NOTE: Independent Homeschoolers in Alaska are NOT REQUIRED to administer standardized tests or high school exit exams or career skills assessments.
There’s been a lot of talk about testing. It seems to happen every year around this time so I thought it best to approach the subject now as I have gotten several inquiries within the past few weeks about it.
North Star Independent Homeschoolers offers standardized testing for those interested. The state certified teachers in our group gladly offer their services to provide testing to children whose parents want them to test! Actual tests must be bought by participating children’s parents. The actual testing, which must be done by a state-certified school teacher, is free; our wonderful teachers donate their time for testing! Many states require standardized testing of resident homeschoolers. ALASKA DOES NOT. The standardized testing that NSIH offers are not College Board examinations. College Board owns the SAT, ACT, Accuplacer, and PSAT/NMSQT.
There are many, many tests a parent may choose to give their child or children. There’s the Iowa Test of Basic Skills Complete Battery, the Terra Nova Test, the California Achievement Test (CAT), Personalized Achievement Summary System (PASS), etc. etc. Right now, many of these are not aligned to Common Core or NexGen. It is expected that nearly all newer versions will become aligned. The folks at The Educational Freedom Coalition have been very persistent in tracking down who is/isn’t aligned with the controversial Common Core. Because standardized testing is required in many states, they even have a section of their website dedicated to Tests. You can find it by clicking here. These are the types of tests that NSIH member state-certified teachers can administer. NSIH member state-certified teachers cannot administer College Board assessments. College Board has a completely different set of rules and regulations since their tests are geared for college entrance.
Most of the College Board assessments have already aligned with Common Core. These include the ACT, SAT, PSAT, and Accuplacer. UAF administers the Accuplacer, ACT, and SAT. Contact UAF for more information regarding how to register to take the Accuplacer. http://www.uaf.edu/ Independent Homeschoolers interested in the ACT and SAT are encouraged to sign up at the respective websites to register their child/children and pay the testing fees. The ACT website is at http://act.org/products/k-12-act-test/ and the SAT website is here: http://sat.collegeboard.org/home
Independent Homeschooling parents that would like their child/ren to take the PSAT/NMSQT examination cannot register for the exam online. The PSAT/NMSQT is administered in October and there are usually only 2 different test dates. It is advised to begin searching for a local private school or public school that administers this test beginning in August. When you have found a school, let the school know that you are interested in having your child/ren test with their students. This helps the school to know how many tests they need to order. Interior Independents have the option of calling Monroe Catholic School, who administers the test on the first October test date, or a local public high school (such as North Pole High School) who administers the test on the second October test date.
NOTE: Independent Homeschoolers in Alaska are NOT REQUIRED to administer standardized tests or high school exit exams or career skills assessments.
North Star Independent Homeschoolers 