In states where yearly testing isn't required, many home school parents come to the question; "Should we have our child tested?" This is a brief explanation of why we had our first grader tested this year.First, my husband, though he is supportive of our homeschooling adventure wanted some sort of proof that Keller was really learning all he needed to know. I know he was kind of uneasy when he found out how little time was actually devoted to academics (3 hrs. max). He wondered how Keller could possibly be learning what he needed to in that amount of time when the public schools apparently needed so much more of our child's time to do the same. Also, we would skip a day here or there or sometimes even a week during the holidays, or when someone wasn't feeling well. He kept asking me, "Do you think he's learning everything?" I kept saying "yes", but he kept asking. Finally I asked him if it would make him feel more at ease if I gave Keller a standardized national test. This turned out to be an easy process. I ordered the test from Family Learning Organization, administered the test over about a week, and sent it in for scoring. The scores came back about a week later, and that was the end of "Do you think he's really learning everything? How do you think he compares with other kids his age?" In The Well Trained Mind it is quoted "Test results demand respect." I've found this to be true. I must say, it put my fears to rest, too. Even if the test results had been different, at least we could have seen where we needed to fill in the holes.
The second reason why it seemed like a good idea to have him tested was just to get him used to the experience of taking tests. Sooner or later he will have to take one, and if it's not a new experience, hopefully it will involve less anxiety for him. That's it.
I know there are other ways in which to gauge how much a child knows, but as a tool for capitulating any homeschool naysayers, testing still seems to be the gold standard.
Until later,
Kristy
