The Homeschooling Handbook_ From Preschool to High School - Mary Griffith [71]
3.College admissions tests: These are specialized achievement tests that attempt to determine how much a student has learned and to predict how well a student will perform at the college level. The best-known examples, of course, are the SAT and ACT.
The only time I can foresee my children taking standardized tests is if they choose to go to college. If or when that time comes, I would think it wise for them to prepare for the required tests. Otherwise, I feel standardized tests are only relevant to a standardized education, and even then only marginally. Because I have rejected standardized education as inadequate and inappropriate for my children, I feel standardized tests have absolutely no value for us.—Laura, Texas
Unfortunately, the differences among these categories are more a matter of intent than content, and both the reliability and validity of specific tests are often questionable. A “reliable” test is one that consistently gives the same results for the same individual each time it is administered; variations in the testing conditions, the mood of the student, the humidity, the way instructions are given, or coaching have little effect on the results of a reliable test. A “valid” test actually measures what it is designed and used to measure. For instance, a test that purports to measure understanding of mathematical concepts may not be valid if it consists solely of multiple-choice arithmetic items; it probably measures only rote memorization skills.
With all their potential and actual problems, why do homeschoolers use standardized tests for evaluating their children’s educational progress? Most commonly, state homeschooling regulations require regular testing of homeschooled students, sometimes annually, sometimes at specific grade levels, such as grades 3, 5, and 8. A specific test may be mandated, families may be allowed to choose from a list of approved tests, or testing may be only one of several available options for evaluation. Among states that demand tests, some require that scores be submitted to the local school district or a state education agency, some require that a minimum score be attained to continue homeschooling, and others require only that students be tested but never ask for results at all.
Many homeschooling families decide that standardized tests are the least intrusive and easiest method of evaluation their state allows. Or, even when it’s not required by homeschooling regulations, families may choose to have their children tested at regular intervals as a means of assuring themselves (or their relatives) that they are “keeping up” with conventionally schooled students. Others simply believe that, because standardized testing has become such a widely used tool by schools and employers, it’s best to get their kids used to taking such tests as early and routinely as possible.
We have used the Stanford Achievement Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. We take the test once a year in the spring. I have administered some of the tests. One year the older two girls were tested with a homeschool group. I keep the results in the children’s school folders. I also announce their scores to the relatives. They usually do well on these tests, so it is a form of validating what we are doing. I don’t teach to the test. I don’t get the test early enough to even think about doing this. I don’t really know what are considered the “normal” subjects covered in social studies or science for each grade level.
I always check the tests over after the kids take them. This gives me more information about what their score really means than the numbers you get back in the mail. I know that they missed four questions in science because we have never studied rocks and minerals. If I found they were missing questions on