Repost In case you are still trying to decide what to do. . .
A question I receive often is “Should I give my home educated student a standardized test at the end of the year, or complete a narrative portfolio assessment to fulfill the end of the year requirement for homeschooling in Ohio?” I usually reply it depends on what kind of information you hope to gain. One way to look at this question is to think “Do you want one picture of one moment in time, or a running movie with many pictures taken over time? “
A question I receive often is “Should I give my home educated student a standardized test at the end of the year, or complete a narrative portfolio assessment to fulfill the end of the year requirement for homeschooling in Ohio?” I usually reply it depends on what kind of information you hope to gain. One way to look at this question is to think “Do you want one picture of one moment in time, or a running movie with many pictures taken over time? “
A
standardized test is a “snapshot “of a student at one moment in time. A
standardized test is scored in a consistent manner so you are able to
compare your student to a group of students in the same grade who have
taken the same test. You usually receive a percentile ranking which
tells you what percentage of the students taking the test your student
scored better than. For instance, if your student was in the 33rd
percentile in math then your child scored better than 33 percent of
students in the sample group from the publisher who took this test in
math.
A standardized test is
limited in that it is more likely to tell you what your student does
not know versus what they do know or have learned this year. A
standardized test also dictates what the publisher feels is important
for your student to know. It does not take into account what your
student has learned this past year.
A
narrative portfolio assessment is a group of work samples that reflect
your student’s growth and progress over the last year. It consists of
many “snapshots” that come together to reflect what your student has
accomplished this year. You, as parent educator, get to showcase what
your student has accomplished this year.
Besides
celebrating what your student has accomplished, a portfolio also helps
you to plan instruction for the next year. For instance, you realize
you concentrated on learning your math facts, but did not spend as much
time learning how to solve word problems. Next year, you commit to
working on more problem solving. You look at your book list and notice
that your student has mainly read adventure stories this past year. You
commit to introducing him/her to biographies, non-fiction, and /or some
poetry next year to vary his/her reading diet. I believe this is time
well spent. You are assessing your student’s needs and planning
instruction based on those needs.
A
narrative portfolio assessment also gives you a chance to present what
your child has accomplished to a certified Ohio teacher. My hope is
that when I review your student’s work I bring a different “set of eyes”
to your student’s portfolio. As an assessor, I try to provide
encouragement to parents, insight into your student’s growth, and
provide feedback to help you plan future instruction for your child.
My goal is to partner with you to celebrate your student’s
accomplishments and encourage you on your home education journey.
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