Oh IOWA how I love thee

We are getting ready for the IOWA standardized testing. My kids take this test in lieu of getting our portfolio picked over by someone we barely know. I have to say that I absolutely despise testing for my kids. Not because I don't think they are capable, but because I just hate tests.

I had a friend, during my first year of home schooling that argued the fact that I HAD to give my kids tests. She was insistent that they needed the pressure or they would not be able to succeed or function in the real world when the time came. "Testing teaches responsibility not to mention that it gives you a basis to evaluate them", she said. This friend was also passionately against home schooling.

In my house, I am the one who has to teach them. I am the one who evaluates them. I still use text books. If one of my lovelies is struggling somewhere, we simply don't move on until they grasp the concept. Why would I need them to take a test to prove that they know what I already know they know? Seems a bit redundant to me. I am utilizing immersion in every sense of our lives. Every moment is a teaching moment. Even though I don't like testing within our normal school environment, I still love the IOWA tests. My kiddos will do well this year. They aced last year. I will also be sending copies of our test scores to that "friend" that so lovingly supported me when I decided that we were going to home school. Teaching moment #5,859. This is how we tell someone that wasn't nice, to piss off. Gotta love it.