Homeschool: Standardized Testing

Do you have your children tested each year using a standardized test such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills?

The state that I live in, Washington, requires this each year of homeschoolers. It's kind of silly we are required to do this since nobody ever asks to see the results. We just file it away in a notebook each year.

Even though it is silly we are required to do it when on one ever asks to see it, I still think it is a good idea even if I were not required to do it. It gives me as a homeschooling parent, a general idea of where my kids are at in their studies. It helps me identify weak areas that we need to spend more time on and it shows me where they are strong. It has been a valuable aid to planning their studies.

Of course one has to remember that these tests are not always accurate. If your child is having a bad day on test day, it will be reflected in how well they do. If you child accidentally turns two pages or skips a row of dots, of course this will make it look like she/he has failed miserably on that section when in fact they may have had all the answers correct, but mistakenly got them recorded on the wrong dots. This is an area where I as a parent/proctor comes in...I need to be alert to where my child is marking his answers so he gets them in the right place on the answer book. Since I sit right next to my child during testing, I can be alert to problems he has during testing and take that into account when the results come back.

I would encourage homeschoolers to all take a standardized test regularly just to see where they are and to identify weak areas and strong areas. It's worth it.