Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

This topic has 6 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 5 months ago by HollyS.

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

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December 5, 2017 at 7:59 am
KeriJ
Participant
I know the general thoughts about test and quizzes in a CM education. But how does this translate into high school? For instance, Apologia science is recommended, which is somewhat traditional. Are there tests and quizzes with Apologia?
I get that cramming for a test does not equal learning. But now that we are doing high school, I wonder if dd needs to practice the skill of studying for a test in order to prepare for college where I remember numerous tests and quizzes. We are using Master Books for science. I have been trying to make it more of a CM course, but we’ve kind of reverted to doing it as written…worksheets, terms to memorize, etc. When a quiz or test is scheduled, I waffle about whether or not to do them. Dh thinks she can learn the test taking skills later.
What is the general consensus for high school courses in a CM education?
December 5, 2017 at 8:47 am
Jamie
Participant
I am sure this will come up in the high school q + a series that the Simply CM team is currently doing on the blog.
To answer your Apologia question… Yes, they do have tests + quizzes for the older levels (7th and up). We do the book work more as oral narration. We do give the tests but it is only for them to get used to the testing format – to prepare them for possible future college level classes. Science is the only subject that my son does those types of tests.
December 5, 2017 at 8:59 am
KeriJ
Participant
Thank you Jamie. That’s kind of what I was thinking was to just do tests for science…maybe some in math.

December 5, 2017 at 11:04 am
Melissa
Participant
I’ve been having my son alternate written and oral narrations for Apologia General Science. We started out the year having him do the student notebook and take the tests but dropped it. Reading his written narrations and hearing him talk about what he’s been reading is much more interesting and meaningful.
December 5, 2017 at 11:47 am
Jamie
Participant
Melissa – I like that you alternate between units. Good idea!! We are doing General Science this year too.
Student Notebook – We never even purchased it. Part of me really wanted too because it is part of the “program” and I love to check all the boxes. But I knew it would not be a good fit for our approach to learning. Instead, we are using the guide from Sonlight. It help us break the book up into manageable chunks and keeps us on track. Love it!!
December 5, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Melissa
Participant
Yes, I know what you mean about being a list checker. I bought the student notebook thinking it would help keep him on track but it’s just too much for someone with a CM mindset.
I have him read a few pages at a time and then narrate—sometimes orally, sometimes in his written narration notebook. I like seeing the sketches that he adds, too. He does the experiments as they come up.
December 6, 2017 at 7:53 am
HollyS
Participant
Keeping good records is also an important skill needed for science (at all levels). The science notebook with labs, summaries, and sketches is a great addition. Some people keep one notebook for summaries of readings and one notebook for experiments. We haven’t done much testing at this point, and my oldest is 15. I would like to introduce her to it at some point, but I’d much rather focus on narrations at this point. She still has work to do there.