Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

If you've ever wondered about standardized testing . . . what makes it standardized? And does it really tell me what my child has learned? This week on Home School Heartbeat, HSLDA President Mike Smith tells you what you need to know.

Mike Smith:
A standardized test is a test given under specific, uniform conditions. This means that no matter where the test is given—in a public school in Nebraska, a private school in California, or a homeschool in Texas—every child has precisely the same amount of time to work through each section of the test.


The test questions are carefully crafted, aimed at discovering how much progress a child has made in his schoolwork and whether specific educational objectives have been met. Answering questions correctly signifies that a child is knowledgeable about a particular topic that is taught in a particular grade.


Tests are scored by comparing them to what the average children of the same age and grade scored when the test was created. Scores are usually reported in percentile rank. A 68% does not mean the child answered 68 percent of the questions correctly. It means that the child did as well as or better than 68 percent of the other children who took the test.


Many states require homeschooled students to take some form of standardized testing and many do not. If your state law requires testing, Home School Legal Defense Association recommends parents comply with the law. If the law doesn't require testing, parents may choose to test or not. Homeschoolers have mixed feelings about standardized testing—we'll address the issue next time. Please join me. I'm Mike Smith.