Homeschool Testing: Yay or Nay

Homeschool testing is something that I fight with every fiber of by being, however, it is required in the state of Washington once a child is eight years old.  We have used the untest, the non-test assessment, and other “tests” in order to get out of having my children take a super stressful, super scary test. However, this year, we discovered something different.  We discovered that testing is not so bad.

The cons of testing include many things including testing phobia, testing meltdowns, lacking a quiet area to take the test, and just not testing well.  The good news is that these tests are just for personal use. There is no one making sure that your child tests at a certain level. However, testing meltdowns, and anxiety are real.  

The pros of testing include knowing where you need to improve, and gaining confidence in where you do well!  The results from testing this year both surprised me and didn’t surprise me. My children tested higher in math than I thought, but right around where I thought in reading.  The other great surprise is how well they were both doing in word usage, reading comprehension, and grammar, though we don’t use formal curriculum for those. What we do is read, and listen to audiobooks, and it is my belief that children can learn about how to use language from listening to, and reading great books.

Test-Taking Tips:

Have a snack – healthy carbs feed the brain!  Your child should have an apple, or a piece of fruit or some veggies before taking their test in order to feed their brain and to stay alert.

Find a quiet place, or put on music.  Some people need it dead quiet, and others need background noise like music.  Find out what works for your kids, and do it. This is one place where practice testing could help.

Use the practice test.  Taking a practice test can help both you and your child find out how they test best, and may help to alleviate some anxiety about what testing means.  I even had one child tell me that they enjoyed taking the test, and wished that all of his schooling was like that.

And finally, the most important tip of all: Let your child know that they are more than the test says that they are!!!!  Homeschool testing is just to see where our children are at educationally, as I told my children. It just shows us what they know, and what they don’t know, yet.  Testing never shows us who a child is, and it is important for them to know this.

Testing is not for everyone.  Yet it is legally mandated, and even useful in some cases.  For my younger boys, I am glad to have their results. For my oldest, we may use a different test since he does not test well at all.  The important thing to remember with testing is that it is not one size fits all, and that finding the right test is half of the battle.