I. Each School District is Responsible for the Following:
A. MUST arrange a place and time for testing home school students. The location may be outside the school building. The time must be within the state testing timeframe. Notification of the time and place must be provided to all home school operators by January 30.
B. MUST allow trained home school operators to be test administrators for home school students. When a home school operator(s) is unavailable or not interested, trained school personnel will administer the test. Home school operators other than the test administrator may be present to serve as proctors provided their presence does not disrupt the testing environment. Local school districts will provide training to home school operators on administering the test. The administration of the test to home school students must be monitored at the testing site by paid school employees during their regular working hours. (No more than 30 students should be grouped together for testing with one test administrator and one or two proctors.)
II. Each Home School Operator is Responsible for the Following:
A. Meeting the requirement of public school code: "Test students annually…as determined by the State Superintendent." (S-22-1-2.1)
B. Notifying the appropriate school staff if the student is unable to attend the scheduled testing.
C. Arranging with the school district an appropriate time and place for makeup testing.
III. General Guidelines:
A. All home school children in grades 4, 6, and 8 are required to participate in the state mandated New Mexico Achievement Assessment Program. This assessment is the only norm-referenced achievement test administered statewide to public school students which provides comparability information using national norms. No other statewide testing is required for home school student (The home school students will participate in the norm-referenced CTBS 5/TERRANOVA SURVEY PLUS only, and may opt to take all subjects or just the Reading/language and Mathematics tests within the battery).
B. If a school district assesses a fee, it is recommended that the fee not exceed the contractor's per student cost. Any additional costs associated with a special administration should be reasonable and justifiable.
C. Individual student score reports should be provided to the home school operator for each home school student who is tested.
D. Test answer sheets of home school students in grades 4,6, and 8 taking the required tests will be scored by the test contractor designated by the State Department of Education.
E. Home school students enrolled in grades 4, 6, and 8 who do not test and who are not exempt will be reported to the State Department of Education by the end of the school year. The Department will notify the local school district that the home school operator is in violation of the Statute 22-1-2.1 and the Compulsory School Attendance Law (S-22-12-1). In this event, school district policy should be followed as in the case of any other student who is in violation of this statute.
IV. Optional Testing Procedures
A. Home school operators with student enrolled in grades 4, 6, or 8 may elect to use the Bob Jones University Press (BJUP) testing service instead of testing their students through the New Mexico public schools. BJUP does not offer the CTBS tests. Therefore, the home school operator should request the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Form L. It is the home school operator's responsibility to make these arrangements and to pay for this service. (By calling 1-800-845-5731 and asking for Customer Service, you may obtain detailed information.)
B. If using the BJUP testing service, it is the responsibility of the home school operator to notify the local school district testing office no later than January 15. This will help staff plan and budget for the year.
The PASS Test was developed specifically for home schoolers. It has certain similarities to other achievement tests in that it estimates student achievement in the subjects of reading, language, and math. But is has important differences. It introduces four major improvements over most achievement tests presently available. First, it was designed for parents to administer at home. This can greatly reduce the stress level of testing. Second, it is untimed, which helps students to relax. Third, the student's approximate achievement level within his or her grade is initially identified by use of a brief accompanying placement test. This assigns each child to a test level where he or she is more likely to succeed, and it also allows for shorter tests. Finally, testing results show overall achievement as well as performance in each subject. The test is standardized and children's scores are compared with both national and home-schooling populations. This does not mean that the test is nationally normed, but that the scores are equated to those of public school students taking one of the nationally-normed tests. The states of Alaska, New York, and North Carolina have officially approved the PASS Test for purposes of state reporting. In other states which require testing, you should check with your local school district to make sure it meets their requirements.
John Holt's article in which he lists questions that should be asked of school districts' testing policies.
This resource center offers homeschool assessments, speakers and events related to homeschooling topics, classes and tutoring, portfolio development and college preparation, and additional diagnostic assessments.
Trust Tutoring offers an Evaluation of Basic Skills, a standardized test of reading, writing, and math skills for ages 3-18.
Established in 1955, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. NMSC conducts the National Merit® Scholarship Program, an annual academic competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships.
Educational Testing Services (ETS) is an organization that provides a range of products and services, including research, test administration, test scoring, and more. This organization develops and administers AP, GRE, and SAT tests, among others.
Offering the California Achievement Test (C.A.T./5), specifically the C.A.T./5 Complete Battery and the C.A.T./5 Survey. They also offer TerraNova CTBS and TerraNova 2 (CAT/6) for homeschools, private schools, or organized groups. Test results are sent directly to you, helping you understand your student’s academic standing.
ACT vs SAT: which test is a better fit for your student? Students may take whichever test they prefer (assuming there are available testing locations for both tests). If you’re not sure which test your child would prefer, consider the key differences between the ACT and SAT. Some students find that the ACT caters to their strengths more so than the SAT, and vice versa. Need a quick side-by-side comparison of the tests? Check out this ACT vs SAT Comparison Chart.
This website offers an alternative look at standardized testing. Students Against Testing was created to be a strong force against the score-obsessed education machine known as standardized testing. At the same time, SAT also exists as an advocate for bringing positive, creative and real-life learning activities into the schools.
Future School online learning systems support your entire family in both the classroom and the home using only qualified teachers to ensure its educational services. They offer tutoring students in the home, classroom and after school facilities, providing both face-to-face, telephone and online assistance in the two core areas of literacy and numeracy. Future School has also many years experience in the development of Basic Skill Tests in mathematics and English covering years 3, 5, and 7, including the materials, delivery, marking, psychometrics and reporting to Education Departments, schools, and parents.
To help you in the critical task of selecting appropriate materials for your child, Christian Liberty Press has developed several specialized services for homeschoolers. They can test your child and also provide a customized curriculum recommendation that is suited for your child’s skill level.
Piedmont Education Services offers the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III), along with test prep materials.
Although this article has some outdated date information in it, it is a good discussion of the use of the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) for homeschoolers, especially those who are interested in qualifying for certain scholarships.
This private school offers services to homeschoolers including assessment, custom curriculum development, mentorship, and support, and involvement and protection. We offer a full service home schooling solution for your family regardless of the educational challenges or questions you may have so you can be successful having school at home. They specialize in special needs curriculum.
PLATO Learning, Inc. delivers just-in-time online assessments that are tied directly to state and provincial standards. Their courseware includes thousands of hours of basic to advanced level instructional content for K-adult learners. They provide web based assessments that assist in placement, progress monitoring, and accountability requirements with diagnostic and prescriptive tests, simulated high-stakes tests, lesson progress tests, standards-based tests, and cumulative tests.
Bayside School Services offers do-it-yourself standardized achievement tests, available all year. Bayside gives you original publisher materials plus genuine CTB scoring reports, including free practice tests for all grades where available. Test prices include shipping, handling, scoring and all practice tests. Special pricing available for group orders.
Offers the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Stanford Achievement Test, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), and the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT). There are some specific guidelines for administering these tests, including requirements in some cases for a bachelor's degree, teacher certification, and/or special training in test administration. Also offered are test support products designed to help your child achieve higher test scores.