Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Homeschool testing: above grade level?

I assume so. I don't know how the powers-that-be respond to giving a child a harder test than required, especially one that doesn't match the grade-level you put on their "we're going to homeschool" letter at the start of the year.

The oversight is really minimal/nonexistent, so I suspect I can pretty much do whatever I want, provided it's harder and not easier.

HSers tend to frown on giving above-grade tests though, since it will tend to drag down the numbers which always look so rosy for HSers. But I'm a rebel, so that doesn't bother me much!

Lorel, if you're reading this, what do you do? Do you give grade-level tests?

What about states where you have to have a portfolio with examples of what the child has done during the year? Do some states accept grade-level testing as an acceptable sign the child has learned the material for X grade?

Well, we don't have access to the "official" state test. We give either the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the California one (the CAT, I think? Not sure...) These are accepted by the state and are reasonably easy to order.

But we have to order it, pay for it, administer it (or pay someone to do so), and return it to the test company ourselves.

I don't know anyone who gives an above grade-level test. Even my homeschooling friends with GT kids give grade-level tests. Their attitude is, "It's a hoop, just jump through it and be done with it."

There's a logic to that, but there's also a strong sense of BOREDOM!

I'm feeling a little lost as far as context on the testing. Where was this conversation started?

Never mind- I found it!

Every state is different, so I think you really need to investigate the situation as it applies to your state. I don't feel like I can offer general advice on this one. I'm fortunate enough to live where there are not a lot of hoops to jump, so I can't say whether a homeschool grade skip might be beneficial or not.

One thing you may want to bear in mind is that a grade skip will put your son at a slight disadvantage when it comes to special awards, talent search and academic competitions. These are usually grade specific, and not just organized according to age.

My family usually tests each Spring for our own information. We do order "up" 2-4 years. It's not a perfect solution though, as I'd really love to have the option of ordering every subject's testing ala carte. DD gets math anxiety if we go too far ahead, but it is never enough on the verbal side for her.

Not sure of that was helpful after all. Sorry! Wish I had more to tell you.

Lorel: The real question is, can I test "up" with DS without officially skipping him a grade? Or is he in the grade for the test I order?

Is that decided on a state-by-state basis? I've never seen anything about it before anywhere.

OHG: I missed your question. I know in our state, you can use the portfolio method. I just haven't chosen to. I have to save stuff, and I'm not that organized. Then I have to meet with someone, and I'm not thrilled about having to "prove" what we've done for a whole year to someone in the span of an hour or two. The score DS has to get to pass the test is obscenely low--like a 28% or something you could easily get by random guessing!--so giving him the test is the obvious, easy choice.

I'll have to check, Dottie. Obviously I wasn't too worried about how well he'd do, so I haven't been too picky about the details...

I just checked: above the 25th percentile is passing. You got it right. I'm SUCH a newbie!

The only subtest that is anything even remotely like trouble for us there will be the Listening section. If I had thought DS6 were an auditory learner, I would now have evidence that he is not. (And for the record, I already knew! Oh, I SOOOOO knew!) He missed more in that section than he missed in the whole rest of the gazillion subtests combined!

Reasons I have to say everything 6 times...

Kriston-

I do understand your specific question, but I am afraid I don't know the answer. Since every state and in some states every individual district has it's own policies, it is impossible to say what out of level testing would mean.

If you contact your state homeschool organization, maybe they can help you out with this. I'm sure it has come up before!

Sorry to seem the pest. Since your answer focused on the ramifications of grade-skipping, which I don't technically want to do--one of the reasons I'm HSing is because I don't want to grade-skip him!--I figured I wasn't being clear. I want to give him the harder test but still keep him in his age-based grade.

AKA, I want to have my cake and eat it, too, I think.

Anyway, thanks for your help!

Kriston,
If the tests are not too expensive, why not order the age appropriate test and give it now for end of term and then at some point over the summer do the out of level test to see where he really is? Maybe he would think of it as a pretest for next year's curriculum?