Mastery vs. Grades
Students educated at home often work on a task until they master it. A math paper can be corrected. An essay can be re-written until it is concise. A book may be read and discussed. A project might be started, abandoned, and then taken up again. Working toward mastery rather than grades means allowing perseverance to produce excellence over time. Without grades, learning is the focus. So, why would a home educator ever stoop to testing?
Home School Assessment Reflects the Real World
Assessment in home-based education resembles that done in the workplace. The manager meets with the employee and together they assess progress toward the goals they have set. Testing an employee with a standardized test wouldn’t make sense for most jobs.
Portfolios: Better than Tests
Many homeschooled students assemble a portfolio containing examples of experiences they’ve had, skills they’ve learned, and work they’ve produced and are proud of. Standardized testing could be part of a portfolio since knowledge is one goal of education. Portfolios should communicate to students that their work is taken seriously. Additionally, a portfolio demonstrates to others the competencies and strengths of the student. The teaching parent moves away from the role of planning curriculum, and into a role of recording the student’s accomplishments in a form that can be shared. Portfolios can be hard copy or digital or both.
Is Unschooling Real Education?
My daughters studied at home, without a correspondence or “umbrella” school to provide guidance, assign grades or produce a transcript. In fact, the longer we homeschooled, the more “unschooling” we became. By the time my daughters reached their teens they simply followed their passions, discovering the information they needed to do whatever they wanted to do. This may sound chaotic or lazy, but it turned out to be neither. They tackled far harder tasks than I would have assigned and learned things I still know nothing about. If I had it to do again, I’d go unschooling right off the bat. I just wasn’t brave enough at first.
Can Unschooling and Testing Co-Exist?
If the student wants to test, then that’s a reasonable part of unschooling. When the time came to apply to colleges and compete for scholarships, my daughters needed to submit their high school transcripts and test results. “Aha!” thought some of my more cynical friends. “Now the rubber meets the road.” And it did. They were both accepted at their chosen schools and both received full-tuition scholarships. Nice. But it didn’t just happen. In order for a college admissions board or a scholarship committee to consider a home-schooled applicant, they must have data that can be compared to other applicants. That’s only fair. That usually means test scores, though some major universities are moving away from test scores because they don’t actually predict student success.
No-Stress Testing
Stress ruins accurate testing! Consider what I call “low-stakes testing.” When you start home-schooling, especially if you are changing from another form of schooling, it can be helpful to do a baseline test in reading and math. This doesn’t have to be expensive. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills can be administered at home. Some parents use the tests that come with Saxon Math, and the leveled readings from Readworks.org. Baseline tests allow the student and you to see progress. More importantly, taking a standardized test once or twice a year, in the comfort of home, makes testing non-scary. Test-taking skills improve with practice. Testing provides a chance to talk with students about how test scores are used, and why they don’t define worth or ability.
What DO Tests Show?
Many parents avoid tests because they know that tests don’t give a real picture of the whole child. This is very true. Tests really only show how a person tests! The ITBS certainly never revealed that Alta could compose beautiful music. Neither did the ACT hint at Jen’s love of computer programming. My daughters needed to know that a test score cannot define or limit them. Testing, when they were ready, did give them confidence that they could test consistently whenever needed.
SAT/ACT/GED
If home-schooled students want to attend college or trade school they need to prove that they are academically ready. So, it can help to take at least one of the “Big Three” tests: The S.A.T., the A.C.T., or the G.E.D. It doesn’t hurt to take all of them. But first, use the excellent practice tests available in book form and as interactive computer programs. These are often available at your public library. Taking the practice tests and studying the tips definitely improves scores! Often, those scores open doors to the wonderful adventure of college. If your student takes the test on a bad day and does poorly, just re-schedule and take it again.
Testing Doesn’t Have to be a Bad Word
Approached sensibly, without pressure, a little practice testing helps a student prepare for college or gain confidence. Just don’t make it the central element that guides your home school or the only way of assessing progress.
by Yvonna Graham, M.Ed.
www.dyslexiakit.net
@GrahamYvonna
Reading improves test scores. If your student doesn’t read a lot, consider suggesting audiobooks and documentaries. Turn on sub-titles so the new vocabulary can be seen as well as heard. Free classic books are available at Librivox. More recent books can be found at Audible for $15/mo. And of course, the public library is your best friend!