Testing

If you would like to be listed on this page, click here.

Please Participate in New Homeschool Academic Study

Basic Testing Info

How do I test by child? Where do I find the test? Who can give it? Is the C-SAP required or acceptable?

Homeschool parents may test their children at home or have an independent tester do it for them. To test at home, there may be requirements of the parent, such as follows:
Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) - 4 year degree required.
Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) - 4 year degree required, children must be tested with at least 2 other children in the same grade at the same time (Please Note: this is NOT the SAT test taken by high schoolers for college admission).
California Achievement Test (CAT) - No requirements.

Private and homeschooled students may take the C-SAP test at their own cost, although it is not mandatory, and does not meet the requirement of a nationally standardized test. Even if the homeschooled student is taking some classes at his or her local public school, he or she is not required to take the C-SAP test. The inclusion of these entries on this bulletin board does not constitute an endorsement by Christian Home Eduators of Colorado of the program, organization, or tutor. It is the parent's responsibility to investigate who will be involved in their children's education. We encourage parents to thoroughly investigate a potential tester, and to stay involved on an ongoing basis with their children's testers. You should also ask for references and talk to others who have used these organizations/persons' talents.

Homeschoolers in Colorado are required to test their children in the odd grades using a nationally standardized test or to do an evaluation. Parents can administer these standardized tests on their own or have someone to do it for them. There are different requirements for the administration of each test. Here is a list of the most popular tests and their requirements:
Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) - 4-year degree required
Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) - 4 year degree required; student must be tested with at least two non-relatives in the same test-level group. (Please Note: this is not the SAT that high school students take for college admission. You can find information about that test below under High School Testing)
California Achievement Test (CAT) - No requirements

To be listed on this page, please click here.

ORDERING YOUR OWN TEST

Bob Jones University Press, Testing and Evaluation Service
800-845-5731
Tests available: Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Stanford Achievement Test, Metropolitan Achievement Test

Christian Liberty Academy
847-259-4444
Tests available: California Achievement Test (CAT)

Hewitt Homeschooling Resources
360-835-8708
Tests available: PASS Test (written for home educators. Norms are based on national populations as well as home educated populations.

Bayside School Services
800-723-3057
California Achievement Test (CAT)

Seton Homeschool Services

setonhome.org
540-636-9990

1-800-542-1066
California Achievement Test (CAT)

FACE
303-426-8484

faceschool.org
Julie@faceschool.org or Cindy@faceschool.org
Family Academy of Christian Education offers the PSATs to all students that would like to take it. It is especially beneficial for 11th graders as this is where National Merit Scholarship winners are found.
Also, any family that needs to test can obtain the CAT5, CAT6 or IOWA tests, at a discounted price, through FACE. All grades are on hand for immediate use.

Interpreting CAT Results
Several different numbers are listed on your California Achievement Test results sheet. Most of these are calculated based on a norm group (the original group of students tested on which the test is standardized). Results are listed by academic area. Below are basic definitions for these scores.

Raw Scores
Raw scores are the actual number of correct answers within a given
test section, and are used to calculate the Grade Equivalent,
Percentile, and Stanine results. They should not be used for any kind
of comparison or statistical calculation since each test section
varies in the difficulty and number of questions.

Grade Equivalent Scores
Grade equivalent scores represent the grade level (year and month
separated by a decimal point) of a student's ability compared to the
median score of students at the same academic level.

Scores that are above a student's grade level do not by themselves
indicate proficiency to skip to the next grade level in the particular
academic areas. These scores more likely show an understanding of only
some of the concepts of that higher grade. Conversely, scores below a
student's grade level may indicate a gap of understanding in those
academic areas. Scores equal to a student's grade level are considered
the minimum for grade level ability.

Percentile Scores
Percentile scores are equivalent to the percentage of students from
the norm group who received lower scores than the student. For
example: a student with a percentile score of 73 means that the
student did better than approximately 73 percent of the students in
the norm group. Percentile scores do not represent the number of
questions answered correctly.

Percentiles are useful for comparing a student's performance over
several sections on the test. However, because they are not measured
on an equal scale of units, they are not suitable for most statistical
calculations.

Stanine Scores
Derived from the term STAndard score from a NINE-unit scale,
stanines are based on the mean of the norm group (who are given the
score of 5) and a standard deviation of 2.0. Scores are determined by
the amount of standard deviation from the norm group, in approximately
one-half standard deviation increments.

Stanine scores are useful in calculating means, correlation
coefficients, and other statistics which are meaningful to test
evaluators.

The following table lists the meaning of each score:

ACT/SAT

SAT vs ACT

Which Test Should I Take and Why

ACT TEST DATE
Visit www.act.org for information about testing facilities and requirements.

SAT TESTING DATES
For more information visit www.collegboard.com

ACT's Advantage program

Posted 12-11-08
The ACT Advantage solutions for homeschool families includes the EXPLORE and PLAN assessment programs to help parents assess their children’s skills and knowledge in the comfort and privacy of their home. EXPLORE, PLAN and the ACT are part of ACT's logitidinal assessment program designed to give parents objective feedback on the knowledge and skills of their children. The EXPLORE assessment is for children in the 8th to 9th grade level and the PLAN assessment is for children at the 10th grade level.

The Advantage program is offered by ACT, a not-for-profit organization that has been delivering educational programs and services for nearly 50 years.  ACT developed "The College Readiness Standards"  to serve as a link between what students have learned and what they must learn in order to be prepared for high school and college. The ACT Advantage program was designed to bring ACT's quality educational tools to homeschool families and their children with the goal of enhancing their educational experience. www.actadvantage.org

TESTERS & EVALUATORSEvEVALUATORS

Shannon Atwater
Aurora 720-371-7099
ITBS/Woodcock-Johnson III , Stanford Achievement Test
slatwater@comcast.net

Christian Cottage Schools
3650 W. Dawson Road
Sedalia, CO 80135
303-688-6626
Teri Spray will do consultations/curriculum designs from the Woodcock Johnson Test. She is also able to do portfolio assessments as her schedule permits (November-March). Christian Cottage Schools also offers PACE (Processing and Cognitive Enhancement).
(The following is a list of Woodcock Johnson Testers used by Christian Cottage Schools for home education programs)

Jill Bailey
Colorado Springs, CO 719-637-0797

Jan Hummel
Loveland, CO 970-667-1449

Yvonne Polhemus
Castle Rock, CO 303-688-2073

Sharon Lindsay
Sedalia, CO 303-688-9118

Colorado Heritage Education School Systems (CHESS)
Greeley 970-346-0099
1300 9th Street
Greeley, CO 80631
coloradoheritage@msn.com
www.c-h-e-s-s.org
ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills)
personal evaluation

FACE
Westminster 303-426-8484
CAT, ITBS, TerraNova/CAT 6
On-line standardized testing by CTB/McGraw Hill

Bob Crocket
Arvada 303-425-8859

Cheryl Kasson, PhD
Denver Metro Area 303-922-2797
cheryl@tde.com
evaluator, portfolio assessment, specializes in unschooling and special needs.

Judy Van Acker
Southern Colorado 719-784-6399
Jv4read@prodigy.net

Elma Field
Denver 303-423-5664
ITBS, evaluations. Also gives curriculum advice and advice on getting started.
Reading evaluations and solutions

Nancy Horne
719-495-9702
nh420mom1@msn.com

High Country Christian Academy
Colorado Springs 719-597-4222
ITBS only

Moriah Christian School
Littleton
303-287-7344 (K-6) ITBS
303-480-1803 (7-12) ITBS

M. Lee Watt
Denver, Colorado 303-985-8840
Woodcock Johnson, FirstSTEP, Interactive Metronome, PACE

Dayspring Christian Schools
Greeley 970-330-1151
SAT, ACT, PSAT, PLAN. AP for Biology, English, History, Calculus

Shema Christian Academy
Carol Hartz 303-678-1989 carol@shemaca.org
Diane Aschmann 303-678-1672
PO Box U
Berthoud, CO 80513
web site: www.shemaca.org
- Offers Stanford Achievement Test , CAT, ITBS

LearningRx Center – Colorado Springs North
(719)550-8263
email: cospringsnorth.co@learningrx.net
Cognitive skills and reading training / One-on-one training / option for parent to be trained to provide training at home / standardized testing for home school test requirements. Several trainers have master's degrees in education.

LearningRx Center – Colorado Springs South
(719)527-0033
email: cospringssouth.co@learningrx.net
Cognitive skills and reading training / One-on-one training / option for parent to be trained to provide training at home / standardized testing for home school test requirements. Several trainers have master's degrees in education.

LearningRx Center - Westminster
(303)412-6303
email: westminster.co@learningrx.net
Cognitive skills and reading training / One-on-one training / option for parent to be trained to provide training at home / standardized testing for home school test requirements. Several trainers have master's degrees in education.Centennial:

LearningRx Center - Centennial
(720)529-0780
email: centennial.co@learningrx.net
Cognitive skills and reading training / One-on-one training / option for parent to be trained to provide training at home / standardized testing for home school test requirements. Several trainers have master's degrees in education.

LearningRx Center - Parker
(303)840-8200
email: parker.co@learningrx.net
Cognitive skills and reading training / One-on-one training / option for parent to be trained to provide training at home / standardized testing for home school test requirements
Several trainers have master's degrees in education.

LearningRx Center – Fort Collins 
email: fortcollins.co@learningrx.net
Cognitive skills and reading training / One-on-one training / option for parent to be trained to provide training at home / standardized testing for home school test requirements
Several trainers have master's degrees in education.

Glenda Childs
303-937-1567
glendachilds@comcast.net
Woodcock JohnsonIII
Homeschooling for 10 years.
BA in elementary Education and MA in Curriculum Instruction.

Elizabeth Ridgway, MS
Northern Colorado
970-532-5653
ridgway_e@hotmail.com
MS, Special Education and Educational Diagnostics, BS in Education, Teaching Certificates in CO, TX, and IL.
Woodcoock Johnson III Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills

The Shandy Clinic
719-597-0822
kingston_001@msn.com
Woodcick Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities
Reading, writing and math tutoring, study skills, organization, test taking skills, develop learing plan with parent to maximize child's learning.
Credentials: MLS

Allison Foisset

SE Denver Metro (Aurora, Parker, HR etc)
720-870-2233
foisset5@msn.com
Testing with the ITBS, CAT7
Groups or Individuals, Cost of test plus nominal fee for services.  Prefer your home or site, will travel further if compensated for travel.
Credentials: BS in Educaion and Special Education, 6 yr home educator

Julie Grotheer
Location: Elizabeth CO
Phone: (303)646-5247
Email: jgrotheer@dishmail.net
Service: testing in reading, spelling writing, and math K-6th website: www.learning-consultant.com
Credentials: CO. Certified special educator and Elementary Ed. 20 years of experience in public, private, and charter schools.

HIGH SCHOOL TESTING
High schoolers often take the PSAT, SAT, or ACT in preparation for college admission.

PSAT/SAT
www.collegeboard.com

ACT
www.act.org

Dayspring Christian Schools
Greeley 970-330-1151
SAT, ACT, PSAT, PLAN. AP for Biology, English, History