ITBS questions, and a minor rant

[amyco71]

Okay, my dd 5th grade and ds 3rd grade are required to take a standardized test this year. We're doing the ITBS next month, administered by a local public school.

I bought Spectrum test prep books for their grades because I don't want them to be completely freaked out when they see the tests.

Oh. my. gosh. The 5th grade book seems reasonable so far, but the 3rd grade? Has several places where they want him to write up to three paragraphs! On topics like personal changes and how they affect him! This is just crazy to me...I keep thinking about SWB's comments in WWE, about how requiring 3rd graders to write so much isn't necessarily helpful. I am thinking of just skipping those parts of the test prep book because they are just awful. If he does see it on the test, he'll just do his best.

I mean, the mechanics of writing at age 9 is challenging enough, but to have to come up with reasoned conclusions? Are they for real?

Sooo...my question is, does anyone know if the current 3rd grade ITBS (we haven't done one since my dd was in 3rd grade two years ago) has this much writing?

Thanks!

Amy

[JudoMom]

Okay, my dd 5th grade and ds 3rd grade are required to take a standardized test this year. We're doing the ITBS next month, administered by a local public school.

I bought Spectrum test prep books for their grades because I don't want them to be completely freaked out when they see the tests.

Oh. my. gosh. The 5th grade book seems reasonable so far, but the 3rd grade? Has several places where they want him to write up to three paragraphs! On topics like personal changes and how they affect him! This is just crazy to me...I keep thinking about SWB's comments in WWE, about how requiring 3rd graders to write so much isn't necessarily helpful. I am thinking of just skipping those parts of the test prep book because they are just awful. If he does see it on the test, he'll just do his best.

I mean, the mechanics of writing at age 9 is challenging enough, but to have to come up with reasoned conclusions? Are they for real?

Sooo...my question is, does anyone know if the current 3rd grade ITBS (we haven't done one since my dd was in 3rd grade two years ago) has this much writing?

Thanks!

Amy

Ds9 took the 3rd grade ITBS last year and there was no writing. I hate that they revised the Spectrum Test Prep books to reflect writing.

[abbeyej]

There's no writing on the ITBS. The Spectrum books try to prep for a range of tests, and some of the state testing now does include writing. But not the ITBS.

[amyco71]

Thank you!! That's very good to know, and a huge relief.

[Hoggirl]

They have test prep books that prepare the student FOR the ITBS. The questions are in the same format as they student will see on the test. I realize this wasn't your question, but if you want test-specific test prep look for Scoring High on the ITBS.

[abbeyej]

Here's the breakdown for subjects / times for grades 3-8 (the number of questions in each section varies by grade level):

All of the following tests are multiple choice with a separate bubble-style answer sheet:
Vocabulary - 15 min
Reading (1) - 25
Reading (2) - 30
Spelling - 12
Capitalization - 12
Punctuation - 12
Language Usage and Expression - 30
Math Concepts and Estimation - 30
Math Problem Solving and Data Interpretation - 30
Math Computation - 15
Social Studies - 30
Science - 30
Maps and Diagrams - 30
Reference Materials - 25

...
3rd graders also have a "Listening" section (though older students do not). This is untimed, but the "Word Analysis" section is roughly 20 minutes and the "Listening" section is roughly 25. For this portion, the tester reads the instructions for each question aloud, and students see the possible answers on their answer sheet and mark the bubble below the correct answer.

...

Hope that's helpful!

[njosanders]

We used Scoring High for ITBS and did fine. - Bought mine at Rainbow Resource also.

[amyco71]

Oh wow, thanks everyone for all the info. Very helpful!! I am grateful. I ordered the Spectrum books from Rainbow but didn't see the ITBS specific one...rats. Will check again.