A Time for Testing

I've been meaning to blog about this for over a week and other things keep coming up. Tonight I'm pushing everything else aside and getting my thoughts out.

If you know anything about me, you'll know that my homeschooling style is very eclectic and laid-back. I don't regularly test in most of our subjects and I don't adhere to any one set of standards. My methods aren't perfect, but it works. Until the man gets uneasy about whether or not the kids are actually learning anything.

Another important factor to me is how involved the state is in our kid's education. We chose to enroll in Allendale Academy so that we are accountable to them, not the state or school district. They don't require annual resting until 4th grade so last year was the first year we were required to have any kind of testing done for Jacob. We had him evaluated by a certified teacher and turned that evaluation into Allendale. One of the nice things about homeschooling in Florida, although kind of scary, is that the only thing you have to show is that the student made progress during the year. Since I'm not too concerned about whether the state thinks my kids are meeting certain requirements at certain grades, I've never been too concerned about standardized testing. I'm with my kids almost every single day of their lives. We have made learning such an integrated part of our life that it is involved in almost everything. Learning isn't just about schooling, it's a way of life. I know what my kids know. When you're that in tune with your kids, you already know their strong and weak areas. But back to the man. Since he's at work every day, he isn't as in tune as I am and needed some kind of concrete proof that the kids are learning.

So on to the testing. One of the ways that Allendale suggests for annual testing is to use the 1970 edition of the California Achievement test sold by Christian Liberty. They offer a paper version - they mail it to you, you proctor it and mail it back, they mail the results - and an online version - after you pay online you get an email with a link to the test, test is proctored using the testing website, and results are emailed immediately after all portions of the test are completed. Being the instant gratification person that I am, of course I chose the online test. The entire testing process was done in one day starting from ordering the test to having the results in my hand. The actual testing was probably 1-1/2 to 2 hours, although maybe not even that long. Each section was taken and timed separately. I really liked testing this way. I was able to look over his shoulder a little and see what the questions were testing him on. He seemed very comfortable with the test and he liked working at his own pace. He couldn't believe that when I did SATs we had to wait for the entire allotted time and couldn't go on to the next section. Booooring!

Now I'm guessing that you're thinking 1970? Really? Isn't that outdated? Those are exactly the things the man was asking. Christian Liberty does an excellent job of explaining why they still use the 1970 CAT.

Reasons for Using the 1970 CAT

Reason #1
We still use the older version of this nationally normed achievement test because the newer editions reflect a lower academic standard. Most educators will acknowledge the fact that our nation's educational standards, as far as student achievement in the basic skills is concerned, have dropped considerably since the early 1970s. It is our professional opinion that the more recent versions of achievement tests simply do not demand as high a standard of achievement because too many of today’s students are ill-equipped to handle the level of evaluation that was common in the early 1970s.

Reason #2
We are convinced that the older achievement tests reflect a standard much more in keeping with the academic level of our curriculum.

Reason #3
The older achievement tests permit us to compare our students on a national level with students in the public and private schools who were tested prior to the period of the steady decline in student achievement in the government schools during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Reason #4
The older versions of the CAT still accurately measure the basic skill development of students in the time-honored subjects of Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Grammar and Composition, Spelling, and Mathematics skills. Therefore, state officials who insist that private home school students be tested to determine whether they are making satisfactory progress in the basic skills can still rely upon the 1970 CAT. After all, the supposed purpose for state-mandated achievement testing is simply to determine whether children are receiving an education that will permit them to be functionally literate and, therefore, not a burden to themselves or society. The simple fact is that the basic skills have not changed much since the 1970s. In large measure, reading, writing, and arithmetic are still the same as far as the basics are concerned.

Reason #5
To the best of our knowledge, there is no distributor of achievement test materials that will allow any homeschooler to use the latest editions of their tests. Most providers of current achievement tests must approve test administrators before shipping their tests. Suppliers of the achievement test materials most often utilized by homeschoolers and home school organizations will usually not permit their tests to be used without a government-licensed individual being directly involved in the testing process. In such cases, parents are often unable to oversee the testing themselves; they may be required to use proctors to administer the tests. We view this stipulation as an unnecessary intrusion into the privacy and sanctity of Christian home schools in general, and our testing service in particular.

In conclusion, while we are not inherently opposed to using newer tests, we are not in favor of using more recent achievement tests that would be an inadequate evaluation of our customers’ students or require proctoring by individuals who are state sanctioned or licensed. Therefore, for the reasons listed above, we have continued to use the 1970 edition of the nationally recognized California Achievement Test. 

I agree with all five reasons they list, but one and three particularly stand out for me. I'm not here to bash public education, it has its place, but I think anyone would agree that the standards of education have been slipping. (Recent FCAT results anyone? Students fail so we lower the passing grade. Srsly?) It only makes sense that more recent tests would not demand as high a standard of education. Going hand in hand with that would be that since standardized tests use comparisons, an older test with older results would reflect the higher standard of education. After discussing these reasons with the man, he was more than happy to trust my judgement in choosing a test.

Now to the best part - results! Like I said above, within minutes of him finishing the test I received an email with his scores. I admit, at first I was a little nervous about how he would do. This could either make or break my confidence as a homeschooling mom. Nervousness aside, he did exactly how I knew he would do - or better. His highest scores were in math and spelling and his lowest were in Language usage and structure. Exactly what I told the man his strong and weak points were. But for $25, he has peace of mind, I have renewed confidence that I'm not totally screwing up our kid's education and we have our annual testing results ready to mail in. All in all, it was a good experience and most likely what we'll do in the future.