My family recently met a woman who lives and works in Kenya. Since she is not very familiar with homeschooling, she started asking our oldest daughter (a senior in high school) the usual question about socialization, and then she asked her about tests.
“I don’t really have many tests,” my daughter replied.
I jumped in with an explanation: My oldest loves tests, she performs well on them, and I would rather use the time that assessments would take in other ways to further her education. In contrast, my youngest daughter has more text anxiety, and so I give her tests much more frequently.
Before I became a full-time homeschool mom, my professional career was in college admissions. Here, I valued standardized testing to provide a valuable forecast for college preparedness and academic aptitude.
But when we first began our homeschooling journey, testing seemed an undue burden on everyone. Thankfully, we live in a state that doesn’t mandate standardized testing. (Make sure to check the laws for your state!) Throughout elementary school, the time I would have used giving tests to our children was better spent learning new things or playing outdoors.
However, it is also true that different kids (and different state requirements) make the decision of when and how often to give tests unique to each child. Like everything else, there is no perfect formula.
In the high school years, testing has become more important to our homeschool plan. Through most of my homeschooling journey, I expected my kids to be like me in their interests, aptitudes, and study habits. Alas, life is too interesting for that. Each of my kids, and each of yours, is unique, so it's important to think through ways to assess them as an individual.
Life is full of tests, and before they encounter standardized tests that impact their future college options and careers, they need to be comfortable and familiar with testing. This gives them a foundation for success. When they are familiar with testing, it is closer to a true reflection on their knowledge and abilities.
Additionally, I have found value in standardized tests and have learned to review the analytics from the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and CLT, CLT-10, and CLT-8. I have found all of them helpful in spotting strengths and weaknesses in my children and their learning. I personally favor the feedback from the CLT, and it is a friendly test for homeschooling families because it can be proctored remotely.
Another bonus of this testing is that the analytics have been helpful in tailoring school assignments to develop skills in problem areas. One child gets lost in the details when she reads a passage and has trouble reading quickly enough and comprehending the big picture; another is quick and appraises the overall story but misses key details. I’ve been able to focus on working with each to improve.
While I would caution against testing frequently too early on, it can also be problematic to begin testing too late, particularly for college-bound students. Each of our kids is different, but for the underconfident child, being familiar with testing and having their strengths emphasized after each test is an asset as they prepare for their future. Testing sooner gives us time to work on improving areas of weakness.
Testing can also provide encouragement for both parents and students! After extensive struggles in math, we received CLT-8 results for one child showing she demonstrated good mathematic reasoning skills and scored high on applying math to real life, but needed more practice on operations. I had guessed that paying attention to detail was part of the problem and testing helped support my charge to her that she needed to spend more time reviewing problems.
I do personally advise against overtesting, particularly for college admissions tests. In my time as a college admissions professional, there was concern when a student was taking these exams repeatedly. For my children, I had them take a College Board Test (PSAT or SAT), ACT once, and CLT once. We then compared the results and they retook the test they did best at in the fall of their senior year.
My son had a significantly higher score on one of the tests. My oldest daughter came out about even on all three, and I encouraged her to take the test she preferred again in her senior year. If your son or daughter is close to a certain scholarship level, taking a test a third time can be a good option. (The PSAT can also be taken in the fall of their 10th grade year for possible qualification for a National Merit Scholarship.)
There is no perfect formula for testing, but weighing the benefits of testing has helped me make better, more individualized choices for each of my three students. I encourage you to consider your approach to this before you have to make the decision!