Oh the wonderful thing called Standardized Testing.
I have been dreading this time of year ALL year. On one hand I know it has to be done, and on the other hand why does it have to be so complicated? Ok, so it’s really not THAT complicated. That is, it’s not for the average person. For #2, the world has officially ended.
Our choice of test is the PASS test. Its specifically designed for home school students. I don’t need a fancy degree or need to find someone to administer the test. The best part? I can assign a time limit or question count to do in one sitting and then we can break till later. We have 4 weeks to do 3 different tests. That’s our only time limit!
Before you give the test you need to give your child a placement test. This test is 12 questions and will determine which level of test paper to give to your child. Your child is tested at THEIR level. This concept is GREAT. The work isn’t above your childs abilities and will allow them to get a pretty good idea of where they REALLY are.
As I sit here writing this, I have #2 sitting beside me working on his Language Test. There is A LOT of reading on all 3 test papers and I am seeing my precious boy lose his mind. We have already had a complete melt down and that was after the FIRST question!!! Only 59 more to go! Today’s goal? 10 questions. He did AMAZING on his placement test which is good but, it also poses the issue of causing grief on the real test. My solution to this was to assign him 1 test level below. I prefer to see him jump with joy with an AWESOME test score than cry and melt down because he worked soooo hard and just couldn’t handle it all.
(As a side note, I am challenging him to finish his 10 questions as I write this. 7 down, 3 more to go!!!!)
I know the first time with something different is always the hardest. I am hoping that by seeing the layout of the tests this year will help us out next year.
*deep breath*
Well 9 questions down, 1 more to go…. for now. Time to get the troops ready for the promised book store trip!
I wonder if I can talk him into more of his math test after we get back…..
It seems like #2 children seem to be very similar in many families – (and not just yours and mine.) For those that are interested in the PASS test, it is really geared to be taken 3 times a year – beginning, middle and end, so the parent can see how the child has been progressing through out the year. However, for those who do not like giving/taking tests (and since we are not necessarily doing what they do in schools so the test is not necessarily accurate for math in particular,) just note you (read: me) are not getting the most out of it. Not that that is bad. 🙂 Just something to note.
I do like the no time limits. Some children have no issues, but for others, they really need to be given the time in the younger years to sit and think. I think it helps keep them from feeling overwhelmed and hopefully as they get older the thought of a test won’t make them so nervous as they would have otherwise.
Give #2 a hug for me! <3