Homeschooling Chronicles - Can You Do Without Tests?

Testing smesting, that is what I used to say. If you homeschool, why would you need to give your students tests? Tests just create anxiety and take the fun out of learning, right? My grinchy self did not find merit in this technique, and nobody would make me change my mind.

In my experience as a student, tests had been panic-inspiring. I was racked with fear before the SAT and ACT. When I looked down at the answer sheet, the nervousness would begin. I secretly wanted to pummel that letter D, none of the above. It is just not fair having that choice. The devil of doubt would start to get me. The answer could be A, but B looked good as well, but that none of the above could just be the right choice. I didn't only experience this feeling with the big tests, I felt it in the little ones as well.

When I first started homeschooling my children, I rejoiced at the idea of never having to give them a test. They would not have to endure test torture. I honestly believed that tests were not important.  In my mind, they took time away from the fun stuff. Yet, as my kids moved into higher grade levels, I started to wonder how much they were retaining. Yes, of course, I gave them oral tests. But I often wondered whether this was really effective. Eventually, I realized that I was going to have to use some form of written test. I started out slow and easy.  I gave  my children short quizzes after reading a book. They did well on these, so I thought the problem was solved.

But it wasn't really. Doubts returned to my mind. I started to be suspicious about what my children did and did not know. It became obvious that they were repeatedly missing easy answers. I was frustrated, but I knew that I would have to resort to written assessments. My older child was the test subject.

When I corrected the first test, I realized something important - my child had no idea how to take a test. This was a pivotal moment for me. Not only did my children need to learn how to retain information, but they also needed to know how to take a test. We began to talk about the tricks to tests. We soon realized that deciphering the techniques of test taking could be exciting. The more we explored test tactics, the more I realized that testing might not be that bad. And one fateful day, I decided that testing has a place in schooling, even homeschooling.