Moving from Wyoming’s lax laws on homeschooling {notify school district of intent to homeschool and give a basic idea of materials going to use …and you’re done!- you receive your ‘exemption’ letter about a month after the public school starts} to Ohio’s more detail demanding laws {notify school district of intent to homeschool, give an outline of materials to use and their purpose, submit testing results or satisfactory assessment by certified individual- and then you can wait and hope to receive your letter in the mail [I’ve yet to receive mine- submitted in October 2011]}, I’m trying to decide which to pursue-
Portfolio or Testing?
I have no worries that both Lee and Fox would do just fine with standardized testing. It isn’t new to them and they generally score well. Besides, and this isn’t necessarily a good thing, in Ohio in order for them to be ‘okay’ they only have to score within the 25th percentile. *yes, my jaw dropped when I first discovered that*
It would not require too much effort to have them do standardized testing. Of course I would have to find an individual to proctor their tests…or find an acceptable test that allows me to administer it. I would prefer the second route- the first would most likely cost more {am assuming at that one}.
As for the portfolio route, I would have to find someone qualified to assess their portfolio and it would also cost. Either way, it’ll cost. I knew that from the start {before we moved to Ohio, I did my research}.
Now that I have located my files in my computer once more {and made back-ups!}, I feel confident that I can put together portfolios. Why would I choose portfolios over testing? I believe a portfolio will show more of what was learned than the testing will. The tests are also not specific to the curriculum that we use. It is most often multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc. With the exception usually of writing tests- those generally require a written sample. Not really adequate {imho} to gauge knowledge or experience gained from school and life. It only shows that information has been learned well enough to fill in some bubbles {or blanks}.
I’m not saying that testing is wrong. Just not the way that I want to assess my children’s learning. I think it would be very easy to do. It would actually be the quickest and most painless route for me to go. But at the same time, all that it would show would be a number, a percentile, how the kids compare to other kids. It wouldn’t showcase their work, their dedication (lol or lack of!), nor would it preserve their work.
There have been two bloggers that have convinced me that a portfolio is a better choice for our family {even if it isn’t the ‘easiest’}: Heidi at Heidi’s Head and Tristan from Our Busy Homeschool. What I haven’t decided {totally} yet is whether our portfolios will be all electronic or a mix. I’m thinking a mix will work nicely. And since it’s January, we’ve only 4-5 months left of school. Time to get the portfolios at least started!
Glad to see my post helped you 'see' a portfolio. I also did a post about testing because last year we decided to test Makayla just for the experience - and it is parent adminitstered! Here is that post with links to the company (they offer a few different tests, we did the CAT Survey then): http://ourbusyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2011/07/she-took-test.html
ReplyDeleteThis year we plan on doing testing again simply because I've got so much going on with baby Mason that I don't want to have to be sure we are 'producing a paper trail'. I do still have the portfolio folder filling though...LOL.
Tristan
We do portfolios each year instead of testing too. I do purchase a test that I can administer at home and send off for results, but that is just for my info and for practice test taking. I enjoy making my dd's portfolio and she loves to share it with the person reviewing it. We like looking back through them each year too.
ReplyDeleteI don't like standardized testing, but I've done it once and plan to do it at least one more time with my kids in middle school before they prepare to take the SAT or ACT- just so they'll know how it works. In SC we're not required to do testing. We do have an option of keeping "samples of work." I don't keep detailed portfolios, but we do keep file boxes each year with a sampling of that year's work.
ReplyDeleteI actually do both. Like you, I do the portfolio to show what all we have covered throughout the year. The reason I like to do the testing, is to see what areas I might have missed or what the kids may need a little review on. I don't think you can go wrong either way. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Blossom! I like the idea of portfolios because, as you point out, they have the advantage of highlighting all (or at least much) of what your child learned. We don't have the option in my state; every three years starting in grade 3, homeschooled students must take a nationally-recognized standardized test. We use the CAT-5, and I administer it at home. A testing service sends me the materials, and I send everything back to them for grading.
ReplyDelete