Can we really make a difference?
Hopefully most are aware that the charter school system in California has been under attack for the past year. Among a handful of bills targeting charters, one that passed is of particular concern to homeschoolers who use the charter system. It will eliminate all of our homeschool charters within a decade if we can’t improve our test scores.
For those who may not have seen it, I wrote a lengthy piece on these issues this past fall and it can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/tiffany-millen/a-new-day-for-charter-homeschoolers/3249384828421297/
As a homeschooler, I have typically viewed state testing as a necessary annoyance. I hate taking the time away from our regular learning and activities to mess with it. The current reality is, our regular learning and activities provided by the charter system are threatened if we don’t put more of a priority on our test scores.
If you were serious about your student going to an Ivy League college, you would make sure they had the best test prep available for tests like the SAT to give them every advantage. While a test prep course isn’t likely to increase the knowledge of the material covered by the test, there are strategies you can gain and understanding of the mechanics of the test which will improve your scores. We want to give our students the same kinds of techniques and knowledge to ease their anxiety and help them do their very best.
NHA is offering extremely affordable test prep sessions this month and we would love to see all of our students benefit from this information. As the former director of a local homeschool charter, Tracy Chatters has many years of experience helping homeschool students feel at ease and do their best on our state testing. We are thrilled she is willing to help our students succeed as well.
What can we really accomplish in a one short session? From my own experience with testing, I think it is time well spent. When I was a student, I transferred schools in the 8th grade and was given placement tests in English and Math at my new school. Coming from an private school with a heavy focus on grammar, I could diagram every word in a sentence, which is something I could not do today. But one section of the test at the new school asked me to identify the subject compliments in the sentences. That was a term I had never seen before. I aced every section of the test except that one. I soon learned that different publishers assign different names to the same thing. What one publisher called predicate nominatives or predicate adjectives, the new publisher lumped together and called subject compliments. I knew exactly what they were, but I bombed that section of the test because I wasn’t familiar with the terminology used by the publisher.
This happens all the time in testing. Common core standards likely standardize vocabulary across textbook publishers so that students who use common core curriculum aren’t going to have this issue. But many of our homeschooled students are not using common core aligned textbooks. Your student may be fully capable of finding the average of a list of numbers, but when the test asks them to find the mean, they may be completely lost. They simply don’t recognize the vocabulary. When I was in school, the instructions said “Reduce fractions to lowest terms.” Today, that set of instructions is stated as, “Simplify.” There are many examples of terminology differences that can put students at a disadvantage, but we can bridge that gap simply by providing our students with the terminology they will encounter on the test.
We can also give them strategies like process of elimination to help them find the best answer even if they aren’t sure, and we can familiarize them with the mechanics of the test. Some testing anxiety is simply fear of the unknown. If they know what to expect, it isn’t nearly as scary.
These are just some of the types of things that will be covered. At $20 for elementary students and $30 for middle school and high school, it is certainly worth a try. We will have a 60-minute session for 3rd-5th and 90 minutes for 6th-8th and 9th-11th. Even though your 9th & 10th graders won’t test this year, I highly recommend they attend the session anyway. My 10th grader will definitely be there.
Whether you decide to enroll in our test prep session or not, I would encourage everyone to make test day special. My kids didn’t love to test, but they looked forward to testing because it meant they would get a treat that we reserved only for the most special occasions – a Starbucks bottled Frappuccino from the grocery store. They loved to pull one of those out of their lunch sack during break and watch the teacher’s reaction. It turns out, teachers don’t consider caffeine loaded sugar drinks to be appropriate brain food for testing. But kids sure do like to have something that raises eyebrows and tastes great. Find something that your kids can look forward to that will make test day special. Let’s work together to save our charters for our families and those who come after us.
For those who may not have seen it, I wrote a lengthy piece on these issues this past fall and it can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/tiffany-millen/a-new-day-for-charter-homeschoolers/3249384828421297/
As a homeschooler, I have typically viewed state testing as a necessary annoyance. I hate taking the time away from our regular learning and activities to mess with it. The current reality is, our regular learning and activities provided by the charter system are threatened if we don’t put more of a priority on our test scores.
If you were serious about your student going to an Ivy League college, you would make sure they had the best test prep available for tests like the SAT to give them every advantage. While a test prep course isn’t likely to increase the knowledge of the material covered by the test, there are strategies you can gain and understanding of the mechanics of the test which will improve your scores. We want to give our students the same kinds of techniques and knowledge to ease their anxiety and help them do their very best.
NHA is offering extremely affordable test prep sessions this month and we would love to see all of our students benefit from this information. As the former director of a local homeschool charter, Tracy Chatters has many years of experience helping homeschool students feel at ease and do their best on our state testing. We are thrilled she is willing to help our students succeed as well.
What can we really accomplish in a one short session? From my own experience with testing, I think it is time well spent. When I was a student, I transferred schools in the 8th grade and was given placement tests in English and Math at my new school. Coming from an private school with a heavy focus on grammar, I could diagram every word in a sentence, which is something I could not do today. But one section of the test at the new school asked me to identify the subject compliments in the sentences. That was a term I had never seen before. I aced every section of the test except that one. I soon learned that different publishers assign different names to the same thing. What one publisher called predicate nominatives or predicate adjectives, the new publisher lumped together and called subject compliments. I knew exactly what they were, but I bombed that section of the test because I wasn’t familiar with the terminology used by the publisher.
This happens all the time in testing. Common core standards likely standardize vocabulary across textbook publishers so that students who use common core curriculum aren’t going to have this issue. But many of our homeschooled students are not using common core aligned textbooks. Your student may be fully capable of finding the average of a list of numbers, but when the test asks them to find the mean, they may be completely lost. They simply don’t recognize the vocabulary. When I was in school, the instructions said “Reduce fractions to lowest terms.” Today, that set of instructions is stated as, “Simplify.” There are many examples of terminology differences that can put students at a disadvantage, but we can bridge that gap simply by providing our students with the terminology they will encounter on the test.
We can also give them strategies like process of elimination to help them find the best answer even if they aren’t sure, and we can familiarize them with the mechanics of the test. Some testing anxiety is simply fear of the unknown. If they know what to expect, it isn’t nearly as scary.
These are just some of the types of things that will be covered. At $20 for elementary students and $30 for middle school and high school, it is certainly worth a try. We will have a 60-minute session for 3rd-5th and 90 minutes for 6th-8th and 9th-11th. Even though your 9th & 10th graders won’t test this year, I highly recommend they attend the session anyway. My 10th grader will definitely be there.
Whether you decide to enroll in our test prep session or not, I would encourage everyone to make test day special. My kids didn’t love to test, but they looked forward to testing because it meant they would get a treat that we reserved only for the most special occasions – a Starbucks bottled Frappuccino from the grocery store. They loved to pull one of those out of their lunch sack during break and watch the teacher’s reaction. It turns out, teachers don’t consider caffeine loaded sugar drinks to be appropriate brain food for testing. But kids sure do like to have something that raises eyebrows and tastes great. Find something that your kids can look forward to that will make test day special. Let’s work together to save our charters for our families and those who come after us.
Steps to enroll
Workshops will take place on Thursdays, Feb 20 & 27 at River City Baptist Church. Students should register for one session only. Times are as follows:
Feb 20: 9:30-10:30 3rd-5th Session A; 11-12:30 6th-8th Grade Workshop
Feb 27: 9:30-11 9th-11th Grade Workshop; 11:30-12:30 3rd-5th Session B
Cost is $20 for 3rd-5th and $30 for 6th-8th and 9th-11th. More sessions will be added if we have demand.
Be sure to select the 2020 Smarter Balance/CAASPP Training Session from the semester drop down list and hit Search. If your charter is covering this, please select "Pay Later" when you checkout so you will not be charged. When you have successfully registered, you will receive an automated email response so you will know that it worked.
Pacific Charter Institute schools including Sutter Peak, Heritage Peak, and About FACE are making this available to their families at no cost to your instructional funds. South Sutter has approve the workshops as eligible for Purchase Orders. I suspect other charters will likely cover them as well and I'm happy to reach out with details to any charter who wants them.
https://reg137.imperisoft.com/.../Search/Registration.aspx
Feb 20: 9:30-10:30 3rd-5th Session A; 11-12:30 6th-8th Grade Workshop
Feb 27: 9:30-11 9th-11th Grade Workshop; 11:30-12:30 3rd-5th Session B
Cost is $20 for 3rd-5th and $30 for 6th-8th and 9th-11th. More sessions will be added if we have demand.
Be sure to select the 2020 Smarter Balance/CAASPP Training Session from the semester drop down list and hit Search. If your charter is covering this, please select "Pay Later" when you checkout so you will not be charged. When you have successfully registered, you will receive an automated email response so you will know that it worked.
Pacific Charter Institute schools including Sutter Peak, Heritage Peak, and About FACE are making this available to their families at no cost to your instructional funds. South Sutter has approve the workshops as eligible for Purchase Orders. I suspect other charters will likely cover them as well and I'm happy to reach out with details to any charter who wants them.
https://reg137.imperisoft.com/.../Search/Registration.aspx
