BJU Press Blog

Understanding testing terms

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Every year, achievement testing season rolls around. As a child, I enjoyed testing. It meant new pencils, special snacks, and fun games. I didn’t have to worry about interpreting the test scores. Now, after studying assessments in grad school and working with people who dedicate their lives to testing, I realize how complicated the results can be. It’s hard to remember what all the terms and abbreviations mean, isn’t it?

So this month, I’ll share some testing terms and their definitions with you. I hope they help you and your children have a great testing season.

image of a door sign that says "understanding your testing results"

Norm

When a child takes a standardized test, his scores are compared to what is called the norm. Basically, the norm is the scores of a sample group of children that took the same test. They took the test before this year so that their scores are available for comparison.

National Percentile Rank

Also known as the percentile rank, this ranks your child’s scores against the norm’s scores. When your child takes a test, his scores are compared to the norm to see how he did. If he is placed in the 80 percentile then he scored as well or better than 80% of the students in the norm group.

Stanine

Stanine may be referred to as NS on your test results. It’s another grading scale that goes from 1-9. Low scores are in the 1-3 range, 4-6 indicates medium scores, and 7-9 scores are considered high. It’s a quick way to see which “group” your child scored in.

Grade Equivalent

I remember learning about grade equivalents in one of my grad classes. It’s easy to misunderstand but fascinating once you understand it.  (I misunderstood it before learning how to read it.) Basically, the GE tells you what level of student (grade level) your child scored the same as. So if your fourth-grader has a  7.2 GE on his math test, it means he scored the same as an average seventh-grade student who took the same test in his second month of seventh grade. It doesn’t mean that your fourth-grader should be in seventh grade. That would be great though! Just remember that it’s not comparing your child to his peers but correlating his score with other scores regardless of grade level.

Note: You may see PHS in the GE column. That stands for Post High School, and again it doesn’t mean that your child is ready to attend college, just that he scored higher than the average high school senior.

What other testing terms do you find confusing or hard to remember?

Celebrate Spring!

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I’m not a big fan of winter. There are some aspects that I enjoy—things like homemade soup and big mugs of hot chocolate. But I don’t enjoy activities such as having to bundle up to go outside to pick up my mail or having to shovel snow out of my driveway. I find myself looking forward to spring every year.

This year, spring officially begins on March 20. And even though it might not feel like spring on that Thursday where you live, you can still celebrate with some fun activities.

Have a Special Snack

The appearance of earthworms is a sign of the beginning of spring, so why not eat some “worms” for snack time? The Footsteps for Fours Teacher’s Edition Part 3 features this delectable snack on page 1133.

recipe for Worms
Ingredients

¼ cup of prepared chocolate instant pudding
2 chocolate sandwich cookies
Several gummy worms
1 resealable sandwich bag
A small disposable cup
A plastic spoon

Directions

Fill a small cup with the pudding. Put the cookies in the sandwich bag for the child to crush and pour into the paper cup. Then decorate with gummy worms. Yield: 1 serving

Read Some Books

Below are some great read-aloud books for young children:

  • Signs of Spring by Justine Fontes
  • Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Buttercup Hill by Eileen M. Berry
  • Everything Spring by Jill Esbaum

Make a Craft

Spring is also the time when you start to see blossoms on the trees. Make your own blossoming tree by following the directions below.

construction paper craft of a flowering tree
Materials Needed
  • Construction paper (blue, green, and brown; 8 ½ x 11 inches)
  • Tissue paper (white and pink)
  • Old pencils (either without an eraser or with “unusable” erasers)
  • Glue
Directions
  1. Cut the green construction paper into strips 3 inches tall and 8 ½ inches wide.
  2. Draw a tree shape on the brown construction paper and cut it out. (Tip: Tracing a child’s hand and forearm makes a great tree shape.)
  3. Glue your tree onto a full sheet of blue construction paper.
  4. Glue a strip of the green construction paper on the bottom to make “grass.”
  5. Cut the tissue paper into 1 inch squares.
  6. Fold a square of tissue paper over the eraser-end of a pencil to form a “blossom.” Put a dab of glue on the bottom of the “blossom” and stick it on one of the branches of the “tree.”

Go for a Walk

If the weather is favorable, go for a walk and look for some of the following signs of spring:

  • Tree blossoms
  • Flowers (especially daffodils and crocuses)
  • Birds
  • Earthworms
  • Butterflies
  • Caterpillars

What do you plan on doing to celebrate the first day of spring?

U.S. Presidents: Where Did They Come From?

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red and blue graphic that says Presidents DayApril 30, 2014, will mark 225 years since George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States. The nation has had 44 different presidents during those years. Many of these men began their careers as lawyers, soldiers, or politicians. But I was curious to find out what some of our presidents did before they entered the political arena. So I went to whitehouse.gov and did some research. I read the bios available for all of our presidents and found three different presidents that, in my opinion, had interesting beginnings.

Andrew Johnson

a painting of President Andrew Johnson
Official Presidential portrait of Andrew Johnson by Eliphalet Frazer Andrews/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

President from 1865 to 1869, Johnson was born into a poor family in 1808. As a boy he became a tailor’s apprentice. Eventually, he moved to Greeneville, Tennessee, and opened his own tailor shop. While there,  Johnson married Eliza McCardle. He would eventually participate in debates at the local school there, aiding his speaking skills.

James Garfield

a painting of President James Garfield
Official Presidential portrait of James Abram Garfield by Calvin Curtis/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

His term shortened because he was assassinated, Garfield “was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1831.”1 As a young man, he worked with canal boats. In 1856 he graduated from Williams College before going to work for the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Ohio. Eventually, Garfield was elected to the Ohio senate; he went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming president.

Herbert Hoover

a painting of President Herbert Hoover
Official Presidential portrait of Herbert Hoover by Elmer Wesley Greene/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

President from 1929 to 1933, Hoover worked for many years in China as an engineer. He and his family were still in China when the Boxer Rebellion occurred and helped their Chinese neighbors during that tumultuous time. Hoover would continue to help in other countries as World War I began. Eventually he became president, and his presidency would be marked by the Great Depression. These are just a few of the presidents that I found who led interesting lives before their political careers began. I must admit I found those who were born in Ohio to be the most interesting—but that could be my Ohio-born bias. That said, I think it’s good to know that many of our presidents had a strong work ethic that led to their presidencies and helped them while in office. To me, that legacy makes honoring them important on this Presidents’ Day.

How do you observe Presidents’ Day?

1. James Garfield. Whitehouse.gov. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesgarfield (accessed: January, 24, 2014).

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Black History Month

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February is coming up soon, and for educators that means Black History Month is too. Below you’ll find a quick reference guide for several figures in American history (who I think are inspiring!) as well as a list of kid-friendly resources for Black History Month. This list is not comprehensive but provides some ideas to help you get started. Happy learning!

Phillis-Wheatley-poem-2016

Notable Figures in U.S. History:

Phillis Wheatley (1753–84)

Phillis Wheatley distinguished herself as an early American poet. Her works clearly express her inner thoughts and reveal how much influence Christianity and a classical education had on her. “On Being Brought from Africa to America” uses color imagery on multiple levels to emphasize the poem’s message. What is arguably Wheatley’s most impressive accomplishment was her success in getting published at a time when few women—let alone those of African descent—were viewed as serious writers.

Learn more about Phillis Wheatley

Study three of her poems

Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827-1901)

Mr. Revels served as a chaplain in the Civil War. After the war, he became the first African American U.S. Senator, representing the state of Mississippi. His willingness to forgive Confederates as well as his advocacy for racial equality marked his time in Congress. He was a true leader and a Christian.

Learn more about Hiram Rhodes Revels

Doris “Dorie” Miller (1919–43)

“Dorie” Miller bravely served his country in the U.S. Navy. December 7, 1941, was a defining day in his life. During the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Dorie quickly found a machine gun and returned fire on the enemy. He received the Navy Cross for his actions in the attack.

Learn more about Doris “Dorie” Miller

Additional Resources:

What do you highlight during Black History Month?

Bring on the New Year’s Resolutions!

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WP-new-years-resolutions-1-2014

It’s a new year, which means a fresh start, new opportunities, and . . . New Year’s resolutions. Have you made any resolutions yet?

Maybe this year you’re determined to exercise more, spend more time with your family, or start a new hobby. Wanting to do those things is wonderful, and I encourage you to stick with them! But have you ever noticed that a lot of people end up not sticking with their resolutions?

As a homeschool parent, maybe you’ve thought of making New Year’s resolutions for your homeschooling. It’s the start of a new semester and a great time to set some new goals. But I’d like to share a thought that will hopefully help you set attainable goals. 

The Key to Stick-To-Itiveness

The reason many people abandon their New Year’s resolutions is that instead of setting small goals for a short period of time, they set big goals for a long period of time (like a year). Is it any wonder that they don’t stick with those goals? It’s hard to keep your momentum going for an entire year.

But what if you thought in terms of a month, week, or day. Take those big yearlong goals and chop them up into tinier ones. Imagine how much more manageable and attainable your goals would look.

So this year, I encourage you not to think of it as a year. Rather look at a single day or month and see how much of your goals you want to accomplish then. And by this time next year, you’ll have accomplished your New Year’s resolutions.

What helps you stick with your resolutions or goals?