Since Susan and I will be joining forces with a couple of other homeschooling mums to test our clutch of little darlings with a Standardized Test soon (cost $50), AND since Susan posted about her views on this adventure, here is another take from me the situation. We posted earlier about preparing for the American College Test (ACT) from grade 5. This was a well thought out article (modest aren't I!) that explains how to enroll to become a tester, how to administer the test, and what you can take advantage of if your kid gets above the 90 percentile.
If your kids want to get into college then most of them will need to take a test. When they get to college, they will have to take many many tests. When they get into the real world, this sort of requirment is generally not necessary anymore.
You can reject the system, and take a stand against getting your kids to take a standardized test. What will this do? It will put "the test" out into that group of scary things they have not done yet. In my humble opinion I say let them practice taking these tests when nothing rests on the results except the idle curiosity of the parents.
Of course, nothing but a mild curious interest is sometimes difficult to fake, particularly if you were raised with parents who took a magnifing glass to your quarterly report cards! But most test nervousness is LEARNED behaviour. If you are stressed about it, I guarantee they will be too. Pretend it is a non-event. Test in the morning at a civilized hour for half a day, then let them play for the rest of the day, or make a fun excursion or play date with the other kids who are taking the tests. To take the Stanford Achievement Test this way for most grades takes 4 hours for 3 days, or 6 hours for 2 days - I suggest spreading it over 3 days (especially younger kids).
The Stanford Achievement Test costs $50. In my mind that's not a bad investment once a year.
If they get in the 90 percentile of the US, there are valuable academic scholarships around - one example - you can apply for a scholarship to the Huntsville Alabama NASA space camp (worth around $1000). As mentioned in the earlier article, those scoring over the 90 percentile in anything can enroll in their local Univeristy Talent Identification program which will then give them a chance to take the ACT version for grade 8(called Explore), grade 10(called Plan) or senior (called ACT) much earlier than normal. Starting from grade 5, this means your child would have taken the grade 8 test 4 times at the point that most other 8th graders were taking it for the first time. Who do you think will have the advantage then?
These activities take up 3 days for the Standardized testing, and one Saturday morning for the ACT grade 8 test. Not much if you look at it only as an annual activity.
Also remember, there is no reason to show your kids the results. Simply a "you did really well" or "we need to learn a bit more grammar for this type of test" will do. I promise, they will not be waiting for the results, unless they are groomed by you to look for the results!!
As I see it there is nothing to loose except a few days each year, $50 per kid and some preparation time by the parents. They practice their musical instruments, they practice for dance recitals, they practice for baseball, soccer, football, etc etc. Why not let them practice for test taking?
Aussie Kim
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