Standardized Tests

My children will be taking standardized tests next month.

I do not have to give my children standardized tests. It is not required of me by state law. They do not need it for admissions to any college or institution. Why, then, am I giving my children standardized tests? There are a plethora of reasons.

1. My children will more than likely one day attend college. They need to get comfortable with the idea of filling in bubbles with Number 2 pencils.
2. My mother (the former teacher) nags me. I love you, too, Mom.
3. As my children generally do well on standardized tests, it is an easy way to silence standardized test loving critics. (However, one year, one of my little darlings decided that it was not necessary to utilize scratch paper to complete the math portion of the test, and his score suffered for it. The best laid plans and all that...)
4. As Aussie Kim has pointed out to me, standardized test scores can be used to get scholarships to some academic summer camps and other interesting academic activities.
5. My mother (the former teacher) nags me. (For which my children will one day be greatly appreciative when they make 33s on the ACT.)

Having listed all of these reasons to standardize test, there are a couple of things I'd like to point out.

1. Dana at Principled Discovery pointed out that the vast majority of the population believes that TEST SCORES = ABILITY. While I agree that most people feel that way, I personally do not. I know too many intelligent people who are rotten test takers. Likewise, I know too many people who are brilliant test-takers who can not function in the real world. I completely understand that, by and large, TEST SCORES = ABILITY TO TAKE TEST.
2. I don't want my children's entire academic year summed up by how they answer questions on a scan tron. I do not want my children being 'taught the test.' There are so many more important things to learn.
3. I realize that I am bowing to the world in which we live. Let's face it...no matter how long we keep the kids in the closet on bread and water, eventually we have to let them out. (Warning to non-homeschoolers: That was a joke, people. Geez.)
4. I would still test my children even if my mother didn't nag me. (Just not as often.)

Comments

[Aussie Kim]

I agree 100% about good test scores = good test taking ability.

My philosophy is: LEARN HOW TO BEAT THE SYSTEM. If your kids score well on standardized tests, BONUS! Give them a week to practice and revise before taking the test. Don't change the goal of homeschooling but do optimize their performance on the test, with 1/56 of a year in preparation. If the scores come back good then take these and RUN with them....academic scholarships abound in this competitive nation.

If the scores aren't good, find what your kids love to do and indulge them in that... if you love something and are encouraged to work at it, the sky's the limit. And isn't this homeschooling about enabling the kids to reach their dreams and potential?

Remember: if you know how the "system" works your chances of "beating" the system are much better!

[Mom]

The nagging is to help my grandchildren become prepared for the world of education outside of home schooling. I agree that they are bright and have learned more than most of the students in traditional schools. However, I am a realist and know that they will need to take standardized tests to get into college and to qualify for scholarships. It is never too early to give them practice taking these tests. The more familiar they are with the test format, the less likely they are to be nervous about taking the tests.Also, aren't you curious to see whether the things that they have learned are in line with what public school students their ages are supposed to know? I am. They constantly amaze me with what they do know, but I want to know how it stacks up against the norm.

It has taken three years of nagging to get this done. Don't wait another three years before administering the next one. Nag, nag, nag.

[Activities Coordinator]

I've been waiting ALL DAY for that comment. :)

[Dana]

Great points. I am not opposed to standardized testing...just to decisions made by people distant from the child based solely on the resulting score. My children will likely begin taking them when they are a little older...although I have administered a few sample tests from a few different states I found online.

They are cheaper. :)

[Dana]

Oh, and this post is for you. I contacted Typepad, and they wrote it just for you (NOT!). But it might help, anyway.

http://support.typepad.com/cgi-bin/typepad.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=78

[Activities Coordinator]

Thanks, Dana. I need all the help I can get!

[Summer]

Standardized testing can be great, on a case by case basis. Right now I'm very against them... for my kids. But I'd never tell a family who wanted to use them that they couldn't. Like wise I dislike how some want to make everyone take them.

I mean sheesh, I let them out of the basement for a whole hour today! What more do you want from me? ;)

[Activities Coordinator]

Yeah, I'm with you there, Summer...one hour is more than enough!

[Dana]

Can you believe I actually have to drag my kids out of the closet? They like it in there. :)

[Aussie Kim]

Way to go mum! I can take up any slack on the nagging if you need me to! For more nagging go see my post at http://homeschoolersavvy.typepad.com/homeschooler_savvy/2008/04/standardized-te.html

[Ten 0'Clock Scholar]

Your Mom is a hoot!

I agree with you about standardized testing - doesn't really reflect a child's ability or knowledge. But I agree with your Mom, too - it is good to see how they are doing compared with the "system". They will be compared this way some day, so might as well make sure they understand how this works.

I've found that testing has been a great learning experience, too. In that - I can help them get the right attitude about it by rejoicing in areas well done and taking closer look at areas poorly done, but not getting too excited about any of it.

[Susan Ryan]

I'd be scared if my mom commented. My mom has moments when she worries that we aren't doing our part for the public schools. Not sacrificing enough and all that....

But she's a recovering ps addict, so we're tolerant of her. She also loves seeing what the kids are doing and how they are doing. She's just opinionated like good moms tend to be. :-)

Besides my dad likes to use our kids for cheap farm labor every so often. ..jk...

[Activities Coordinator]

Idea with merit: hire kids out.

Good one.

[Cristina]

Poor test taker here. And yet I still have a Phi Beta Kappa key...

Our state requires testing, so I do test my kids. They do need to learn how to fill in those bubbles. I'm reminded of the year my daughter changed every answer while checking her work. It turned out she wasn't matching the questions correctly to her bubbles. That was a fun year!

Great post!

[Dianne - Bunny Trails]

Great post! I have to test my kids (or have them evaluated) based upon our state laws. But at least I have some leeway within that rule.

You hit the proverbial nail on the head: "test scores = ability to take tests." However, we just don't seem to be able to get free of that completely. At least we have great flexibility in the homeschool community, though. :D

[Sheri]

My son, who picks up on things very quickly, is one of those "awful test takers". Which is why he is now starting to take them OFTEN (okay, you know, once a year) so he can learn to take a test.

[Sheri]

Wasn't done there.

But I don't like Standardized tests at all. I don't think they measure much beyond a person's ability to take a test (and I was DANG GOOD at taking tests)

[Casey L]

Hey, Mom.

You've raised YOUR kids, and obviously have done a good job with it. It's your turn to let go. Don't let nagging about something as trivial as standardized tests (and comparing how the kids stack up to the norm- um, why? Is that what's important? Is that how you judge homeschooling?)

What if one of the kids have a bad day and scores poorly, does that cloud your vision of hs-ing?

That said, your post is pretty funny and you're all fab.

[Crimson Wife]

I think standardized tests can provide some useful information if used appropriately as one portion of a portfolio. They aren't the be-all-and-end-all like many educrats believe but they're not nothing, either. They allow an objective assessment of certain skills, which is important. However, this whole NCLB obsession with boosting test scores no matter what else is sacrificed in the child's education is horrible. The test should be the tool, not the master!

[Activities Coordinator]

In defense of my mother, I so very often need nagging! :)

[Elena]

Standardized tests are really reading tests. If the child can read well enough, s/he should do well on the test.

My oldest had a reading disability. He scored in the bottom 25th percentile of the Iowa tests. What I found particularly funny was how rotten his vocabulary score was - and he had a tremendous vocabulary! He just couldn't read!

[Kysha]

TEST SCORES = ABILITY TO TAKE TEST

Couldn't agree more. Tests were made for the government funded schools to get more funding basically by totaling up the numbers that were ABLE TO TAKE A TEST according to state mandated material.

[Dana]

It's almost Mother's Day. I say we all take a standardized test for our moms. It's not their fault they raised independent-minded children...wait, maybe it is. :)

[Renee]

I came here by way of the Carnival. Then I noticed the Seoul clock. We lived there 02-04.

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