A provocative question, but the more I think about it, the more it falls in the “Have you stopped beating your wife?”

We just did some testing, too, although not for the state. They can’t even get their ducks in a row when they write the test and deign the curriculum. Why would I want to be measured against it? Most kids will do fine, and the objections I raise here are less significant the older a child gets. After all, by 18 they should have caught up even if they had a later start.

But parents should be allowed to have an educational philosophy separate from the state. And good tests measure what is being taught, not what someone else decides a child should know by a certain age. There is room for individuality.

And the money is better spent on the kids whose parents have put them in the public system.

From Kaboose.com- Standardized Tests: What Grade Do You Give Them?

To develop a test, publishers construct questions based on the most common textbooks and curriculum for a particular grade, and that, according to many critics, is part of the problem. The tests look for what is common among schools, not which is unique. Subjects such as physical education, art, music, and foreign language, for instance, may help create a well-rounded student, but will be of little use on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills.

Even though homeschoolers have submitted to standardized tests and done very well, the continued push is going to hurt home education, because part of the attraction to homeschooling is the opportunity for individualization, based on ability and interests.

I have waited until my boys were 7-8 years old to teach them to read- and they while they have managed to do well on the CAT, I don’t appreciate the pressure to make them do something that I don’t want them to do until I believe they are developmentally ready.

So now The Big Dog, who started with first grade math when he was 9 and is now getting ready for Algebra 1 next year (he’s 11)- what does standardized testing do for him or me? He isn’t in 9th grade in Language Arts, but no tests fit his varied levels of learning. So if I get a test that ‘measures’ his understanding of Algebra at the end of next year, it is not going to accurately measure his vocabulary or understanding of grammar, because it will probably contain concepts and literature references we haven’t covered yet.

My dd isn’t even going to take Algebra- she loves consumer/business math. I think learning the stock market and the American economy is quite challenging, and just as worthy of study as ‘higher math’. Are there any standardized tests that will accurately evaluate her?

I evaluate my kids throughout the year, based on the material we have covered. There is no test publisher in the country that has a working crystal ball with which to create a test that would help assess my homeschooling efforts or my kids’ progress.

Crossing my fingers that I formatted the link properly….

It just does not necessarily work in every circumstance. And it doesn’t necessarily work for homeschools, particularly in the younger grades. After all, testing starts in the third grade when many homeschoolers are really only just getting started with formal studies depending on the philosophy. Research has proven this is as effective (and in some cases more effective) than starting early.

Standardized test scores aren’t the be-all-and-end-all, and certainly privately funded schools (including homeschools) should not be required to report student scores to the state. But I do believe they provide an objective measurement of certain skills, and one way to compare the quality of government-run schools (are the students doing better or worse than expected?).