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The Home Instruction Statute (§22.1-254.1 C) requires parents to provide "evidence of progress" at the end of the school year. Parents may either submit:
(i) A composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test
(ii) An evaluation or assessment which the division superintendent determines to indicate that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress
Ever since we began our homeschooling journey (WOW, we're going into our 6th year!), I have chosen to order the CAT test for the girls. Lots of VA homeschoolers rely on the CAT for various reasons:
1. The company we order from (Seton Home Study) is located in Virginia, thus making the turnaround mailing time pretty johnny-on-the-spot. This is especially important for chronic procrastinators (like you-know-who). The folks at Seton will even fax or email results to you. (A very convenient bonus, again, for those procrastinators out there...you know who you are)! Ahem.
2. The CAT is cheap: $25 for the CAT-E Survey, which covers Math and English for grades K thru 12.
3. Some homeschoolers are anti-testing, period, and prefer to have an "evaluation" of their child's progress. I, on the other hand, have never felt comfortable with this other person (whom my girls might or might not know), evaluating (read: JUDGING) what my kids know, or what they are capable of. Really...who knows all the amazing thoughts and ideas my girls have, better than I, their ever-loving Mama?
4. CAT testing is fairly stress-free. I simply explain to the girls (who do not take tests during our "school year", usually), that this dumb test is just one little BS hoop that we must jump through, so that we can keep on learning in freedom, at home, together. Since Seton sells the test year-round, some families order way early and simply work on the test in little bite-sized chunks, so that the kiddos (and maybe the parents, too) can take their time, and sort of ease into the test process. For kids who've never taken a test before, this can be very helpful in relieving some of that anxiety.
These pics of the girls are pretty cute. They look so...I don't know...FOCUSED? As you can see, even little Lolo got in on the act. Whatever SHE is doing, she looks just as serious and focused as Shelby and Tori!
I don't have a pic of Ash taking her test, simply because I sat with her, gently encouraging her and letting her take her own sweet time. This was her 2nd year taking the CAT, and since she has those fine-motor delays that make filling in those damn holes so aggravating, I figured snapping a pic might royally piss her off!
5 comments:
"Here in Virginia, the homeschool statute requires homeschooling families to provide proof of progress by August 1 following the school year in which the child(ren) has received home instruction."
Some times I think it would be fun to push for a law which requuired parents to pull their children from public schools if there was no proof of progress.
Nice pictures! I like the way Lolo is in the mix; it looks like she's "testing" along with them. Trishy would be doing the same thing.
HUGS to Ashlyn.
I had similar issues when I was her age. I was kind of an Aspergerish kid - fairly high IQ, low motor skills. I can remember a teacher practically ripping her hair out because I was taking more time than anyone else in the class to fill in those all-important test-sheet bubbles.
I swear, I remember her saying "Just fill in anything; we need to keep going!" Or something to that effect. I did just that.
Soon, my parents were called into the principal's office to ponder why a formerly "gifted" student had just fallen off the low end of the curve. *ROFL*
Henry...just IMAGINE how many kids would be homeschooled.
It would be awesome! :-)
After knowing the law here in VA, I feel that if I ever did utilize the public school system again, that *would* be my logic:
"I'm sorry, but your school system failed my child...there is no proof of her progress. Therefore, I am notifying you that I will be homeschooling next year".
Talk about your revolution!
Hi! I had a couple thoughts about this post.
1. About a child with fine-motor skill delays: I wonder if it would be considered a disability for which accommodations could be made. For example, she tells a helper which circle to fill in. This would be in a similar vein to a dyslexic child taking a test orally.
2. I ordered the CAT test once, and it went fine. My son likes taking the test, and likes filling in the circles. The down side was that I didn't learn anything from it about his level of knowledge. If you want to try something else, I recommend the Peabody test. It's oral and untimed. That means, yes, you'd have to deal with an outside test administrator. Locally, a friend of mine and homeschooling mother of five is a certified test administrator. She's great, and in the end, she tells me a lot more than the CAT test can.
Enjoying your blog ...
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