HomeSchool test scores June 09, 2007, 01:00:15 PM We homeschool our two boys and if your wondering,, i have some info on it if interested.Anyway,, my youngest (chance) did great on his "REQUIRED" year end test and i thought some of you might find it interesting how they are graded. We travel up to this one way point where the homeschool network meets and the test is given out and handled by the parents. The tests are mailed off and graded by a company which is wayyyyyy strict imho. You have to meet all the requirements and submit the testing results to your local school inwhich you are NOT attending. This is a formality but is also required. Next you write the school up a little memo about what you intend on doing for the next school year and what lesson guide you are using.The school must provide you with thier books as required by law. That takes a lot of expenso off the parents backs. All you have to do from that point is get something done each day school related.School generally takes about 3 hours around here per day. The one section he scored low in , in his words,, "yeah, i remember that section, i did'nt have time to finish it".After the testing , we spend the remainder of the school year "UNSCHOOLING". This means that each and every topic learned must now be applied in real life as to associate the very reason why they spent all year learning stuff.Unschooling can be difficult as a parent because you have to be on your toes to recognize a life situation and at that moment in time capture the attention of your child and let them dig in. based on national expectations,, he's off the charts and im a proud dad and proud of him:bowdown: . Im wating for masons scores to come in yet so we'll see how he did as well.There is a note on what """OPI""" means at the bottom of the chart. Basically is is the score expected where as the score to the left is the actual score your child scored. Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #1 – June 09, 2007, 01:13:19 PM congratulation. So hes going to develop the cure for cancer right? Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #2 – June 09, 2007, 01:27:01 PM Don't you think that is a little low for a 8th grader? LOL just kidding looks like you and the kids know something. Keep up the good work. Gotta be better than the public school we have here. Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #3 – June 09, 2007, 02:12:35 PM Quote from: ipsd;152905Don't you think that is a little low for a 8th grader?no,, chance is somewhere between 4th and 7th on subject matter we cover. Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #4 – June 10, 2007, 03:14:56 AM i got my diplomah through hmeschool. 3.2gpa, i just have to take the SAT's before im accepted to west ga tech college. (already attended UTI) Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #5 – June 10, 2007, 08:50:36 AM Quote from: Autocat;153094i got my diplomah through hmeschool. 3.2gpa, i just have to take the SAT's before im accepted to west ga tech college. (already attended UTI)Mason, my oldest scored just as well as chance. Mason is going into 9th grade and you know what that means. If he wants a graduation deploma, he has to enroll in an acredited curriculum. How did you handle your last 4 years?If he does not do an accredited curriculum, he can still homeschool as he has been but , when he is ready, he can take the GED instead. These are the only two options. share a little bit about how you handled this situation please, the wife and i are trying to figure out what direction to go. Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #6 – June 11, 2007, 07:29:43 AM strange.. anyway i graduated from james MADISON highschool. it took me about 2 and a half years. so far JMHS has been accredited everywhere i've taken my diplomah. now that im trying to get into a tech college that needs act's or sat's i've gotta take those. it was pretty easy, i did most of it on my own. to be honest, the water was just a tad too bit deep for my parents to help me out so i had to take it upon myself to get the work done. i started off taking advantage of the proccess at my feet. i could take tests online with the text book in my lap. i did that for a couple classes. they send you work books that goes along with the tests so you can use them to study. i started using that as my "open book" etc to take my online tests, but finally i started to realize that i may need to know the work instead of just fishing books for answers. my GPA actually improved when i stopped using the books. but like i said, i was done with it in less than 2 years. i had 8 credits from attending high school like every other kid, so i only had 16 credits to obtain. plus all the english final exams were hand writen and i had to mail them in and wait. i'd definatly get your kids an accredited program, b/c without mine being accredited i have no idea what kinda of job i'd be stuck with right now and i wouldnt be able to go to college or tech schools. some people are really relaxed about who they let in thier schools, and then there are some schools that need specific such n such (like SAT scores + GPA) and then there are some schools that sit you down and give you a timed test on common knowledge material and you do good your in.go ahead and look up james madison highschool... shouldnt be hard to find its part of PCDI. i've heard of 10-11 year olds going to college after completing JMHS Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #7 – June 11, 2007, 08:13:35 AM Quote from: xr7cat;152900congratulation. So hes going to develop the cure for cancer right?They already found the cure.Chuck Norris's tears, too bad he never cries. Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #8 – June 11, 2007, 08:20:53 AM OK, I'm just going to throw this question out there for the homeschooling lot.What do you do for the kids for any kind of social interaction ?Are they involved in any group sports or activites outside the home? Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #9 – June 11, 2007, 10:29:34 AM Quote from: Chuck W;153364OK, I'm just going to throw this question out there for the homeschooling lot.Are they involved in any group sports or activites outside the home?I was actually stumped by this "should be very easy to answer" question when i was first asked, It wasnt the question that threw me off,, it was that fact that here i am faced with someone who actually thinks my kids have no social interation. I still to this day cant simply answer the question without being distracted by this perception that my kids dont get out enough.Its almost like i have to qualify my childrens activities with the population out there and then shudder in antition that i get thier approval. Hopeful that my actions and my choice in the schooling style will be accepted. Actually, i could give a rats ass all joking aside.,,,,,,,,,, but,,,,,,,to hopefully yet again pass some litmus of my adult peers (nothing personal, it happens all the time), I will qualify and quanitfy your question...................."What do you do for the kids for any kind of social interaction ?"Tae Kwan-do- twice a week in the evening for two hours,, absorbs about 4 after the trip, session , food ect.Apprenticeship- mason is 14 and works for a welder / fabricator on call 24x7. In return, he has to get his ass up out of bed anywhere in the middle of the night to smack dab right in the middle of what he is doing. He never bitches, just jumps right on it. He does this for free, yep free!! Why? because this is how a real job goes so get some experience at it.The rest of the time,, normal interaction with neighbors, fishing, biking, vidio games, shooting guns, driving once in a while, ect ect.chance being 11 has the same tae kwon-do schedule and basically the same off time interaction as mason but he does not have an apprenticeship yet as we cant seem to find a focal point yet on what he would like to do.Kids at this age should be kids, and have freedom as well as a well disiplined attituted towards life and responsibilities.I was not very impressed with the social interaction being offered at public school,, its nothing more than a bunch of bullshiznit cramming in a bunch of classes into a day that 40% of which are not needed. The schools are too worried about making dollars on headcount and then teaching to the Iowa structure that many get left behind. When a child gets left behind in public school,, there is no real HUMAN effort to pull them back. There is a political effort but no real "concern" for them as many parents have heard from teachers saying "My hands are tied, i cant do ,,,,x ,,,, y,,,,, z"Schools arent teaching,, they are structured babysitters for the fact that parents have to work 1 - 2 jobs each because of our nations rediculous direction we have been heading the past two decades.My life id difficult enough without factoring in all the bs produced from the school system into our daily life.We as parents were very nervous about homeschooling because there were so many unknowns / knowns and the support was less than sufficient. We are the minority , so minor we are that it justifies your question even more because of the lack of exposure the general population has on this **OPTION. Since People continue to percieve that homeschool kids dont get social interaction,, dont think for a minute that anything i said here could change that opinion. Just continue to use the public school system for what its worth,, and one day here in the near future, you will see kids at the age of 2 in some form of public school. And when your 2 , 3, 4 or 5 yearold is acting up and the teacher calls on you,, make darn sure you put your kids on some form of drug to keep them calm because they can make you do that according to the law.Chance frustrated the hell out of me teaching him,, I could not get his attention so save my life and my teaching style was causing problems with the wife and i on a serious level. One day i decided to take her advice because she said "if you give chance ONE thing to do, he wont be able to focus, if you give him two or more then he will be able to concentrate better.soooo,, as she suggested,, I was teaching chance some math but while teachign him , he was allowed to doodle on a small dry erase board. Amazingly that was the best thing i ever did. In addition, he was also allowed to have a little basket of marbles near his work so when he wanted to, he could dig his hand or fingers into them ect to keep the board side of his brain busy while it suconciously kept his learning brain in focus.whatever works,,right?Each child is different , each has his or her own style of how they learn things,, some do , some watch some watch listen and do. Its not easy homeschooling at first, but after you get the hang of things and past the guilt that school is over each day before lunch , or didnt start until after dinner, you become acustom to the non-schedual you have available to you. I honestly dont think i would "KNOW" my kids as well as i do if they were in public schools. I believe that if chance were in public school, he would have been a problem child because of his learning style. He is much better on the focus thing now than in earlier grades. I think that if i had a fantasy, i would like to see the early years of public school be more groomed into the interactive part of learning just to keep childhood and learning blended on an even keel. As it is now,, a kindergarden or preschool child is expected to ,,,,,, "SIT STILL",,lol. One of our teachers said she could not understand why mason could not sit still. Im over here thinking ,,ummm,, hey,, dumass,, HE's 4 !!! I was amazed at a kindergarden teacher making this comment having a BA degree and all.,,,,,,,,,,,,,and,,,,,,,,,,,,no kids of her own. scott Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #10 – June 11, 2007, 10:56:04 AM I wasn't calling you out as a freak for homeschooling, nor was I expounding the virtues of the "normal" school environment. I never implied that your kids had no social interaction...I was just curious what your solution was to what I personally see as an obvious downside to homeschooling. I didn't figure you kept them sequestered in the house all the time, I just thinik kids should be exposed to lots of different people (kids and adults) so to help prepare them for different situations and different people/personalities.Sounds like you have it in hand. (Not that you needed my approval )Homeschooling depends alot of the parents, and those that recognize the shortcomings will take the steps to counter them and their kids will be better prepared for the world at large.All just my opinion though. Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #11 – June 11, 2007, 11:00:47 AM lolWow Chuck, you really set him off with THAT question I agree with him on virtually every point however. Especially the "Schools aren' teaching,, they are structured babysitters for the fact that parents have to work 1 - 2 jobs each because of our nations rediculous direction we have been heading the past two decades."THIS is I believe the biggest problem with our country to this day. We as greedy consumers learned we could (at the expense of our children is the part we overlooked at the time, or just dident care about) have more "stuff" if both parents worked since we had the schools to babysit our kids. This led to greedy suppliers upping the price of things to meet available supply of $ (what the market will bear) price went up, those less greedy HAD to move to two income family's just to survive. Kids all over became "latch key kids" Parents didn't have time to keep an eye on the schools (anybody remember PTA's in the 60's?) there was a time when Schools were meant for LEARNING, and social interaction was done AFTER the learning was taken care of.and so here we are... it's a shame really! KUDOS to you and your boy's Scott, Congratulate them for me! I wish I had been willing/capable of doing something like that with my 3 kids. I'm Impressed! Quote Selected
HomeSchool test scores Reply #12 – June 12, 2007, 12:14:06 AM ok,,, chuck,,i wish i could improve the internet so that you could have relized i did not take your question wrong or to heart in a negative way. I am sorry if my words ect sounded like i thought you were calling me out.on to the issue,,Our kids and many other homeschoolers are FORCED to interact with anyone from 2 - 92,, you take your pick of age groups. They have to be able to work with, talk with or interact with any age group known to you and i. In short, thier interactions with others are an exact duplicate of an adult.,,anyone or anything goes.The fact is,, Homeschool has been around hundereds of years longer than what is considered "public schools"See, public schools were reserved for only the brightest of kids a 100 or so years ago and if you were lucky or rich, you went to a school fostered by the school mistress or school master. The school mistress or school master was typically taken care of by the town like that of a pastor in a church of today.with that said,, it was not long before our nation figured out a way to Tax the comodity since babies were happening left and right. Long on into the future, your taxed for school system expenses based on the property you own ect. Its getting to be more and more of a push and shove game between teachers and the state, many teachers want to teach but cant because there is a plan in place that prevents them from giving the best to the kids.the teachers suffer as well so who knows, maybe there is hope for the school system to grow but from what ive seen, there is talk of extending the school year just to accomadate the working parents for summer months. This attitude is plain wrong,, no wonder kids cant keep themselves under control, too much bs going on around them to focus.We put mason back in public school this past year in the begining and had teachers calling us saying they can just see the IQ points dropping every day. Mason did act a little different, he was raising his hand to ask a question but that didnt fly with other kids as they were poking ,, "dude,, who cares,, put your hand down"All i want is for my kids to grow up an be productive,, to define productive is a matter of opinion. I just want to make sure they know some stuff for the real world and if they become some sort of brain or mr smarty pants along the way,, well thats on them. Here is one other fact id like to share,, school has a ton of unproductive time absorbed in an 11 hour day. Yep i say 11 because of getting up to getting back home and all the school events of the day. i calculated about 42% of the day was slack time which was unused for nothing more than the coordination phase of daily events. Of that remainign 60 %, two classes were total bs so there we are down to the basics of what matters,,,,,,,EDUCATION. How in the hell can you have 9 freaking periods? thats whats going on here in southern west virginia,, no wonder we get such a bad reputation, the kids cant figure out thier ass from a hole in the ground cause thier classes dont last long enough to really focus. next thing you know , they are stressed, upset, or gettng presure from parents and teachers for not doing well then comes the parties and drugs ect. We blend english into each subject because english must be employed on every topic covered from sentence structure to usage of grammer. Its possible that mason or chance was graded on thier english for a science assignment. Its possible that spelling was covered in another topic as well (blended). I am buttstuff on these topics,,,,,,,MATH, Science, Ancient history. ExperimentsBrittney (a 98% ASVAB score) is the one who pushes reading , english, Art and information research.the above is our homeschool plan. WE stick to it and it works for us. She finds her topics FUN and therefore , on the psycological level, is more apt to teach it in a way that captures thier attention.I have fun with my topics and i am therefore more able to show my energy and excitement about these.All in all,, Homeschooling is where all this started,, and recently we developed a school system that eliminated sweat shops and child labor in order to educate all kids. Too much time has elapsed for anyone to remeber when "home learnin" was common cause all of em are dead. This misconception that homeschool is new is for the birds.One day a highschool girl and her mom saw the boys and i. Mason over heard her say "mom, is that them homeschoolers you were talkin bout?" Mason told me about this,, he said, "dad, that way she said it, i felt like i needed to wipe something off me""it was like i had some sort of disease".So,, Chuck,, im confussed....... Im thinking that your thinking that the perceived lack of social interaction out weighs all the positives associated with homeschooling. that makes no sense either from a corperate or buisness stand point. If you have one negative and several positives to a plan,, im sure the plan will likely become policy. In this intance, you only point out one negative and if you can think of others,, then do so , i think its well worth it and homeschooling takes very little time per day. Quote Selected
Topic: HomeSchool test scores (Read 1754 times)
previous topic - next topic
