Comments on: Why would homeschoolers object to state testing?

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:57:11 +0000

Thanks, ChristineMM.

By: ChristineMM

ChristineMM — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:30:38 +0000

Dana I really enjoyed your thoughts on this. You take the arguement against standardized testing for homeschoolers to a higher level of analysis. Bravo.

By: I’m A Pundit Too | Carnival of Political Punditry - February 3, 2008

I’m A Pundit Too | Carnival of Political Punditry - February 3, 2008 — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:01:30 +0000

[...] presents Why would homeschoolers object to state testing? posted at Principled [...]

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:12:36 +0000

I’m currently reading a very interesting book call The Poisoned Apple: The Bell Curve Crisis and How Our Schools Create Mediocrity and Failure” by Betty Wallace & William Graves. It talks about how standardized tests are norm-referenced and therefore designed to sort children rather than to tell us what they’re actually learning.

You could stick my DD in any school in the country and she’d still score above-average on a standardized test. You could likely predict fairly accurately what she’d score simply based on her family background characteristics (class, race & ethnicity, native tongue, parents’ marital status, parents’ educational level, etc).

By: Ju Mordecai

Ju Mordecai — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:12:16 +0000

Another objection is ‘Who is watching the homeschoolers?”

Well who is?

The entire nation on ESPN as homeschoolers continually win the National Spelling Bee.

By: Karen Davis

Karen Davis — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:14:42 +0000

One of the best articles that I have read on this subject. I can’t wait to share the link.

By: T F Stern

T F Stern — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:21:44 +0000

When you started breaking down each part of those wonderful words regarding rights from God all I could think about was the scene from My Fair Lady where they’d been up all night attempting to iron out proper pronunciation. Eliza finally got it right and Professor Hill said, “Again…”, followed with, “By George she’s got it!”

Well, By George You’ve got it, now figure out how to get the others to listen to how well you put it. Bravo, Eliza…

By: Renae

Renae — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:06:21 +0000

High stakes, indeed! How much pressure is on a student who knows there are such life-altering consequences for not passing a test?

By: Sunniemom

Sunniemom — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:57:34 +0000

Dana- ditto that about Dr. Moore- I used their methodologies with my dd and ds, and started them a bit later than the PS system requires. They went from ‘first grade’ material to ‘fifth grade’ material in one year. Being bound by state testing requirements would leave me with no choice but to ‘teach to the test’ at the pace the state required. Like, duh- why would I want to do that? I’d rather stick a fork in my eye!

Have you read Chris Carter’s article on standardized testing? http://testcritic.homestead.com/files/standardized_tests.html

Banesh Hoffman, professor of mathematics and former collaborator with Albert Einstein, made exactly this point in his 1962 book The Tyranny of Testing. According to Dr. Hoffman, it is the multiple-choice format that is to blame. “Multiple choice tests penalize the deep student, dampen creativity, foster intellectual dishonesty, and undermine the very foundations of education” he remarked in a 1977 interview.

By: Mom Is Teaching » Blog Archive » News, Politics, and Homeschooling Blogs

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:14:46 +0000

[...] of great homeschooling blogs on my feed this morning I read and reread this post on state testing for homeschoolers. As usual Dana hit the nail right on the head and explains it perfectly. It is important to think [...]