{"id":4574,"date":"2019-08-16T16:02:28","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T21:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeschoolboss.com\/?p=4574"},"modified":"2026-02-15T11:46:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T17:46:03","slug":"homeschool-testing-all-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeschoolboss.com\/es\/2019\/08\/homeschool-testing-all-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeschool Testing: All You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Homeschool Testing 101: All You Need To Know<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"\"<\/figure>\n
\"Homeschool<\/a><\/div>
Testing<\/a><\/span>

Homeschool Testing: All You Need to Know<\/a><\/h4>

Posted on Ellen Crain<\/a> \/ 4 comments<\/p>

Homeschool Testing 101: All You Need To Know What is homeschool testing and why do it? From an acade\u2026<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Silhouetted<\/a><\/div>
Tips<\/a><\/span>

The Evolution of Homeschooling and Where We Think It\u2019s Headed<\/a><\/h4>

Posted on Ellen Crain<\/a><\/p>

Modern U.S-based homeschooling has grown since its humble beginnings of ~10,000 homeschoolers in its\u2026<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Homeschooled<\/a><\/div>
Uncategorized<\/a><\/span>

How Connected Learning Can Transform Your Homeschool<\/a><\/h4>

Posted on Ellen Crain<\/a><\/p>

Homeschoolers are by definition outside-the-box learners.\u00a0 This is a powerful advantage in a world w\u2026<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Woman<\/a><\/div>
Tips<\/a><\/span>

Combating Summer Learning Loss<\/a><\/h4>

Posted on Ellen Crain<\/a><\/p>

It’s May, which means playing outside, wrapping up your classwork, and Memorial Day being just\u2026<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What is homeschool testing and why do it?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

From an academic perspective, testing (or assessment) is anything that gives an instructor information about what their student knows.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step to homeschooling is knowing how to prepare your child for standardized tests<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While homeschool parents have a front-row seat to their children\u2019s learning, many worry about their own blind spots in assessing their kids<\/a> or are unsure about how their kids\u2019 performance compares to what would be expected in school. This can lead them to consider homeschool testing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other homeschool families test to meet legal requirements or to keep non-custodial parents in the loop.<\/span><\/p>\n

Homeschool testing can be a great tool to learn about kids\u2019 strengths and weaknesses, determine whether they are on track compared to their public-school peers, and measure growth over time. However, a lot of homeschool parents find testing confusing and stressful.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this post, we will take the mystery out of testing by explaining how tests work, what the terminology means, and how to use the results in your homeschool<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Standardized Tests:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tests that are administered in a standardized way that allows for comparison among the people who take the test. These can be fixed <\/strong><\/span>or adaptive <\/strong><\/span>tests.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Fixed Tests\u2192<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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All students of a particular grade level answer the same questions.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Adaptive Tests\u2192<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Questions adjust to the level of the student.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students get questions at the right level for them – making this test option more accurate than fixed tests for all students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially beneficial for students who are performing well above or well below grade level expectations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Adaptive tests offer the same degree of challenge for all students – all students will get roughly the same number of questions correct on the test.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their score is determined by the difficulty of those questions.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The following are types of assessments that can be used to help you understand where your child is in their learning \u21b4<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Formative Assessments<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Usually an informal<\/strong> observation of what your child has learned and what topics they need more instruction in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using these observations to adjust what you do with your kids learning is the hot new thing in teaching today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ejemplos:<\/b>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Having a conversation in the car about a book they are reading – this can help you gauge how well they are understanding it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Playing a board game together – you might notice some math skills that are giving them trouble.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Criterion Referenced Assessments<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This is probably what you imagine when you think of testing as it is a little more formal than a conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are tests that show whether the student has learned specific skills based on pre-specified criteria – student scores are not compared to scores of other students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically the goal of a CRA is a perfect score or at least to “pass”.<\/span><\/p>\n

CRAs are most useful if they are aligned with your teaching goals and curricula.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ejemplos:<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A math test at the end of a chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n

A weekly spelling test.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Norm Referenced Assessments<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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These are formal<\/strong> tests that compare the homeschooled child\u2019s performance with a \u201cnorm group\u201d of children who took the test at some point in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

Normed tests are not pass\/fail (even though some state homeschool laws include cut scores).<\/span><\/p>\n

Norm-referenced test scores are primarily about comparing performance, not specific skills, with the norm group. Because of this it is important that the norms are recent and use large groups to be reliable, rather than using a test with questions that match your curricula.<\/span><\/p>\n

Experts recommend using normed tests no older than 10-12 years.<\/b><\/p>\n

Some homeschool testing companies claim that public school standards were higher in the past, and therefore an older test is more rigorous than a current one. However, that claim does not hold up\u2014the \u201cNation\u2019s Report Card\u201d shows that an average fourth-grade math student from 1990 would be in the bottom quarter of the class today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MAP\u00ae Growth\u2122<\/strong><\/b><\/a>\u00a0is a nationally norm-referenced computer-adaptive assessment that accurately measures performance. MAP Growth is using 2020 norms.\u00a0 <\/b>See all normed test comparisons here<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ejemplos:<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

SAT<\/span><\/p>\n

IQ Tests<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Testing is a crucial part of the teaching process. The purpose of all these kinds of tests is to learn more about your child so you can be a better homeschooler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Done well, testing tells you when your child is ready to move on to something new and when they need to spend more time mastering a topic. It tells you which lessons from earlier months or years stuck and what was forgotten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every learner is on their own path<\/a> \u2014 testing helps you figure out where your kids\u2019 learning path is taking them so you can guide them where they need to go.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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How to Give Your Homeschooled Child a Standardized Test<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The best way for your child to take a standardized test depends on your child and your assessment goals. Here\u2019s a step-by-step guide, from choosing the test to getting the results.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Determine your goals for testing\u2192<\/b><\/span>
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