This week we received our standardized testing scores back We test every other day mostly for my benefit.
So for my Random 5 Friday post I’m going to tell you —
5 Random Things I Learned from Standardized Testing
1 –My daughter loves to hear how she did! The first thing to note is that my daughter LOVES to hear how she did. She asks daily when the results will be in and is excited to hear that they have arrived. She loves knowing she did well and likes to know if there is an area that needs some worked. Her favorite part is being able to say that she reads at a particular grade level (above her actual grade). She LOVES sharing that with her family and friends !!
2 – Sometimes you can miss the obvious. So, sometimes you think you have covered something, or you know you have, and think that your child is getting it and then you take the test….and YIKES! But in some cases they are side tracked or just loosing interest in the test. I’m sure this happens with every lengthy test. But, I love that the results are broken down pretty far to help identify an area that might need more focused or review. We had one area this year that was surprising but now we know what to review this summer.
3 – Test taking skills are learned. As homeschoolers we don’t take a lot of tests so standardized testing provides us the opportunity to take a test and learn some of those test taking skills. It was difficult to explain the theory of guessing on a standardized test to my daughter. We discussed about making the best answer but, if you really don’t know the answer, the next best thing is to make the best guess based on all your knowledge. Some areas I felt like she was going way too fast and some areas she seems to really think a while on something and I worried it was too long but…she always finished before the allotted time ended. Overall I think taking standardized tests is an important life skill to practice.
4 – Online testing is pretty cool. This year we did the standardized test online. In the past we did the paper test. I liked this option as it allowed us to not have to leave the house and get everyone going early in the morning, rushing out the door, or finding childcare, and then be rushed before settling down to start testing for hours. The test is about seeing what your child learned, not if they can do ok while they have had less sleep, a crazy morning, and no snack if they are hungry. At home, when she finished a section before the time allotment, she was able to rest for a minute, jump around and get her wiggles out and have a snack if she was hungry. This was much more conducive to her personality. We were very happy with this option. Additionally, I was able to see some of the questions and watch how she answered. Sometimes I was REALLY surprised at the questions she was missing but it was interesting to watch.
5 – My daughter is a better test taker than I ever was. Funny, I was never a good test taker and since my daughter is so much like me I assumed she wouldn’t be either. This is not the case. She moves through with precision and confidence and this makes me proud. It’s nice to see her confident in test taking and not nervous. I’m hopeful this continues into her later years.
Overall, our online testing with standardized testing was good for us and the results were OUTSTANDING! What a great end to our year.
++Side note: If you are interested in online standardized testing, check out Testing Services offered by Classical Conversations. We were very pleased!
Be sure to check out more Random 5 Posts.
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