STANDARDIZED TESTING (WA STATE)

This standardized testing stuff seems really complicated and difficult at first, but it can be really easy. There is no required testing in OR, so when I first moved to WA I was really freaking out. Especially about hiring a proctor and having Kendall be tested in a strange house with someone we don't even know staring at her while she takes an important test. No thank you! Another homeschool family told me how they do their testing - through a company called FLO. We've been doing testing through FLO ever since, and it is really simple. I will walk you through it!

The first thing you need to know is, the standardized tests (no matter how/where you do it) are not turned in - to anyone! I am not kidding. You do not turn your scores in to the State or the School District. You do not turn them in to anyone. I am serious! Nobody keeps them, not even the proctor (if you use one). They do not need them and they will not ask for them. The scores are primarily kept for your personal records. You are required to keep these records in case you ever need to prove that you’ve been doing the tests (and therefore providing education), but unless something like that actually comes up (like, say you had a custody dispute and had to prove in court that you were providing education) nobody ever wants to know about these scores except you. I am not joking about this - it seem outrageous, but really, you do not turn them in to anyone!

WHEN DO YOU TEST? In Washington state you are required to do annual testing. There isn't a set date it needs to be completed. We usually do ours in June when public school is out, just because it represents the end of the school year (even though our family continues to homeschool through summer).

HOW DO YOU GET THE TEST (AND WHERE DO YOU TAKE IT?) WA state requires testing to be done through an approved test administrator who assigns a proctor. And only certain types of tests ‘count’. There are proctors that you can hire, but I never liked the idea of paying a stranger to watch my kid take a test. FLO is who we go through. They are a homeschool organization that is based in WA – this is their website: www.familylearning.org

The way FLO has it set up is that they act as the test administrator and assign the parent as the proctor. You sign a form saying you’re administrating the test to your own homeschooled child and that you’re not going to cheat, etc. and then you’re a proctor. Its that simple. And its legit. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HIRE A PROCTOR - IT IS LEGAL TO GO THROUGH FLO AND PROCTOR THE TEST YOURSELF. I PROMISE!!!!

If you order your test through FLO, you pick the date you want test and they mail it to you then (or as close as they can). They send you a test book and answer sheet. Then you have 2 weeks to complete and return the test in the mail (or there is an additional fee). Its kind of nice to have 2 weeks to work on the test because you don’t have to do it all in one day.  They don’t send you the answers to the test, just the questions and a sheet for the student to mark their answers. After you mail the test back, you get the results in the mail in about 2 weeks. They do not keep the results, it is your responsbility to keep the test results in your own records.

So basically they’ve gotten around the need to hire an outside proctor by assigning the parent as a proctor. It sounds like its kind of a loophole in the system, and maybe it is, but its totally approved by the State. They’ve been administering tests like this for 20 years. You can read more about it at the website. Everyone I know who homeschools in WA does their testing through FLO. I have done it 5 times now, I think. It is the easiest and cheapest way to go. And its the easiest on your student, too.

WHAT TEST DO THEY TAKE?  CAT-5 (California Achievement Test, 5th Edition – Complete Battery) is the test we always use – its one of the approved tests that WA State accepts and its one of the few that FLO administers. Every homeschool student I know of uses this test. They have the CAT-5 test available in editions for all grades, K-12.


As far as cost goes, the CAT-5 is $37. I don’t know how much of a profit FLO is making off administrating the test, but I’m pretty sure its still cheaper than ordering a test through a proctor and then paying the proctor to, well, proctor. If I remember right, I think proctors charge about $50 for proctoring and I don’t think that includes the cost of the test itself. I’d rather just skip the middle-man and do the proctoring myself!

Lesson plans / schedule

I've tried to be more organized this year, and since Kendall is doing more work independantly I've started using this scheduling method to list her assignments for the day/week:


Please excuse the wrinkled up page, this page has already survived a whole school day in a room with a 6th grader, her 18 month old sister, and a dog...

The subjects we're currently using are:
Seminary
Math
English/Writing
Reading Comprehension
Anatomy
Science
History
(There is also a Misc. section)

You can see that I don't have the whole week of assignments filled in for every subject, because I may need to adjust depending on how she does on quizzes, etc (may have to spend more time on certain chapters, that sort of thing). So, for subjects that might need to be adjusted I sometimes fill them in as I go...I find that easier than trying to erase and start over.

This is really nice because she can get started on something herself while I'm changing a diaper or something, and I have an easy reference (for what pages I'm supposed to be looking at!) when I go back to check her work.

Toddler school / Your baby can read

Have you seen those commercials for the "Your Baby Can Read" program? I was highly skeptical when I heard of it, and I still am, but I watched the whole info-mercial one day and it was pretty convincing. My main objection was that the kids are just memorizing the picture and/or word on the card, but then parents were shown introducing new words to the children, they could "read" the new words also, based on the phonics they had memorized from the previous words.

My husband also saw the commercial and suggested that we buy the program. I scoffed (like I always do when he wants to buy something from an info-mercial), and proceeded to tell him how - if I even wanted to do the program- I wouldn't buy it anyhow because it is fairly spendy and would be much cheaper just to make it myself. Its just cards, pictures, and a video (showing words and pictures of things). The program is based on the concept that kids learn best through a multi-media/multi-sensory approach.

Now, I don't think its necessary for a child to learn to "read" as a baby. But I do like the idea of multi-media/multi-sensory learning. It occurred to me that I could do something similar at home, without even buying anything new at all. I already had word cards (with removable pictures). I've already been teaching her sign-language with a Baby Signing Time dvd (not shown) and sign-language flash-cards. So, I figured I could be just as successful teaching her through a multi-media approach using my word cards (written word and picture), video (including her participation with the sign-language), and flash-cards (which show the word and the picture on one side and how to do the sign on the other side).

The thing is, 18 month old WakeLee loves playing "school" and I don't have any expectation of her learning to "read" at this stage, but extra learning doesn't hurt, and I really think the multi-media approach is really helping her learn the signs better. I can show her the picture and ask her to show me the sign. I can show her the sign and ask her to tell me what it means. I can show her the word (with picture) and ask her to tell me the name or sign (and I demonstrate sounding out the word).

Brag Alert

Its time for my annual bragging - if you don't like bragging, please avert your eyes!

We got Kendall's 5th grade standardized test scores today...she did really well. Something that is really nice is that they give a grade level equivalent in each category so you can tell what grade level they are actually working at at the time of the test:

Vocabulary- post-high school level
Reading Comprehension - halfway through 6th grade level
Spelling- halfway through 11th grade level
Language Mechanics- halfway through 12th grade level
Language Expression- post-high school level
Mathematics Computation- 9th grade level
Math Concepts- post-high school level
Study Skills- halfway through 6th grade level
Science- post-high school level
Social Studies- post-high school level

So, John and I were talking about how to improve her skill her "weaker" subjects and I realized that its a pretty bizarre to have when the scores for her "weak subjects" are still above grade level... I'm really lucky to have a student that picks things up easily - it really makes things easier for me!

15% off at JoAnn for teachers

I noticed a while back that JoAnn craft stores offer 15% discount cards for teachers (yes, they actually include homeschoolers, unlike many retailers!), but I didn't remember to sign up until today. Go to JoAnn.com and go all the way to the bottom of the site to find the link called "teacher rewards." Now, before you get frustrated by their statement that you must be a certified teacher and their request for an ID number, read a little further and you'll see that they also accept members of PEAH (which I'd never heard of, but apparently stands for "Parents Educating At Home"). I went to the site to see what joining entailed. Looks like they charge about $30 to print your own PEAH membership cards (uh, no thanks) - but never fear! There is a loophole!

Go to this page of the PEAH site- http://peah.com/joann.php* and if you state that you're a homeschooler and give a few pieces of info (name, home state, etc) they will give you a one-time code number to use for your PEAH number on the JoAnn registration page. They will also offer you a free newsletter and stuff like that, but thats optional of course. I filled out their form and then returned to JoAnn.com to submit my registration for a teacher discount card - no problems at all! (*you can also find a link to this same page on the JoAnn registration page for those who aren't PEAH members, so this is legit)

There is a note on the registration page of the JoAnn website that states that you may be asked to show proof of present current teacher identification to the store manager prior to first in-store purchase. I'm not sure what exactly that means for homeschoolers, since they aren't requiring PEAH membership for home educators to get the card. I guess I'll bring along a copy of my "declaration of intent to provide home-based instruction" form that the school district requires us to fill out every year and my homemade business cards in case there is any trouble.

Unit Studies

For a classic literature group that we're participating in (starting next week), we've been reading "The Song of Hiawatha"

Without intending to, reading and talking about the stories have led to other discussions. We've talked about our Chippewa heritage (related to some of legends) and how I visited Minnehaha Falls (discussed in several of the stories) during my mission to Minnesota.

That got me thinking about related enrichment activities that could be used to supplement her reading. Art projects (make a canoe like Hiawatha did, or draw a book cover)? Creative writing (a poem in the style of "Song of Hiawatha")?

"If you went to public school..."

Now there's a phrase you'll hear from time to time in our house, especially at back to school time, when jealously rears its ugly head.

"Yes, but if you went to public school, you....

• would have to get up earlier in the morning and go to sleep earlier at night
• would have to get dressed as soon as you woke up
• would have to do schoolwork even if you wanted to take a break
• would have to sit in a desk
• would have to be quiet and raise your hand if you wanted to talk
• would have to ask to go to the bathroom (thanks "Mean Girls" for pointing this one out)
• would be at school most of the day, then do homework & chores when you got home
• probably wouldn't get much one on one interaction with your teacher
• probably wouldn't be able to work ahead when you had mastered the material
• wouldn't get to watch TV at lunch time
• wouldn't get to do things during the day, like go grocery shopping or to the library

I could go on here, but you get the idea. I can rattle off a hundred reasons why she wouldn't like going to public school, but if I'm short on time I get right to the "deal-breaker" - the ultimate argument in favor of homeschool....

"You wouldn't be able to spend all day with your sister"

...and that puts an end to it!