Blog Cruise: Standardized Testing in the Homeschool

This week's cruise asks - Do you administer standardized testing in your homeschool?  Why or why not?

I ordered our standardized tests for the year in January.  It’s bitter-sweet.  I’m glad to be in compliance and will happily meet the requirements that give me the freedom to homeschool, but, personally, I’m against standardized testing.

First, as a homeschooling parent, my children will come away with a broad knowledge base that will meet and exceed the requirements of the state.  However, we may not do it in the same order as say Iowa where the test is made.  There are many options for tests, but Iowa works best for us.

Second, standardized testing is a farce.  A onetime test is hardly a reflection of knowledge.  My kids always score well, that’s not the issue.  In fact, the state doesn’t care how they score, just that they take the test.  My issue is that a number is assigned to a child that says this is how competent he/she is based on one test.  What if a child has test anxiety, what if he/she is sick, what if there are things going on in the family at that time – all these factors are ignored as a test labels that child.  It’s one of my biggest complaints about No Child Left Behind!  A one-time test determines if a child is being left behind – I think not.  Teaching to the test instead of for knowledge is one of the reasons I pulled my children from the public system.

Finally, standardized testing takes days out of our school schedule that we could really be learning something.  These are long, brutal tests that either have to be done in a mind-numbing marathon sitting, or spread out taking valuable learning time away from me and the kids.  Not to mention the $40+ dollars per test. 

Alas, there is a bright side.  As homeschoolers, colleges will evaluate my children based primarily on their SAT or ACT scores.  My kids have got to be able to sit down and go through the process of dealing with these types of tests.  I get to see their strengths and their weaknesses when it comes to test taking and work on those skills so that the colleges get an accurate picture of their abilities as reflected by a test. 

So, tests ordered.  We’ll take them in May when our co-op time is done.  Then that monkey will be off our back for another year.  Like I said, the freedom to homeschool is worth a little testing aggravation – I’ll just be glad when it’s done for this year.

Does your state require standardized testing?   If so, what test do you use?

Take a look and see how other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew handle standardized testing.

My Homeschool Transcript - A Wonderful Transcript Generator!

My Homeschool Transcript

http://www.myhomeschooltranscripts.com/

Cost:  $29 for lifetime subscription

           Free basic one time transcript

While this is a review, it is unsolicited.  I was blessed to be part of the beta program for My Homeschool Transcripts and give input on what I thought would be needed for my children’s transcripts.  It was great to work with the developer as he took all suggestions seriously and really strove to implement those that appealed to the wider audience.

Having a strong transcript, as a homeschooler, is important for those students wanting to go on to college.  Unlike in a public or private school, the developer of the transcript, typically mom and dad, has to really elaborate on what was accomplished in order to catch the college’s admissions counselor’s eye.

When I first knew I was homeschooling high school, I invested in another popular program that I now believe is very limited in what it can accomplish on a transcript.  Now that I’ve had time with My Homeschool Transcript, I wish I could get my money back!  This program is so much more thorough and dynamic.

I love the flexibility of what I can add or change in the program.  Some examples of what you can do include the following:

·         Create classes/subjects and as many student files as you need

·         Provide details about the class/subject including a description and comments (this is where I keep a running account of what texts we use)

·         Determine what is expected for graduation and visually see what your student needs to accomplish

·         Designate courses as Honors or Dual Enrollment and have them calculated properly

·         Determine how to calculate your grades

·         Develop a by grade or by subject transcript printable as a PDF

·         Record extra-curricular activites and test scores

All of this is for a one-time fee of $29!  A lot cheaper than what I spent before.  To see a more extensive feature set list, click here.

I feel that the process for creating transcripts is very straight forward.  I’ve started my son’s including the classes he will be taking this year, a bibliography for each course, and his extra-curricular activities.  This way I’m ahead of the game and can supplement or remove anything that changes as we go along.  He has already needed one transcript to join the National Honor Society.  I guess you just never know when you’ll need one.

Another aspect I have been very impressed with is customer service, I have sent the occasional email with a question and always get a fast and friendly response.  I don’t know about you, but I really value strong customer service.

I really felt compelled to post this as I just finished using it and wanted to be able to share a great program with my fellow homeschoolers.

There is an option to generate a free transcript if you want to check it out or are in need of a transcript, stat.  Obviously, I highly recommend this program for generating professional transcripts colleges will take notice of.

High School on the Horizon at MamaBuzz

I’m honored to be a contributing writer for MamaBuzz. If you haven’t checked out their web site yet, I strongly encourage you to. It’s a wealth of information and reviews on many aspects of life – not just homeschooling.

Of course, if I’m writing, it’s probably about kids, homeschooling, teens, etc. This time it was about the panic of homeschooling high school.

Check it out here: High School on the Horizon

I’m sure many of you have been, are, or will be there soon. Read and comment – I'm looking forward to finding those nuggets of gold that will make all the difference in our homeschooled high school success.

Sending Teens to College

College is something I have worried about for my kids from the day they were born. I was raised in a family where my father worked as an administrator at universities. I grew up in college, so to speak. So, when it came time for me to graduate high school, I knew I was going to college. I was surprised to find that there would be no financial support coming from my family. I guess I always assumed they had planned for it. Assumption is a dangerous thing, but one that teens are prone to. Luckily for me, I qualified for grants, loans and work-study. The middle being an issue I didn’t think twice about as a teenager. Loans… Sure, I had them, but what did that mean? It was something I would worry about after I graduated.


Now that I’m much older and just a little bit wiser, I realize that loans, while often necessary, come with a price. That price is called interest. I vowed that as my children became college-aged that I would help them pay for college defraying much of that cost. What I didn’t count on is the dramatic increase in the costs of education over the twenty years since I had been there. College, especially four-year colleges, are expensive!

So, plan B. We would pay for the first two years. Then, if they chose a four-year institution, we would pay for room and board providing it was not local. (Out-of-state is out of the question.) Scholarships would have been nice, but we didn’t go that route much to my hindsight dismay. I feel blessed beyond measure to be able to do this much for them.

The economy is not playing nice – it really changes our perspectives about pursuing a degree. Back in the day, education was the pursuit of knowledge. We don’t have that luxury today. Now, there must be a lucrative end goal for the investment to be worth it. I realized that just expecting my kids to go to college without a plan in mind wasn’t realistic. We needed to really consider all avenues. That’s what we are doing now.

My oldest has gone the four-year route. She spent one semester at home going to the community college and is now away at the university she always dreamed of. The catch – transferring may have made her four-year stay into five years. Yikes! That’s a lot of debt for her to take on, especially since her end goal is to teach.

My oldest son graduates this January. He will be at the community college in the spring fulfilling some of the general education requirements. Right now, he’s trying to decide between going to a four-year institution or taking a vocational path and earning an associate’s degree and certifications to work in the automotive industry. Based on our research to date, the latter seems like the more profitable approach.

There’s a lot to be done between now and next spring. He’ll have to make choices, she’ll have to figure out if she can afford another year, and we’ll have to determine just how we can get the two younger ones positioned to know what they want to do and have the scholarships to pave the way. Phew!

What has been your approach to post-high school with your children?