Ugh! It's standardized testing time, yet again!
Homeschooling laws vary from state to state. Some states are super easy, and some make you jump through more hoops than a circus monkey.
In our state, Georgia, we don't have a lot of hoops to jump through. One of the more annoying things we must comply with, however, is standardized testing.
Now, I count myself lucky. In Ohio, where I grew up, we had to take one of these horrible things every single year. Here in Georgia, I only have to torment my children with these every three years, starting with 3rd grade. My oldest just graduated 9th grade, so this year, it's his turn.
He's such a great kid, and super smart.
I do not like standardized tests at all. I feel like they don't even scratch the surface of the child's knowledge and potential. In my opinion, it basically just tests the child's ability to take tests. Pretty useless, in my eyes, but hey, it's only once every three years, so we can live with it. Compared to other states, we have it pretty easy. The only thing I have found it useful for was to use the results to 'prove' that homeschooling is every bit as good as public schooling.
"Look, I never assign 'required reading' to my child, or book reports, or things of that nature, but he still tests WAY above grade level in reading comprehension! Forcing children to read is NOT necessary!"
You know, stuff like that.
Yes, these things are annoying. Yes, they are pretty much a waste of time and mental energy.
However, compared to what public-schooled children are forced to endure, these are a breeze. I hear my kids' friends complain about all the hours and hours and hours of testing they must survive and I can't help but feel bad for them. This is something we have to do to comply with our homeschooling laws, and to keep my kids home where they can learn what THEY are interested in, it's a small sacrifice, indeed.
How about you? Are you giving your children end-of-year tests? Do you like them and find them useful, or do they make you roll your eyes till they fall out of their sockets? ;)
Thanks for reading! I welcome your thoughts on this matter, whether you agree with me or not! I hope you all have a wonderful day! ♥
This work by @SquishySquid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
We do the portfolio option, which avoids tests here in Florida, but I suppose every once in a while having to do one isn't so bad. They probably learn something from the experience.
Today is the first day of public school here. We went out late morning to get breakfast just to enjoy the quiet streets again :). Hope you are enjoying back to school too.
I dont blame you! Sounds like a great option! If Im remembering right, in Florida you have to take your children to get them tested at a local school? I thought I had researched that, but it was long ago. I consider myself SO lucky that I can do the testing myself at home, and only once every three years!
Yes! School has officially started here too! That means the library, grocery store, parks, etc, are all peaceful and not so crowded anymore! I enjoy that for sure!
Yes, they have to test at a school, so we just keep a portfolio. I think for kids at a young age the testing option is pretty stressful.
The town is ours again! (Villain laughter)
Ugh I hated forced reading in public school. I hated a lot of things about public school though. Once every 3 years doesn’t sound too bad. Do they have to take it while someone else supervises them?
I went to public school myself up until 6th grade, and I hated a LOT of things about it as well!
Every three years is fantastic!
I actually am able to give them the test myself due to a loophole. The company is 'giving' the test, while I act as 'proctor' named by them to administer it.
Works for me!
(There are quite a few testing companies that will work with you this way. The one I use is called 'Family Learning Organization', in case you were interested. )
Really interesting @squishysquid - can I ask how you decided to go with home schooling instead of public education to begin with before your children were school age? :)
Thanks!
Oh wow. Well, there are many reasons, and I don't know if I can list them all without writing a novel, haha!
Ill just name a few.
First of all, I was homeschooled myself, from the 6th grade on. I knew I wanted the same freedom for my children that I had. Having experienced both public and home schooling, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that homeschooling was the way to go.
FREEDOM.
I enjoy the freedom to sleep in. The freedom to drop everything and run to the park to play because it's just so darn lovely out. The freedom to allow my kids to go off on a tangent and learn everything they can about medieval knights just because they are interested. The freedom to take a vacation any time of the year we want, not just the heat of summer. To let the child have the day off from school just because they are having a brain-fart kind of day. To not have my kids taught things I strongly disagree with. To get to know them, really KNOW them. Not having them taken from me for most of every day is wonderful! We have great relationships and they are emotionally solid people.
I love the fact that I never have to worry about school shootings, pervy little kids who get handsy, drugs, lice, bad influences, bullying, etc.
They have lots of free time to participate in extracurricular activities, like 4H, sports, etc, without being overloaded and overwhelmed.
Its a fantastic decision for our family. We dont regret it at all. I realize this is not practical for every family, but I always encourage people to look into it, just in case.
The reasons continue from there, but that's a good start. :D
Thanks for stopping by!
♥
When I was homeschooling in Minnesota (1990-1998) we were required to administer an annual standardized achievement test. It could be administered by anyone with a bachelor's degree, so I usually did it myself. I found it useful to see how my children were doing, even though I had a good idea already how they were doing. When we moved to Idaho, it was no longer a requirement. I still used them for a couple of years, just because I found it to be useful information. But then my youngest was struggling with reading, and trying to do those tests (about 2nd grade, I think) had her in such a tizzy, she got sick to her stomach. So I quit the testing. When she was in 8th grade I took her to an educational service in the area and found out she is dyslexic. No wonder she had so much trouble with that standardized test! We spent a lot of money for a week of special tutoring which gave her a better understanding of how her mind works and some new strategies for reading and spelling. There was gradual improvement after that, and she reads and spells quite well now. But she is still unlikely to pick up a book and read it just for fun.
Wow, sounds like a struggle for sure, but Im glad you got her challenges figured out!
We use a testing service that allows us to administer the test at home, so that works out beautifully for us. The testing company names us at the 'proctor' to administer the exams. Its kind of a loophole, but I greatly prefer it to sending my child somewhere to get all stressed out and tested by strangers.
Id rather not do it at all, but hey, only once every three years?! That's not bad. ;)
In North Carolina we have an annual testing requirement. Annoying, useless, but easy to comply with. I am a registered tester with BJU Press and can test my own as well as other homeschooled students. Better than the horrendous End of Grade testing the government schools force on children--but just as unnecessary. A good teacher knows what her kids know and don't know without a standardized test and the accompanying stress on children.
I agree! There is no reason to stress out the poor kids by bombarding them with all those tests!
Very cool that you can test yours and others' children! That sounds like a great business opportunity, actually...
Here I use a test that allows me to administer it at home, so it is great for us! If I could not do that, then I would probably look for someone like you to test my kids. I wouldnt send them to school for sure. I have a friend who takes her child to the local school for end-of-year testing, and she says she is not even allowed in the building! She has to wait in the parking lot! This is not acceptable to me.