If you are a twitter follower you know that I spent my morning supervising standardized testing for our homeschool group. This is a service that is offered by the parent support group of our larger organization. It is made available to all homeschooling families in our area. Several families who are too far away to participate in our regular activities make the trip here for two days of testing.
I was reminded of a few things today….
1. Some parents put way too much of an emphasis on standardized testing (especially at early grades). Why do some moms see this one test score as an accurate measurement of their child’s overall education? I remember some parents who reacted this way when I worked in public schools, but it seems like I have ran across more homeschooling parents who feel this way.
2. Some moms are hesitant to admit that their “curriculum in a box” needs to be supplemented. While chatting with a group of moms I brought up the fact that most boxed curriculum packages do not follow the same scope and sequence as traditional schools. I also pointed out that many boxed packages have holes to fill in if you really want to make sure your child is ready for college. You would have thought I said that I thought they were all wrong for using a boxed package. Some of them took a very defensive tone with me. I was able to give specifics to them about what I was meaning, but it was countered with “Well if XYZ says this is all they need to learn in this grade, it’s all they need”. Since when is supplementation a dirty word? Think outside of that curriculum box, really, it’s ok.
3. It is always amazing how open children are with me. The high school students had lots to say…Nuff said, learned a lot in that area today, lol!
4. If a mixup is going to happen, it’s going to involve someone who will enjoy telling people about it.
5. My son didn’t participate in this group testing today. For some reason, a lot of moms thought it was a topic to quiz me about. I personally found my answer to be boring, but hey, glad I’m so entertaining to others.
Our state doesn’t require standardized testing, but does want some form of evaluation. Many moms use this testing to fulfill that requirement. So what is your state’s requirement in the area of testing?
We chose our state’s private school option, so we do not have to do any testing or evaluations. Just a letter to the state once a year, saying we are homeschoolers.
I’ve been thinking about getting the CAT test and testing him at home, just for informational purposes, but I haven’t decided yet.
I’m not against standardized testing, I just think we put too much emphasis on it.
We have no requirements for testing. We are considered a private school and only required to teach the four basic subjects plus a good citizenship course—but it’s not exactly enforced.
I know what you mean about the over emphasis on standardized tests. When I was going to school, everyone thought standardized tests were so important, but did they actually predict who would go on to college, who would be wealthy, who would end up on welfare, who would end up running the world’s most helpful charity, who would end up sleeping in a homeless shelter? Nope. Nope. Nope. I know kids who had amazing scores, but still spent the next 15 years serving french fries at a fast food restaurant, and I know kids who had horrible scores but went on to be financially successful, excellent partners and parents, happy, and inspirational. Standardized test scores don’t do a very good job of measuring a child’s success (in the present or in the future). All they seem to measure is how well a child can take a test. I wish we could get rid of them and let kids use their individual accomplishments and passions as a resume instead of scores.