CAT test from Seton or Family Learning?

[Quad Shot Academy]

I decided on giving the CAT to my oldest this year. I can't decide between these two companies:

http://www.familylearning.org/tests_cat.php

http://www.setontesting.com/

The only real difference I see is that Seton offers the CAT-E, which is a survey and Family Learning offers the complete battery.

Does anyone have good or bad experiences with these companies? My biggest concern is how readable the results are. Do they both come with easily discernible, meaningful results? TIA!

[GVA]

I'm required to test and turn in the results every year, and I like the CAT-E for 1st and 2nd grade (we use the PASS for 3rd and up). It's quick and good for short attention spans. When my oldest was that age, it was a major struggle for him to focus that long, so I was glad we did the CAT-E. The sections are short and to the point. That said, it doesn't give you a lot of detail. The results are about half a page long, and just gives you how many they got got wrong on each section and what percentile they fall within for that particular test. Seton is lovely to deal with. I've never heard anything negative about them. A friend even drove her children's results out to them in person, and they faxed her the results the next day so that she could meet a deadline.

I haven't used Family Learning, but the CAT they sell is going to be longer and provide more detail than the CAT-E.

Depends on the your goal here!

[sweetbaby]

I'm interested in this also as I have been looking at both as well. Testing isn't required in my state but my dh and I would like to know how are gang is fairing.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I used Family Learning last year and was quite pleased. They were very nice and easy to deal with. THe results were very clear and well-explained. I have no experience with Seton, but would say that FLO is a good one to deal with. I did the complete battery for 3rd grade. It went well and the results were back to me in very little time.

[Karin]

We've done this with Seton and with another company. The Seton one is less comprehensive, covering only language arts and math, whereas the other one included science, etc. However, the Seton one is far less expensive, so if finances are tight it can be helpful. We don't usually do standardized testing, but I'm giving my eldest the CAT-E this week to see if her numbers are similar to what they were 3 years ago. I don't think I get a lot of knowledge from it, but didn't want to pay for the full test.

[Quad Shot Academy]

However, the Seton one is far less expensive, so if finances are tight it can be helpful.

The difference is only $10, unless there are extra fees for shipping, or if I misread something!

[Sheri]

We used the CAT from Seton for our required testing while we lived in VA. They were easy to work with and got our results back to us quickly.

[Karin]

The difference is only $10, unless there are extra fees for shipping, or if I misread something!

Really? I'll have to shop there next time. We first ordered from a different company (the name escapes me as it's been 4 years and it's in a file) and they charged more than that back then for the CAT-5, unless you ordered pre-season.

[camibami]

We've used Seton's survey CAT for the last 2 years for state mandated testing. I like it- short and to the point, because in VA we need only provide esults for LA and math. Last year we tested with a friend and her kids, and their test (a longer version of the CAT) took the whole week. We were done in 1 day.

We test just to satisfy the state though, so I don't really know how detailed the results are- I can't actually remember, LOL! Detailed enough, I guess!

[Jennifer in NH]

We use the CAT E too and get it from Seton. But, again, we only test to satisfy the state and I don't want to provide them with more info than they require. So far, I know what dd is learning and haven't anted to test for our own information...she is only just in 3rd...took the CAT 3 weeks ago...so 2nd grade is now over.
Seton has been wonderful. We get the results very quickly. I haven't dealt with any other companies.

[newsong]

We've also used Seton and have found them easy and expedient to deal with. We are required to test by the state. For years I had used the IOWA tests, which are more comprehensive and more expensive. I originally turned to the CAT tests because of their lower cost (and frustration dealing with BJU testing services) but I also appreciated their brevity. I am not required to test in all the areas covered by the IOWA and the more comprehensive version of the CAT, so for me it's about meeting but not needing to exceed the requirements.

This year, my 5th graders asked to try the PASS test because it has no time limits. So they will take the PASS and my older dc and 1st grader will take the CAT. It's funny because my dc actually miss the breadth of the IOWAs. They enjoyed answering questions covering the various subject matter and they did well on the tests.

[Jeanne in MN]

and they are both very good. I use Seton for my boys who both have short attention spans and the FLO one for my dd who, like her geeky mother, enjoys taking tests and asks for the complete battery test. FLO gives you more detailed test scores, but I really don't need all they give.

Both companies are very good and I have been pleased with them both. Their timing with sending the tests and the results were very similar.

[one l michele]

I called with a question, I was able to speak to a live person! They were very nice. Shipping was speedy and we got our results back within a week.

[Quad Shot Academy]

Thanks everyone! Sounds like they are both good choices. Does anyone know how much longer the complete battery takes than the survey?