Annual Testing or Assessments

So it's Technical Tuesday again. Boy that week sure went fast. We had our annual testing and assessments this week. I invited Valerie Witt to come to our town and offer the California Achievement Test and give assessments to those who wished not to test. She is an amazing woman. I used to want to be like her but now she has her PhD and I just don't have that kind of motivation. So kudos to her and if you want to learn a bit about her and what she does, you can read her bio here.

Some homeschooling families may read this and think why in the world would you want to subject your children to the CAT (California Achievement Test)? Many homeschool families realize that most standardized tests are fairly pointless in determining how educated your children are. Truly, if you spend all day with your children, you already have a pretty good idea of where they are academically. I would probably not bother with testing or assessing before high school except that it is required by Washington State Law. Taken directly from the website, the law reads that the parents must...

"Ensure that a standardized achievement test approved by the state board of education is administered annually to the child by a qualified individual or that an annual assessment of the student's academic progress is written by a certificated person who is currently working in the field of education."

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for Washington State has some examples of tests (find them here and then click A-3) approved by the State Board of Education. The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements is the test evaluation organization that is recognized by the State Board of Education so if you don't find the test you were looking for, you can go to the Buros website for a complete list. Now just to be clear, the WASL is not an approved test. It is neither nationally normed nor has it been approved by the Buros Institute, the two criteria required by law. If a homeschooler wishes to take the WASL, they may but it will not count toward fulfilling the law.

If you find that a standardized test would be overwhelming for your child or perhaps it just goes against your educational philosophy, you can opt for an assessment of your child to fulfill the law requirements. It is my experience that the assessment will vary depending on the person who is actually doing the assessment. It's not surprising that each person has their own way of performing an assessment. The assessment must be put into writing however and you would keep this with your child's educational records. If you should decide to place your child in public or private school, the institution may request those records.

I have had some parents actually say that they don't feel the need to have their child take a standardized test or have an assessment so they don't bother. Well that's all fine and dandy for you but you are breaking the law. Let's think for a moment what you are saying to your child by your example. You are saying, if I don't feel like doing something, then I don't have to. Okay, what do you think of this...so I don't feel like stopping at the stop sign as you are going through it with your car full of kids. I just barrel on through and run right into you. What are you going to think of that? Is it any different? How about the next time your child doesn't feel like doing what you have said? Are you okay with that? After all, you have taught them that it isn't necessary to follow through with the rules if they don't feel like it.

So you decide that you are going to fulfill the requirements of the law but you don't have a clue how to find a place to test or have an assessment done. The first thing I would suggest would be to contact your local homeschool group. If you don't know who they are or aren't even sure they exist, google "(your town/city) homeschool". You should get several hits. If not, you can always go the the Washington Homeschool Organizations page on testing which you can access here. They have many qualified individuals listed and the area they serve.