As you know, I was homeschooled. One aspect of homeschooling was the standardized tests me and my siblings took each year. At one point, I think this test was composed of half-day tests for three days in a row. Such a battery of tests is especially good for homeschoolers because it lets them see were they stand with respect to other kids. However, there are many families that see this annual testing as an invasion of their privacy and a waste of time. After all, shouldn't parents be allowed to teach their children as they see fit? In the ideal situation, parents want their children to do the best they can academically and probably wouldn't need the government to make sure they're doing a good job. Let's face it though: not all parents are capable - or willing - to educate their kids adequately. Thus, it is a good idea for the government to at least let parents know how their children measure up.
This test is an easy test. It's not the SAT or ACT. They're not analyzing advanced reasoning skills. All they want to know is whether the kids can read and do some math, really basic math. If your child doesn't measure up, you could chalk it up to not testing well, or you could realize that your teaching isn't adequate. This test is an excellent opportunity to measure your child's skills, and you don't have to pay for it - directly, anyway.
Also, standardized tests of any kind are just good. You can learn all you want and be a genius, but if you don't take standardized tests, colleges don't have a way to measure your skills and aptitude. Stanford, for example, recommends SAT subject tests for homeschoolers because that's a way for homeschoolers to show what they've learned. And there are also AP and Clep exams. These tests allow homeschoolers to study on their own and yet have a legitimate way to measure their learning.
Some people oppose this idea because they think that giving a child a score is like measuring his worth. After all, some kids are smarter than others, and you don't want to make the dumb kids feel bad, right? But the thing that's interesting is this: the score only goes to your family and perhaps select organizations. Thus, any measure of worth is really going to take place in your family. This means that the parents and siblings of the kids are probably the only ones who will be seeing the scores and measuring the kid's worth. In this case, the issue is not with the kid's test score being measured against that of his siblings but everything about him being compared to his siblings. You see what I'm saying? Families don't decide to compare just test scores. If they're comparing test scores, then they're probably comparing many other things. Thus, the issue is with the family.
Tests are good.
This test is an easy test. It's not the SAT or ACT. They're not analyzing advanced reasoning skills. All they want to know is whether the kids can read and do some math, really basic math. If your child doesn't measure up, you could chalk it up to not testing well, or you could realize that your teaching isn't adequate. This test is an excellent opportunity to measure your child's skills, and you don't have to pay for it - directly, anyway.
Also, standardized tests of any kind are just good. You can learn all you want and be a genius, but if you don't take standardized tests, colleges don't have a way to measure your skills and aptitude. Stanford, for example, recommends SAT subject tests for homeschoolers because that's a way for homeschoolers to show what they've learned. And there are also AP and Clep exams. These tests allow homeschoolers to study on their own and yet have a legitimate way to measure their learning.
Some people oppose this idea because they think that giving a child a score is like measuring his worth. After all, some kids are smarter than others, and you don't want to make the dumb kids feel bad, right? But the thing that's interesting is this: the score only goes to your family and perhaps select organizations. Thus, any measure of worth is really going to take place in your family. This means that the parents and siblings of the kids are probably the only ones who will be seeing the scores and measuring the kid's worth. In this case, the issue is not with the kid's test score being measured against that of his siblings but everything about him being compared to his siblings. You see what I'm saying? Families don't decide to compare just test scores. If they're comparing test scores, then they're probably comparing many other things. Thus, the issue is with the family.
Tests are good.
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