Assessment Tests

Hello Everyone,

I just started homeschooling my son whom is in 8th grade, and I live in Northern Virginia, my concern at this time is that I have to surrender a progress report/assessment document to the Prince William County School Superintendent by August 1st. Consequently, I have been looking for tests that my son can take that best fits with the curriculum laid out here on the Time4Learning website. I understand that I might have the option of turning in a "Portfolio" for assessing my son's accomplishments but I don't believe that the school district will accept this, so I'm asking if anyone has had any experience in trying to hunt down an assessment test that corresponds with Time4Learning curriculum. I have my Masters degree and my wife has her Ph.D so turning in a document can be from the two of us, however I know that we will need to back up our summaries of our son's education with some hard data, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time, earl ehrig

Hi, Earl. Welcome to the forum.

I took a look at Virginia's homeschool laws. I'm confused as to why the school superintendent is asking you for a progress report at this time. It isn't unusual for a school district to request documentation not required by law, especially if the student was previously in the public schools. You can politely decline to provide anything not required by your state's homeschooling statutes.

If you do eventually choose the test option, any standardized test is acceptable in Virginia (CAT, Iowa, etc.). The test does not have to be approved ahead of time by anyone in the school district. Virginia is fairly unique in that they don't require a neutral party to administer the test, nor do they require that the administrator have any particular set of qualifications.

Standardized tests are intended to measure a student's progress, when compared to similar students in the nation, regardless of curriculum used. These are the kinds of tests Virginia wants to see, if you opt for the testing option to prove progress. Using a test that corresponds to your particular curriculum would defeat the purpose and is considered "teaching to the test" (which is a big no-no). :mrgreen:

Time4Learning includes periodic evaluations as part of the program. There is usually a quiz at the end of each lesson and a test at the end of each chapter. (This pattern can vary.) The results are printable in a nice report format. Maybe that's the kind of thing you are looking for?

There is often a lot of anxiety associated with beginning to homeschool, especially if the child is older and parents are accustomed to public school methods. Don't make it harder than you have to. :wink: My amateur interpretation of Virginia's homeschool laws is that they provide many options and aren't overly regulatory. Hopefully, someone who is homeschooling in Virginia will come along and share some practical experience.

I'm not 100% positive, but I think he is just telling you about the required progress report, but I thought it was due on the 15th, rather than the 1st. Im going to use the CAT tests (LA and Math only) from
http://www.setontesting.com/
Welcome to T4L :grin:

I have been using Seton Testing for the last 3 years. Love it. The grade quickly. =)

Ah, I overlooked your mention of an August 1 due date. I wondered why you were required to provide test results at this point. I see now that you are just planning in advance.

As a first year homeschooler of a 2nd grader, I am wanting to standardize test my daughter just for my own satisfaction. I am just curious.
My plan as of now is to have her test at the private Christian school she attended last year. Just arrange to have her test during the time the school tests. What would you suggest and should I even bother. I live in Texas, but that might not always be the case. I just want all my bases covered, just in case and so my daughter can have every opportunity to choose what she wants to do in the future. Thanx a Mill!

Thanks to all who have replied to my query about assessment tests, being a newbie in this process I'm concerned about whether I'm doing enough for the benefit of my child. I pulled him out of public school because of his ADHD was not compatible with the socialization process, nor the methods of curriculum delivery (teaching methods), found here in the Virginia's public school system. Of course, the school's here try their best to accomodate children but they have a program to follow, the teachers get easily stressed, and then our children quickly loose the benefit of education. in other words, our children start to accomodate the needs of our teachers and state curriculum guidelines when it should be the other way around. Nevertheless, here we are and here we go :lol:

Thanks again, your replies are greatly appreciated.

earl ehrig

Hi,
we are new to the home schooling. we are starting with our 12 yr old grand son, who was in public school. in the 6th grade. I am asking can anyone tell me where to go to do the assessment testing for him to start in mid school classes.
It is DEC 10th, almost thru with 1st semester. help?
thanks Marge from So East Ga.

Welcome to the forum, Marge! :)

You can begin anywhere you wish with Time4Learning. Some parents have their kids do the chapter tests first, without doing the lessons in the associated chapter. If they do well on the test, they try the next test. If they do not do well on the test, they do the associated lessons and try that same test again. Tests will be different each time they are attempted, because a few questions are drawn from a large bank of potential questions. This is to assure the student actually understands the material and isn't just memorizing the answers to test questions.

We actually hosted a live webinar awhile back about beginning to homeschool mid-year. It's avavailable in recorded form on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NCycez0i-o