A few weeks ago my husband and I started discussing standard tests and what to do about them. We are undecided about how to deal with standardized testing. It's becoming very common for colleges and universities to look at these tests as a measure, sometimes the only measure, of a student. In order to prepare my children to be successful in college I probably need to teach them to pass standardized tests. Does that mean that I need to make sure I cover all the information they are likely to see on these tests or do I have to teach them how to take tests well? These seem to be two different skills. One is the ability to remember and regurgitate information, the other is more of a problem solving psychology. My husband and I have been debating what to teach, when to teach it, and how much emphasis to put on it.
So, that's what I wrote when I realized I was out of tea, I went into the kitchen to get more when I noticed that the dishwasher was ready to be unloaded. I started unloading the dishwasher as my sons walked by in their cute house shoes (think Spiderman and lightning McQueen shoes). I stopped to take a picture on my phone. I went to post the picture and my phone died, I need a new battery. I went into the bedroom to plug in the phone and noticed my bed wasn't made. This is the only chore I do every day so that I feel as though I did something, also so I don't go back to bed. I made the bed and realized that I hadn't finished sweeping the bathroom, stopped to sweep the bathroom and noticed the trash can was full. I took the trash to the garage and washed my hands in the kitchen sink where I noticed I hadn't finished unloading the dishwasher. I finished the dishwasher and saw my tea cup, which was not full. I refilled my tea and remembered that I hadn't finished my entry about standardized testing. Maybe I should teach my children how to focus, or multitask.
In an ideal world standardized testing would test how well students can learn and teach themselves new ideas because ideally this is what we are striving for as people. To be able to learn in any environment and knowing how to learn are really the keys to a successful life I believe. Then we can talk about how to define success, but that's another entry altogether. Anyway, I still don't know what to do about standardized tests, anyone have any thoughts?
Blake, when I was homeschooled my parents didn't test. (4th through 12th grade). However, when it came time to take the ACT for college, we got a prep book, I worked through it, did practice tests, and went from there.
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, I could have used help with preparing for the Science Reasoning portion. My mom had no idea, and I don't think my dad was sure either.
Now I plan to help my kids with preparing for those sorts of tests. I may some time have them take a standardized test to help them learn how to take tests as well. But I don't do it to test them. I know where they are at and what they know. In the academic world we live in, learning how to prepare for and take tests is important in the long run, but not every year or any more than that (in my humble opinion).
I also think my kids will be beyond where I was when I finished high school academically (at least that is our goal), with our methods. So I think with a little help in understanding how to take tests, the tests in prepping for college should not be a problem.