Apr. 27, 2006
The Teaching Home Newsletter: Achievement Testing Part 2
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Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement
From a Distinctively Christian Perspective of Home Education
Cindy Short and Sue Welch, Co-Editors / www.TeachingHome.com
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Table of Contents
Your State Home-School Convention
Achievement Testing, Part 2
• 3 Ways To Prepare Your Child for a Test
• Sources for Practice Tests
• 7 Test-Taking Skills To Teach Your Child
• Checklist for the Day of the Test
Recommended Resources
• Franklin Springs DVDs
• Lingo House: Foreign Languages
• The Teaching Home Back Issues
Sunnyside Up: Humorous Anecdote
Greetings!
Achievement Tests, Part 1 (Last Issue)
See Newsletter #151 in our archives.
• Standardized Tests and the Christian Worldview
• What Achievement Tests Can and Cannot Do
• Common Standardized Achievement Tests
• Interpreting Test Scores: Glossary of Terms
• Applying the Results
In our last issue we addressed the fact that although
home-school parents who work closely with their children every
day usually know quite accurately where their children are
academically and in many other areas, achievement tests can
affirm both your child's learning progress and your teaching
ability. This objective evaluation can encourage both of you and
also provide confirmation of your success to other family
members, friends, and the state, where required.
Contact your state home-school organization or Home School
Legal Defense Association to check your own state's laws.
See Newsletter #151 in our archives to read more about the
topics listed above.
Achievement Testing, Part 2
Many home-school children are not acquainted with, or
practiced in, test taking. The information below will provide
you with tips on preparing for and taking tests.
May the Lord bless you and your family for His glory.
Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian
The Teaching Home is a home-school, family-run business
operated in our home since 1980.
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Your State Home-School Convention
Renew and expand your vision for teaching and training your
children by attending your state home-school convention!
Conventions This Weekend
MA 4/28-29 www.masshope.org
ON 4/28-29 www.ochec.org
WY 4/29 www.homeschoolersofwy.org/cal.asp
Follow the link for your state to get more convention information.
May AK, AR, GA, IL, ME, MI, MS, MT, NC, NJ, NY, OK, PA, WI
June CO, CT, IA, ID, IL, KS, NY, OH, SC, VA, WV
July AL, AZ, CA, KY / August OR, TX
Read "Getting the Most Out of Home-School Events."
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Franklin Springs DVDs
Will Entertain, Edify, Encourage,
and Educate Your Family.
by award-winning producer/director Ken Carpenter,
home-schooling father of eight
• A Journey Home - When his family life demanded
change, Tommy Waller took a giant step.
• Peasall Sisters - Their music and God-honoring
family. • Rejuvenate - Healthy eating. • Family Meal Table with Nancy
Campbell (Above Rubies). www.franklinspringsfamilymedia.com
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3 Ways To Prepare Your Child for a Test
It is wise to prepare your child for a test and teach him
some basic test-taking skills.
1. Teach Subject Matter
The desire to do well on a year-end test can provide added
accountability and motivation for learning throughout your school
year.
You will choose the material you teach your child based on
more important criteria than passing a test. In fact, much of
the most vital information you want your child to learn will not
appear on a standardized achievement test.
(See Newsletter #81 about setting spiritual, academic,
social, and life skills goals and objectives.)
However, be sure to include all information the test will
cover in your curriculum.
• Create or buy study aids for teaching and reviewing key facts
and information that needs to be memorized such as
flashcards, checklists, outlines, and summaries.
2. Provide Perspective
• Don't overplay the test's importance.
• Help your child approach his test with confidence and a
positive attitude of doing his best.
• Explain that this test is to show how much he knows and that
he is not expected to know everything on the test, although
he might know most of it.
3. Administer Practice Tests
A practice test will increase your child's self-confidence
and reduce his test anxiety. (See Resources below.)
• Use a practice test to familiarize your child with testing
formats, directions, strategies, and sample questions (not
exact questions) similar to those found in the test.
• Use the practice test written specifically for the test your
child will be taking.
Benefits of Practice Tests
A reader writes, "I have found it not only helpful, but
almost essential to go through practice tests with our children
well in advance of the test itself.
"We always find something just a little different from what
we studied, and this gives us time to prepare.
"Two different tests are even better, for the same reason,
and help children become more at home with different wording and
formats."
Sources for Practice Tests
Practice tests are available for various standardized tests
at different grade levels from the following suppliers.
(Also see sources for tests and test publishers in
Newsletter #151.)
• "Achieving Peak Performance" from Basic Skills
• "Test for Success" and "Better Test Scores"
Bob Jones University Press Testing & Evaluation
• "Spectrum Test Prep" from Timberdoodle Company
• Various products from Sycamore Tree
(see "Test Preparation" under "Store Directory")
• Free Online State Practice Tests
Selecting a Testing Administer
A reader writes, "Our children do very well in a private
testing situation in the administrator's home.
"Ask your local Christian home-school support group leaders
who is qualified to administer standardized tests in your area.
"Arrange a brief get-acquainted interview in the
test-giver's home. Look for someone who is patient and kind with
young children and who believes in home education. Then make an
appointment for the test.
"Have your child take his test early enough to retake it if
necessary after you see the results." _______________________________________________________ 
Give Your Children the Language Advantage
Audio cassettes, bi-literacy books, CDs, CD-Roms, and videos
for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, or multicultural adopted children.
• Young children learn languages easily.
• A foreign language helps your child in English and other subjects.
• A second or third language provides a life-time advantage.
www.lingohouse.com (Scroll down on homepage to see more products.)
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7 Test-Taking Skills To Teach Your Child
There are specific skills and strategies involved in taking
tests that can help your child do his best.
1. Directions
• Always listen to and read the directions carefully; don't
assume that you already know them. Sometimes they change
only slightly, but significantly, from one section to the next.
• Ask the instructor to explain any directions that you do not
understand.
• Be sure you know how and where to mark the answers,
especially if they are on a separate sheet. Keep checking
to make sure you are marking the numbered answer space that
matches the numbered question and for the correct test
section (e.g., spelling, math computations).
• Mark answers carefully and neatly, filling in the blanks
completely so that it will be graded correctly.
• Erase a wrong answer thoroughly when changing your answer.
2. Wording
• Watch out for wording such as "Which of the following is not
true?" or for answers that sound or look similar.
• On a true or false question, watch for the words "never,"
"always," "only," and "best."
3. Morale
• Relax by taking several slow, deep breaths and changing your
position from time to time.
• Remember that you know a lot of information and that you are
doing your best to show what you know.
• Ask the Lord to help you remember what you learned and do
your best.
4. Pacing
• Since most tests are timed, don't get bogged down on a
question that you can't answer or are unsure about.
• Answer the items you are sure of first. This builds
confidence, and you won't miss points on easy questions by
running out of time.
• Skip difficult questions and place an "x" by the number of
the question in the margin on the answer sheet.
• If you are not sure of a question, answer the best you can
and mark them with a "?" in the margin.
• When you have answered all the other questions, answer the
questions with an "x" in the margin and recheck questions
you marked with a "?".
5. Choosing Answers
• If you need to, look back at the reading selection to check
facts and ideas.
• Try each answer in the blank to help you decide which one
sounds right.
• Sometimes on questions where you are to find mistakes, none
are to be found.
• On some questions, two answers can be correct and you must
choose the answer that includes them both.
• When you are not sure, eliminate answers you know are
incorrect and take your best guess among the rest. Some
of your guesses will be right.
6. Math
• On arithmetic test items, do a quick estimate with
rounded-off numbers. This will help you avoid "silly"
mistakes and may even help you locate the only possible
answer.
• When you copy a math problem onto scratch paper, line up the
numbers carefully and double check your copying.
• Always check subtraction problems by reversing operations.
• If you have time, check equations by substituting your
solution for the unknown and check other math problems by
reversing operations.
7. Timing
• Use all the time allotted for the test; review your test if
you finish early.
• Recheck the directions, questions, and your answers.
• Do not change answers unless they are obviously wrong.
• Don't panic when students start handing in their papers.
There's no reward for being the first.
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Always-Relevant
Teaching Home Magazine
Back Issues
Many home schoolers have
found information, inspiration,
and support from the writers
who have contributed to The Teaching Home magazine over the last
26 years. Fifty-one Back Issues are offered for sale online.
• These back issue never go out of date.
• They are relevant and applicable to your needs today.
In each issue an average of 58 home schoolers contribute:
• Practical how-to articles
• Encouraging letters
• Ready-to-use teaching tips
"The Teaching Home has been a part of my continuing education
since I started home schooling, and I have kept every issue.
I often go back to old issues to find creative, helpful hints or inspiration."
Meredith C., Florida
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Checklist for the Day of the Test
[_] Plan ahead for a peaceful, unhurried evening and morning
before the test.
[_] Check directions to the testing site and plan to leave and
arrive early to avoid stress before the test.
[_] Make sure your child sleeps well, eats a healthy breakfast,
and gets enough water to drink.
[_] Be prepared with necessary tools such as extra pencils or
calculators if allowed.
[_] If this is your child's first test, you may want to be
present in the back of the room for at least part of the time
to relieve his anxiety.
[_] Be sure your child understands what to do if he needs to go
to the bathroom during the test. (Have him go right
before the test.)
[_] Avoid conversations between other students and your child
before a test; anxiety is contagious.
[_] Pray with your child that he will remember what he has
learned and do his best. Thank the Lord that He promised
to always be with your child.
The spiritual lessons and experiences of trusting the Lord
in everyday circumstances and working under pressure can be a
much greater life-long benefit than the actual test itself.
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Please Thank and Support Our Sponsoring Advertisers!
These free newsletters are made possible financially by the
fine suppliers who advertise in them and in the accompanying
e-mail. Please consider those that advertised in our last issue
(below) as well as the ones in this issue.
• Christian Liberty Academy School System 847-259–4444
• Basic Skills: Practice Tests 503-650-5282
• Beyond Phonics: Spelling with Word Family Stories
• "Atommate"(TM): The Chemistry Card Game 831-465-1625
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Sunnyside Up: When East Meets West
The first night our Japanese exchange student arrived, we
learned to say good morning in Japanese. Thankfully, it was an
easy work that sounds like "Ohio."
The next morning our 10-year-old bounced into the room to
happily greet Yuki in her own language and boldly called out,
"Idaho"!
Submitted by Gale L., Kansas
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God Loves You.
Because we have been separated from God by sin, Jesus
Christ died in our place, then rose to life again. If we trust
Him as our Savior and Lord, He will give us eternal life.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of
works, that no one should boast." (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
www.TeachingHome.com/about/Salvation.cfm
