Name: Teach Them Diligently (Branson)
Start: 2025-05-15T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-17T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Branson, MO

This topic has 5 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by csmamma.

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

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May 31, 2010 at 4:01 pm
csmamma
Participant
For those of you who do not have state requirements, do you still have your highschoolers to standarized tests, etc. If so, how do you go about it? If not, why do you choose not to?
The reason I raise this question is because I have a grandmother who is a retired public school teacher. As you can imagine, I got the homeschool questions this weekend such as “Have you had your oldest (14 yo) tested yet? When are you going to do it? You better be sure you do that, its very important”, etc. etc. etc. In order to appease her, I said we would most likely be getting him tested the end of 9th grade. Obviously she sighed a big sigh of relief as if I have been doing something wrong.
Thanks for sharing what you’ve done – whys and why nots.
Blessings,
Heather
May 31, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Polly
Participant
I didn’t test my high schooler. The only reason to test is if you think he can get a scholar ship for his test scores. We knew that wasn’t an option – thus we didn’t test. Testing, in my opinion, is not a measure of how much they know or how successful you’ve been. It is a waste of time. My dd did take the ACT (12th grade) only because I needed it to show the judge that we were running a successful homeschool (we were going through a divorce at the time and the question of custody and homeschooling with my younger ones was in question).
As for your grandmother. I say this with all due respect, It’s none of her business. We had this issue with my parents (PS teachers). Now that they’ve seen 5 of their 18 grandchildren succeed without testing, they have dropped the issue. Both my sister and I had to sit them down and respectfully tell them that we appreciated their concern but it was for us to decided. We told them we wanted their support not their criticism.
May 31, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Bookworm
Participant
Well, I personally think testing a lot is silly. That said, I do it to fulfill state laws. I still think it might be a good idea to consider doing it once for a high school student, for the reason that if you are not positively sure the child will never ever go to college, it’s just a good idea to “take the pulse” to see how things are before heading into something high-pressure like the SAT’s. Think of it as test-taking-practice. Previous experience taking standardized tests does in fact translate into somewhat higher scores on the tests. So for that reason alone it might not be a bad idea to do it once. And it can be hard to say categorically that your child will never be doing any higher education. For homeschooled kids that might be going to college, the test scores are a much bigger factor in the admission decision than for other-schooled kids, for the simple reason that many colleges find it hard to really assess what homeschool grades mean.
June 1, 2010 at 7:10 pm
csmamma
Participant
Polly, thank you for the encouragment. You know how hard it is then, to deal with a PS teacher in the family . Its good to know we’re not alone.
Michelle, can I ask how you go about the “take the pulse” testing (where, when, how)? Would you recommend it only before SAT/ACT’s?
Thanks ~ Heather
June 2, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Bookworm
Participant
Well, you can do ITEDS testing (the high school version of the Iowa tests) That is pretty easy to do–many moms who homeschool are certified to administer the test. You can get them places like BJU Press. There is a more homeschool-friendly test called I believe PASS that you can administer yourself, also. I have never used it as it does not fulfill my cranky state department requirements. 🙁 You could have your child take the PSAT either 10th or 11th grade year (only counts for possible scholarship money if taken in 11th grade) You have to have that administered at a school, and it can be tough to find a place for homeschoolers to take the test–I had to call around all over the place.
Not sure what you mean by only before the ACT? Do you mean would I recommend a test if you were never planning on taking the SAT? I don’t know. The tests don’t really show exactly what the test publishers claim they show. They are imperfect instruments. However, it can be valuable to know for sure that a child’s skill set is comparable to their peers’. After all, most of us are going to be out in the marketplace competing in one way or another. It’s nice to get a picture of whether your child has at least some of the basic skills needed for adult life–the ones tested by standardized tests are not the ONLY skills a person needs, and arguably not even the most important, but still it’d be encouraging to me if I could see that my child’s math and English comprehension is about comparable or better to others of their age.
June 2, 2010 at 9:51 pm
csmamma
Participant
Thanks, Michelle. The PASS sounded great since we don’t have state requirements, however, after looking into it further I see its only for grades 3-8. Guess the next option might be the ITEDS.. if at all its even necessary – still undecided . Thanks again for your input! ~ Heather