Help with my homeschooling book!

[cookderosa]

As I've procrastinated long enough, I'm finally finishing the remaining couple chapters that I decided to add last minute. I have drafts written, and hope to be finished this weekend. It occurred to me that some of you may have some great advice to add in one chapter on test-taking. Homeschooling for College Credit is almost finished!!

PART 1
The question I'm addressing in my chapter is "How to test."

What advice do you have come test day? (if you're a high school student, say so in your answer to me, I'm especially interested in your tips!!)

PART 2
I've added a FAQ chapter. Maybe some homeschool moms could throw out questions YOU have about homeschooling your child during high school- especially moms whose goal is for their child to earn college credit?

[Tedium]

I'm was not a homeschool student, but I think I might have a few tips on testing, if it helps.

1) Do not cram the material. Plan out your study times so that it gives you ample time to absorb and digest the information. This is especially important if the test you are taking is a pre-req for a later, more difficult course. If that course builds on the things you learned in the earlier course, and you have forgotten everything you crammed (very likely) then you will be in trouble.

2) Try to relax on test day. This is probably the most important issue for me. Some people like to schedule a test early in the day, so that they don't have to spend the rest of the day dreading the upcoming test. For them, that is relaxing. Personally, I like to schedule it a bit later in the day, so that I have time to relax and get rid of my pre-test jitters. If you choose that method don't spend your test day studying. It's okay to look over the material for a light review, but I have never had good results with trying to learn new material on the day of the test. Try to find that golden middle ground where you are not obsessing about the test, but you are mentally prepared to take it.

3) Do try to eat something before the test. Not enough to make you stuffed and groggy, but enough to where you will not be distracted by hunger. The same goes for drinking as well. Go to the bathroom before the test, even if you don't feel like it.

4) Be prepared for odd wording of questions. You may well know the material, but being asked for it in a form you were not expecting could stop you in your tracks or cause confusion/doubt (I'm thinking specifically of DSSTs here, but I think it's a good general rule). You need every bit of momentum you can get to finish the test on time and keep your head in the game.

5) You need to approach the test in waves. In the first wave you will try answer all of the questions you know off the top of your head quickly and accurately. Mark the questions you don't know immediately, and move on. The next wave is for those questions you had doubts about the first time through. Often times other questions on the test can jog your memory and help you to answer questions you weren't sure about earlier. I would try to move through those as quickly as possible as well, and keep the ones marked that you do not understand. Keep doing this until you get through all of the questions. By answering the ones you know immediately, you are guaranteeing those points in the event that you run out of time.

6) Guessing will not hurt you. At least as far as CLEP and DSST are concerned, you are not penalized for incorrect answers. Use this to your advantage and try to eliminate as many obviously wrong choices as you can, and guess. You have a reasonable chance of scoring well if you can make an educated guess about something. Context clues, a general knowledge of the material, and a few other issues can really give you an edge with difficult questions.

7) Watch the clock. This one is really important. There is nothing more frustrating than knowing the material, but taking too long with it and running out of time for your test. Don't obsess or fret about it, but do keep your eye on it.

8) Don't stress out too much, because you can always take the test again at a later date. If you fail, don't get too discouraged. The wait times may be long in some cases, but in that period of time you can re-study the material and also study for/take other tests.

9) Always move forward. My aunt once told me that school was an endurance race, and I think that is the most helpful and true thing anyone has ever told me about education. Regardless of if you fail or if you succeed, you need to keep moving. Too much time spent mourning or celebrating can really derail your progress. I'm not saying that you shouldn't congratulate yourself if you do well or take a moment to realize where you went wrong if you failed, but don't dwell on either for too long. You need to establish a momentum early on and do everything in your power to maintain it. Getting in that "zone" of testing or going to school in general is so important.

Sorry that isn't from a homeschool perspective, but I think it is still applicable. Hope that at least gives you some food for thought. Feel free to steal that, quote it, or paraphrase it to your liking. As long as it is helping someone, I don't mind.

[Publius]

I completely agree with the above post and am a high school student myself.

One thing I would note/add is don't drink anything directly before the test. lol


A thing that I've enjoyed doing is getting to the testing building earlier and settling in. Getting used to the environment, temperature, etc. Sounds pretty juvenile but it's helped relax and settle down right before the test.


A FAQ that I've been asked a bit about concerns the ACT and SAT and if students need to take those.

[columbia]

I second 'Tedium's post. It is right on and I'm a home-school graduate by the way. Homeschoolers have the opportunity to easily have a bachelors in hand by the time they are 18 if they plan ahead of time.

Definitely don't fill your belly up right before a test but don't be hungry either.

You need to be prepared so that on test day you can feel confident going into the test.

[cookderosa]

Love these!! Keep em coming! I edited 85 pages today and wrote another 30.....bed time

[clep3705]

A thing that I've enjoyed doing is getting to the testing building earlier and settling in. Getting used to the environment, temperature, etc. Sounds pretty juvenile but it's helped relax and settle down right before the test.

That's good advice. Taking it a bit further, consider any major entrance exam such as the ACT, SAT, MCAT, HESI, TEAS, or LSAT. Layer, that is my advice. You have to test for hours, so you really need to be comfortable. Have a jacket if the room is cold. Take it off if the room is warm. Whatever the temperature is, you want to be comfortable. I did get in trouble once for removing a jacket during a test. Make sure you know the rules.

[CourtneyBrooke]

I was homeschooled, am currently CLEP'ing my own college, and am the mother of 4 homeschooled children, one of whom will be taking her first CLEP this fall.

I'm sure you've covered this, but what I find a lot of people don't realize is that you can *combine* high school and college. For instance, studying the College Comp would be perfectly appropriate for many high schoolers, count for an entire year of high school English, and add 6 credits to your college credit bank. I would encourage high schoolers to follow any traditional high school course with the equivalent CLEP (US History, Biology, Algebra, etc etc).


Also, how do AP, SAT, and PSAT's fit in to my college plans?

Also, there are some states that offer free community courses to high schoolers. Our local Bible college offers one course per semester to high school Jrs and Srs.

I can't wait to read this!!!

[cookderosa]

I was homeschooled, am currently CLEP'ing my own college, and am the mother of 4 homeschooled children, one of whom will be taking her first CLEP this fall.

I'm sure you've covered this, but what I find a lot of people don't realize is that you can *combine* high school and college. For instance, studying the College Comp would be perfectly appropriate for many high schoolers, count for an entire year of high school English, and add 6 credits to your college credit bank. I would encourage high schoolers to follow any traditional high school course with the equivalent CLEP (US History, Biology, Algebra, etc etc).


Also, how do AP, SAT, and PSAT's fit in to my college plans?

Also, there are some states that offer free community courses to high schoolers. Our local Bible college offers one course per semester to high school Jrs and Srs.

I can't wait to read this!!!

Thank you Courtney! I might contact you further if that's okay?
Not only have I "considered" your concept, but that IS the concept. My book is titled Homeshooling for College Credit which merges homeschool curriculum with testing options to accumulate credit that can then be used in both traditional and nontraditional college degrees .

[Hometeacher628]

Jennifer, this sounds like a great read!

My freshman dd just finished up 8 credits so far, so CLEP testing is very doable for an average highschooler. I would add earplugs and watch to the must have list. Focused/timed reading is hard for anyone in a strange and transient environment.

I would second the notion of testing(and studying concurrently) for the CLEP directly after or as a high school class. Some FAQ's would be:

CLEP vs AP, especially if your student has yet to decide on a major. Should I do a matrix of CLEP tests accepted by the handful of potential colleges, and start CLEPPING with the definite accepted duplicates

How to maximize PSEO credits in conjunction with AP and CLEP

[Hometeacher628]

Sorry, still getting use to this posting stuff!
FAQ's continued:
If a BSBA mgmnt is in soon to be high school sophomore dd future, say she graduates in 3 years and decides to do a Bachelor's to BSN, how will financial aid be affected by already having a BA in management. Should she wait to graduate?

Can hardly wait to read-thanks Jennifer

Jude