the Peabody (PIAT) tomorrow. In Minnesota you must test ages 7-16 yearly. The Peabody has been great with younger children as it is oral, thorough, and results are interpreted for you immediately following. Having a friendly tester helps too:D.

[Stacey in MA]

I am wondering how the subjects of the test align with the WTM topics. For instance, DS9 is 3rd grade age, so we therefore are working through some Chemistry for science. Does the science portion of the test test chemistry knowledge/ability? How about history. We are working on Vol. 3, but obviously not spent time on "Modern Times" yet. Are the questions all over time/history, or can you somehow specify which period are asked?

The idea of this is bugging me. I know DS is bright, and we are pretty regular and rigid in our academics, but I can't imagine how a "standardized" test is going to reflect if it isn't aligned with what we are learning.

I also feel somewhat pushed into this, but that's another long story. It could explain my reservations and nerves though.

Anyway, thanks for taking time to answer my questions! - Stacey in MA

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I've used the ITBS each year for the past 3 years. I administer it myself through www.BJUP.com (Bob Jones University Press - Homeschools - Testing/Evaluation). You need a college degree in order to administer it yourself to your own children.

They also offer the Stanford Achievement Test, but you can only administer it to your own children iff you simultaneously give it to another child, not your own.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The idea of this is bugging me. I know DS is bright, and we are pretty regular and rigid in our academics, but I can't imagine how a "standardized" test is going to reflect if it isn't aligned with what we are learning.


What are you actually required to turn in? For example, in Hawaii, we aren't held accountable for social studies or science, two areas where scope and sequence mismatches might show up. It might help calm your nerves if you knew just what you had to provide.
Generally, what a school district is looking for is evidence that the children are reading and able to do math. Also, my experience is that the cutoff levels are relatively modest (I think VA was 23% when we were there and here in Hawaii it is in the 30% range). You might want to contact a state support group for guidance if your district doesn't seem to be giving you clear or correct guidance.
Another suggestion is to run through a practice booklet (I like the Spectrum test booklets) for ds' grade level. This will give you an idea of what type of questions he might have problems with. For example, last year, my kids didn't know what the terms synonym, antonym or homonym meant. My middle son didn't know what a vowel was (even though he reads Redwall and adult Star Wars novels) because our phonics program hadn't spent time on the terms vowel and consonant. I'm not suggesting that you change your course of study. But knowledge about how a test is structured can go a long way toward improving scores and calming fears.

[Margaret in CO]

We use the Iowa. I give it to my children plus others, in Feb. Then, in middle school, we do usually early SAT and ACT. On the Iowa--they understand that not all children study all the same topics in science and ss, so the child will see a test with about a third of the topics possibly new to him. That's fine--everyone's in the same boat (unless you have a child that reads the encyclopedia for fun!). btw--your TOWN should have no say in what testing requirements are--it's a state decision. Make sure an overzealous superintendent is not adding illegal requirements.

The Iowa has a distinct structure--all standardizd tests have their own. You might want to pick up a test prep book. For example--you've probably never asked your child to pick out the misspelled word out of a list of five. They may never have seen overpunctuation. You may or may not have covered incorrect English useage. We call it the "he done gone went to the store" test. Unless they are prepared, students tend to correct the mistakes as they read--they have to be taught what to look for in each section.

[Melissa in NC]

I administer the Iowa Test to my 1st graders and up. I get the test from Piedmont Educational Services. They are a wonderful little company and the customer support is great.

Here is the link:

http://www.pesdirect.com/itbs.html#cost

I get my Iowa for PES and I second this recommendation.

[Anne/Ankara]

In PA, we can use several different tests, but we do the Terra Nova (McGraw-Hill) because it is up-dated, and easy to do (the PA Homeschoolers offer it all over the state each fall). I like it because in addition to math and language arts, there are sections on science and social studies. Also, you can choose a different grade level to have your test scored against...

[Marie in Oh]

I give it to my kids every so often, mostly because they think it is fun. They run more concurrent with PS scope and sequence, so there is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. My kids seem to do fine, but they read alot so there is knowledge outside of their curriculum. I remember my son missed a social studies question in 1st grade once about Martin Luther King Jr. Oh well, not a big focus in our 1st grade curriculum. ;)

[Elm in NJ]

This will be my 12 yr old ds third year of testing. Two years ago (and this year also), he did the Standford. Last year , he did the Hewitt's PASS. My 8yr old and 7 yr old twins have never been tested.

Elmeryl