For Those Who Don't Give Tests..

[sweetbaby]

What do you do exactly? Narrations? What about math? I'm not trying to be funny or anything. I'm just really curious. :)

[siloam]

What do you do exactly? Narrations? What about math? I'm not trying to be funny or anything. I'm just really curious. :)

It depends on the subject:

LA I work with them one on one. If they get something wrong we correct it on the spot.

History- some narration, but for the most part I don't care. Just that they are getting history has them way ahead of ps. ;)

Science-When I start Apologia General I will have my dd do the tests, but to date, she is REALLY into science. I know she is learning, so there is no need to test what she knows.

Math-RS is a program I do with them, so we again correct things on the spot. With Singapore they do it independently, then when they finish a book I correct it, and we go back and work through ANY problems they missed. One or two a day, to make sure they do have the concepts, and see their own careless mistakes (hopefully to get them to slow down and be more careful).

Tests show you if a child knows the material or not. If you are working closely with the child you already know that, IMO, so the test is not necessary.

Heather

[JennW in SoCal]

:iagree:

To me, tests are "school" and I don't do "school". I homeschool. Like Heather, I feel that since I work with my kids so closely one on one, I know what they know and what they don't know. When my kids were young, I wanted their education to simply be a part of life, so we read and discussed, following their interests. We made time for the 3Rs, but it was often while spread out on the living room floor with a white board and markers. Testing wasn't necessary as I knew perfectly well what they did and didn't know.

Starting around 4th grade we moved into written narrations and now they do essays. I edit, they make corrections. They do a set of math problems, re-doing any problems they get wrong. Same thing with Latin. Testing is still not necessary to assess their progress as I see what they do on a daily basis.

My kids are older now, and have started taking outside classes, so they've learned to study in order to take tests in those classes. The fact they had never done tests with me did not hamper or hinder them in any way -- studying and taking a test was a natural progression in their education.

[WTMCassandra]

LA and history--oral and written narrations
Science--they usually write up an experiment. I don't test other than that.
Latin--I have started giving the quizzes and tests to give them practice, since they are getting older. I didn't do this before this year.
Math--If they get practice problems correct consistently, they continue. If they have problems, they get a bit of review instruction and do more problems ; ). Sometimes things not thoroughly learned will show up in the review sets of problems our curriculum puts in regularly. If this happens, we go back and practice those for a day or two. I also have them do Flashmaster once in a while, which has a built-in evaluation system. They know they are supposed to get 90% correct or above.

[Saille]

As far as math goes, we use Miquon, which I really like for reasons I'm sure belong on another thread. One point that the authors make is that there's frequently a sound reasoning process behind mathematical errors, it's just being incorrectly applied. Instead of marking it wrong, you're supposed to figure out why the child chose that answer, then incorporate that knowledge into your instruction. So far it's been working well around here.

Also, I do keep a weekly narrative form. I title it "collateral learning", and I use it to record learning experiences that aren't formally assigned seatwork, and to record things they say that indicate understanding. Some examples of narrative entries might be:

•While listening to (insert title here), Will said, "I think that character is angry about something else, he's not really mad at her at all."

•Will mentioned several earlier plot points and correctly predicted the outcome of the chapter.

•Will used a tape measure to help me space nails at the top of a trellis, then realized he could cut a stick to the appropriate length and use it as a non-standard unit of measurement to space the nails.

•Will explained to our volunteer that our green beans don't have many weeds because they are so bushy that weeds in the "understory" don't get enough sunlight to survive. Demonstrated practical understanding of photosynthesis.

Other than that, JennW pretty much said it all.

Heh. Must edit to say that Will just came in and handed me a note he'd been writing. He'd searched out a Netflix sleeve with the word "Viking" on it, and asked me what the rime was that made the "ight" sound. The note says, "Will/Tiberios invight you too his brthda and it is a vikings theem". To me, this demonstrates that he:

•Applies writing to practical purposes in his own life
•Is using phonetic knowledge and other resources to approximate conventional spelling
•Is serious about wanting a Viking cake. How the heck am I going to do that?

[dawn of ns]

If they get something wrong we correct it on the spot.


Exactly how I feel about all our subjects. I've tended to simply keep a sharp eye and ear out for what they know and what they show in their work. I have to say, I just don't get tests.

[JennW in SoCal]

•Is serious about wanting a Viking cake. How the heck am I going to do that?

LOL!
How about making a regular cake and simply sticking in a couple of horns?!! :lol:

[MelissaM]

I don't test in science or history. We read, timeline, sketch, report, study vocab., and discuss topics.

I test in all other subjects.

[Saille]

That's half the problem! He saw on a documentary that they never actually *wore* horns! He points it out to people on a daily basis. Do you know how hard I had to look for a plastic Viking figurine with no horns?

I also have to make a bunch of spiderweb cupcakes for our summer library program by 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. If my Phillipa Gregory book comes in, they'd better not tell me, b/c I won't get it done. ;)

[siloam]

That's half the problem! He saw on a documentary that they never actually *wore* horns! He points it out to people on a daily basis. Do you know how hard I had to look for a plastic Viking figurine with no horns?

I also have to make a bunch of spiderweb cupcakes for our summer library program by 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. If my Phillipa Gregory book comes in, they'd better not tell me, b/c I won't get it done. ;)

Find some sort of Viking emblem and make the cake a viking shield. ;)

Heather (or that is what I would do)

[TwinMominTX]

my girls do very little indepndently. I am right there with them and can see instantly how they are doing and if they are retaining information.

Now, my girls think that tests are fun and we do them to help increase speed in subjects like math.

[Kris in Wis]

What do you do exactly? Narrations? What about math? I'm not trying to be funny or anything. I'm just really curious. :)

Math is the only subject I test in at the elementary level. For all other subjects, narrations are sufficient to indicate what the student knows. You can do these orally or written, depending on the ability level of the child.

As the child gets older (middle to high school), I require tests in math and science. We write and discuss a lot in English and history, and that's enough of an indication to me of what they know. That is what I base their grades on.

Does that help?

[sweetbaby]

As far as math goes, we use Miquon, which I really like for reasons I'm sure belong on another thread. One point that the authors make is that there's frequently a sound reasoning process behind mathematical errors, it's just being incorrectly applied. Instead of marking it wrong, you're supposed to figure out why the child chose that answer, then incorporate that knowledge into your instruction. So far it's been working well around here.

I have never thought of that. It really makes sense to me. I love that approach!:)

[sweetbaby]

I don't test in science or history. We read, timeline, sketch, report, study vocab., and discuss topics.

I test in all other subjects.

I have actually started doing the same in history and science but I'm not quite sure if I should be measuring their progress through testing or not. I know when they have grasped the material but the main reason is Dad. He wants testing in order to satisfy him. He is old school in that sense. :D

[melmac]

I completely agree with this, this is how we know what they know. ;)



[quote=JennW in SoCal;430846]:iagree:

To me, tests are "school" and I don't do "school". I homeschool. Like Heather, I feel that since I work with my kids so closely one on one, I know what they know and what they don't know. When my kids were young, I wanted their education to simply be a part of life, so we read and discussed, following their interests. We made time for the 3Rs, but it was often while spread out on the living room floor with a white board and markers. Testing wasn't necessary as I knew perfectly well what they did and didn't know.

Starting around 4th grade we moved into written narrations and now they do essays. I edit, they make corrections. They do a set of math problems, re-doing any problems they get wrong. Same thing with Latin. Testing is still not necessary to assess their progress as I see what they do on a daily basis.

[Ellie]

What do I "do"? I just teach the dc.:D

[nestof3]

I give math tests -- well, I will that is. Last year I didn't use a program that gave math tests.

I gave the Rod and Staff English 2 test to my son -- it was the only part of the book he didn't do orally.

Other than that, I just wait until they're older. After graduating one, I just don't see the need to give tests except for things like grammar and math. History and science will be brought around again and need to be "mastered" when older. When they're young, I aim for exposure, interest and a love of learning.

[sweetbaby]

After graduating one, I just don't see the need to give tests except for things like grammar and math. History and science will be brought around again and need to be "mastered" when older. When they're young, I aim for exposure, interest and a love of learning.

Dawn, you are so right. That makes perfect sense to me. You, ladies, are full of wisdom! Thanks so much for sharing your ideas and thought. :001_smile:

[nestof3]

Kysha,

I bookmarked your blog. It looks like a lovely place to spend some time. :D

[Rosie_0801]

•Is serious about wanting a Viking cake. How the heck am I going to do that?

Two dolly varden tins will give you enough cake to carve into the wooden part of a drakkar. Use a fork along the sides to make wooden board patterns in the icing. Then you use icy pole sticks for the oars, a wooden skewer for the mast and whatever you have handy for the sail. Easy Peasy.
:)
Rosie

[keptwoman]

Rosie, I suspect that Americans won't know what Dolly Varden tins or Icy Poles ARE. They are both Australian isms.
It must be admitted that as a Kiwi living in Australia I thought the phrase Icy Pole truely bizarre and I still have NO clue on Dolly Vardin Tins.

[Peek a Boo]

Find some sort of Viking emblem and make the cake a viking shield. ;)

oh!!! OH!!!! I LOVE this IDEA!!

i might hafta make something like this for, um, dh's birthday!

he won't mind if i wear a helmet w/ horns tho ;)

for OP:
and i don't test either [for many of the reasons already given] until high school.
haven't tested yet, but it's already planned :)

[Saille]

Rosie, I suspect that Americans won't know what Dolly Varden tins or Icy Poles ARE. They are both Australian isms.
It must be admitted that as a Kiwi living in Australia I thought the phrase Icy Pole truely bizarre and I still have NO clue on Dolly Vardin Tins.

Ah the wonders of google. But yes, the website results were all Australian. :001_smile:

I got clearance from ds to either do the shield, or frost a sheet cake blue and frost a drakkar pattern in the middle of it.

My dad wore Drakkar for I bet twenty years, and I am positive he had no clue he was wearing a Viking ship.

OK, now that I feel guilty for this total thread derail, I'm going to move the Viking talk elsewhere.

[Peela]

Testing- we do state/national testing every 2 years, but we do it at home then send it in so its still pretty informal although I follow the test conditions.
We don't really do any other testing, unless you call memory work "testing".
We do a lot of our work together- we are doing both French and Latin orally together. For maths- every single maths page could be a test, or not. Actually, both do have "reviews" in their maths books which could be used as tests and I do keep an eye to see how they do on them, but it's not big deal.
Yes, we do a lot of narrations- oral and written- and they replace testing.
Dd's grammar book has tests- AG- and she does like to see what grade she gets on them but they are no different from her other worksheets, really.
Testing is coming into our lives more and more. One thing we haven't worked on is "cramming" for tests, but its mainly because thats not one of the things about my own education i feel i want to pass on to my kids :) And its not CM. They will learn soon enough, and I will teach them study skills for tests in the next couple of years.
Actually, now I think about it, we did do exams a few weeks back- CM style. No studying- I just asked them to tell me (written) about a few of the books we had been studying. They had to draw on their memory of at least a couple of months of reading each of the books. It was a good experience, but i didn't give them grades or anything. It was fun.
If I wonder whether its time to move on or go back over a subject, I basically see if the child got over 80% correct in their work. If so, we keep moving, after going over all errors. If not, we go back.

[moosemomma]

That's half the problem! He saw on a documentary that they never actually *wore* horns! He points it out to people on a daily basis. Do you know how hard I had to look for a plastic Viking figurine with no horns?

I also have to make a bunch of spiderweb cupcakes for our summer library program by 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. If my Phillipa Gregory book comes in, they'd better not tell me, b/c I won't get it done. ;)

How about a viking boat instead? boat shaped cake form, use melted chocolate to create the prow and stern figureheads, create a simple sail design and the bottoms of the oats and on the computer, print out on heavy duty card stock , cut out hot glue sail to a skewer and paddles to toothpicks and stick in?

Jill

[Kris in Wis]

I give math tests -- well, I will that is. I just don't see the need to give tests except for things like grammar and math. History and science will be brought around again and need to be "mastered" when older. When they're young, I aim for exposure, interest and a love of learning.

There's really no need to test in grammar, although I can understand that it would serve to validate their learning. Writing and oral communication are the best indicators of an understanding of grammar.

I have never tested in grammar, but my children, from the beginning, have always written a lot. We correct grammar in their writing. My feeling is if they can use it properly, they understand it. That said, we do use Abeka for grammar (starting in grade 3), and it's pretty clear-cut from correcting their work in those texts what they're understanding and what they're not. (I don't purchase the Abeka tests.)

Grammar is an oft-hated subject. And kids aren't usually too big on testing, either. So I back off on this in the early grades and just let them write, correcting little things with them as we go along.

:iagree: You're definitely right-on about exposure, interest and love of learning when they're young!

[sweetbaby]

Kysha,

I bookmarked your blog. It looks like a lovely place to spend some time. :D

Oh, thank you, Dawn. That's funny because I just left your blog. I left a comment. I love your science plans also.:)

[jen210]

SInce I'm with my children every day I know what they know so I don't need a test to tell me what they know. Like many of the others, we correct math on the spot so they understand their mistakes. We do testing once a year for my own piece of mind just to see if I need to work on any other skills the upcoming year. I will also introduce more testing and textbooks as they get older just to help prepare them for classes in the future but at 4th and 5th grade I don't think it's necessary.

Jennifer