Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think SOLs are a representation of the teacher and a particular class, not grade. In addition to how well a kid can take test.

My kid scored extremely well on the IOWA (98), but didn't pass advanced on the SOL. I really believe this was because of the students in his class and what the teacher was able to teach.

Same. I too believe my kid's teacher didn't prepare the kids for the test. Also, those SOLPass tests are useless. My kid consistently scored 100% on the 8th grade tests on SOLPass but didn't pass advance on the 7th grade SOL.

Anonymous wrote:I think SOLs are a representation of the teacher and a particular class, not grade. In addition to how well a kid can take test.

My kid scored extremely well on the IOWA (98), but didn't pass advanced on the SOL. I really believe this was because of the students in his class and what the teacher was able to teach.

Anonymous wrote:What does the 7th grade SOL have to do with algebra? It is an option for any 8th grader at our MS. I know the 6th grade SOL was a factor in a 6th grader taking algebra.

Anonymous wrote:What does the 7th grade SOL have to do with algebra? It is an option for any 8th grader at our MS. I know the 6th grade SOL was a factor in a 6th grader taking algebra.

Anonymous wrote:What does the 7th grade SOL have to do with algebra? It is an option for any 8th grader at our MS. I know the 6th grade SOL was a factor in a 6th grader taking algebra.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I basically don't put any stock in SOL results (for individual children or for schools) anymore. My kids were doing lower 400s year after year. They acted like the teachers didn't care how they did on the SOLs and one of my kids last year actually said "it doesn't even matter for anything anyway - I just want to finish it and play games." I have to admit I didn't care much about it either.

Well, this year my son's ability to take Algebra I in 7th was on the line, so the weekend before the SOL I sat him down and I was like, listen, you have to take the SOL seriously because if you don't do well, you won't be in Algebra I. His younger brother heard it too. Both of their scores jumped like 70 points this year to advanced! If me giving a five minute talk can jump SOL scores by 70 points, the test is truly useless as a diagnostic tool

Diagnostic tool of what?

It seems like a good diagnostic tool of how well your kids do on a test if they actually put effort in. That's valuable information.

Diagnostic of how well teachers are teaching or which schools are "better schools." You know, the diagnostic purpose for which pretty much everyone uses them

They are decent at that. There's no reason for parents to tell their children to blow off a standardized test - I don't know why people think that's a good idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I basically don't put any stock in SOL results (for individual children or for schools) anymore. My kids were doing lower 400s year after year. They acted like the teachers didn't care how they did on the SOLs and one of my kids last year actually said "it doesn't even matter for anything anyway - I just want to finish it and play games." I have to admit I didn't care much about it either.

Well, this year my son's ability to take Algebra I in 7th was on the line, so the weekend before the SOL I sat him down and I was like, listen, you have to take the SOL seriously because if you don't do well, you won't be in Algebra I. His younger brother heard it too. Both of their scores jumped like 70 points this year to advanced! If me giving a five minute talk can jump SOL scores by 70 points, the test is truly useless as a diagnostic tool

Diagnostic tool of what?

It seems like a good diagnostic tool of how well your kids do on a test if they actually put effort in. That's valuable information.

Diagnostic of how well teachers are teaching or which schools are "better schools." You know, the diagnostic purpose for which pretty much everyone uses them

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I basically don't put any stock in SOL results (for individual children or for schools) anymore. My kids were doing lower 400s year after year. They acted like the teachers didn't care how they did on the SOLs and one of my kids last year actually said "it doesn't even matter for anything anyway - I just want to finish it and play games." I have to admit I didn't care much about it either.

Well, this year my son's ability to take Algebra I in 7th was on the line, so the weekend before the SOL I sat him down and I was like, listen, you have to take the SOL seriously because if you don't do well, you won't be in Algebra I. His younger brother heard it too. Both of their scores jumped like 70 points this year to advanced! If me giving a five minute talk can jump SOL scores by 70 points, the test is truly useless as a diagnostic tool

Diagnostic tool of what?

It seems like a good diagnostic tool of how well your kids do on a test if they actually put effort in. That's valuable information.

Anonymous wrote:I basically don't put any stock in SOL results (for individual children or for schools) anymore. My kids were doing lower 400s year after year. They acted like the teachers didn't care how they did on the SOLs and one of my kids last year actually said "it doesn't even matter for anything anyway - I just want to finish it and play games." I have to admit I didn't care much about it either.

Well, this year my son's ability to take Algebra I in 7th was on the line, so the weekend before the SOL I sat him down and I was like, listen, you have to take the SOL seriously because if you don't do well, you won't be in Algebra I. His younger brother heard it too. Both of their scores jumped like 70 points this year to advanced! If me giving a five minute talk can jump SOL scores by 70 points, the test is truly useless as a diagnostic tool

Anonymous wrote:My kid failed 5th science too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone surprised by their ES kid’s results? I thought my 6th grader would get PA in Math and they got Pass proficient. Bummer. I thought they may fail LA and they got pass advanced! Reverse of the entire year’s scores.

Nope, both PA. I was a bit surprised that the Math score was lower then the reading score, I'll be interested to see the score break down. He has a tendency to rush through math problems because he thinks they are easy and then makes mistakes. We are working on it.

Anonymous wrote:My kid took SOLs first time this year and passed in mid 500s on the both tests. What does pass advance mean (vs pass proficient)?