And the countdown is on.....
My son is in 8th grade and in Oregon, in our county.... the law requires standardized testing at the end of 8th grade as well as 3rd, 5th, and 10th but those are mute to us right now. This will be our 1st time for testing since we started homeschooling in 2008. He is like me and doesn’t test well nor is he strong in Math, so I am concerned as to how he will do. I have had my ear out listening for hints and tips for other homeschool parents in Oregon for our best way to do this, how hard the test is, etc. but for some reason it is not really talked about. I am worried, just because it reflects on my son AND it reflects on myself as a homeschooling parent and teacher. Are we doing enough? Is he learning? Am I ruining my kids lives? Which just seems to coincide with this time of year, when homeschool parental panic sets in and we doubt ourselves. I know I do and after cruising the blogs..... it seems I am not the only one! WHEW! I do not know why I do this every year, but for some reason after holidays are over.... I worry. This year, we are on a deadline because of testing AND because of the fact that he will be in High School in Fall 2011 and we do not have a plan. So, I have spent money on testing books at our local teacher store, chatted online, and looked and found several testing websites in order to get us prepared for his testing. I do not care for his overall score, just that he passes. I know his Math will suck, as long as he passes we are good. We have found some SAT games, which I know are not what we need at this time but it cannot hurt as I am sure part of the testing will be based on that. And I also know that what I learned in high school 20+ years ago is being taught in middle school today because of how they have restructured the system.
Most days I feel like a chicken with it's head cut off, running around like crazy but I am one of those people that would rather be OVER prepared and we pass with flying colors rather than under prepared and we mess it up royally, esp. when it pertains to my kids schooling. My kids well-being is very important to hubby and I and we want them to be all they can be with their lives and their schooling. So, we over prepare and hope for the best!
So, if you(my faithful readers!) have taken the standardized testing for Oregon homeschoolers...... and feel like giving me some hints, tips, etc. feel free to comment on this post!!
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