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All students, starting at the second grade, are sent the 1970 edition
California Achievement Test (CAT). New students receive this test prior
to curriculum development; re-enrolling students receive it with their
course materials.
For new students, CLASS uses this test to determine which courses to
assign. CLASS does not use it to meet any state requirements. Because
this test is used to determine a curriculum, it is important that the
student do the best he can. To this end, we recommend you establish
an atmosphere that will facilitate concentration when taking the CAT.
Re-enrolling students receive the CAT for annual testing purposes only.
Although not required by CLASS, we send this test so you can annually
measure your student’s progress.
CLASS uses the 1970 edition of the CAT because it offers
a consistent benchmark for comparing student abilities. This
consistency allows us to make more accurate choices when
selecting a student’s curriculum. The 1970 edition
was selected because it is more demanding than the more recent
editions—and therefore more in line with our curriculum.
For enrollment purposes CLASS does accept the Iowa Test of
Basic Skills, as well as other editions of the CAT, if the
test:
1.
2.
3.
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is appropriate for the grade
level entering,
was taken within six months of enrollment, and
shows Grade Equivalent scores for the following seven major
test areas:
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Comprehension
Mechanics
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Computation
Concepts and Problems |
Mechanics
Usage and Structure |
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Because of differences in the test, CLASS does not accept
the Stanford Achievement Test for enrollment purposes. If
this test was recently taken, your student will still need
to take the test we provide.
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Unless you have taken the CAT within the last six
months through Christian Liberty Press' Independent
Testing Service (or some other service), new students
are sent the test after their application has been
received and prior to curriculum development.
If you have acceptable tests that were taken outside of CLASS, you should include
a copy with your enrollment application. If the test is acceptable, we will use
it to develop your student’s curriculum; we will not send a CAT with your
curriculum materials for this enrollment.
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Because CLASS does not require the CAT for re-enrolling
students, you may take the test anytime throughout
the year. However, we recommend that your student take
the test at the same time each year (e.g., at the start
or the end of his school year) so that an accurate
progression of achievement can be measured.
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Some re-enrolling families request that their student
be pre-tested prior to curriculum development. They
usually do this for one or more of the following reasons:
1.
2.
3.
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The student was remedial in a particular
subject area but has completed additional course
work outside of CLASS to bring him up to grade
level.
The student has done additional course work outside
of CLASS and the family wants to have him removed
from Special Status.
The student has done additional course work outside
of CLASS and the family wants him to skip a grade
level (not allowable at high school).
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Unless additional course work was pursued outside of
CLASS, pre-testing a re-enrolling student will rarely
affect his course assignment (usually it only delays
the arrival of his books). The information presented
in most courses is built upon the previous year’s
material. Skipping a grade level in a subject can cause
gaps in a student’s learning that can adversely
affect his education in the years to come.
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Based on a student’s achievement test scores, the Curriculum
Department staff will generally respond in one of two ways:
1.
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When scores fall within the required range for the requested grade level, we will assign the curriculum for the requested grade level along with any course choices you make that are appropriate, based on the range of the test scores, the student's course load, and previous academic record.
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2.
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When scores fall below the required range for the requested grade level, we will communicate to the family and await the family’s response before proceeding. Further correspondence may be required in the case of high school transfer students. CAT scores may affect the assignment of any course choices you make.
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Once the curriculum has been developed and shipped, we depend
on your feedback to refine the curriculum when necessary.
Inform CLASS promptly if materials which appear on the student’s packing list are missing or if the materials received do not match the packing list. If you feel that any of the assignments are too challenging or not challenging enough, you
may request a curriculum adjustment.
Several different numbers are listed on your California Achievement
Test results sheet. Most of these are calculated based on
a norm group (the original group of students tested on which
the test is standardized). Results are listed by academic
area. Below are basic definitions for these scores.
A printable version of this information is also available.
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Raw scores are the actual number of correct answers
within a given test section, and are used to calculate
the Grade Equivalent, Percentile, and Stanine results.
They should not be used for any kind of comparison
or statistical calculation since each test section
varies in the difficulty and number of questions.
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Grade equivalent scores represent the grade level
(year and month separated by a decimal point) of a
student’s ability compared to the median score
of students at the same academic level.
Scores that are above a student’s grade level do
not by themselves indicate proficiency to skip to the
next grade level in the particular academic areas. These
scores more likely show an understanding of only some
of the concepts of that higher grade. Conversely, scores
below a student’s grade level may indicate a gap
of understanding in those academic areas. Scores equal
to a student’s grade level are considered the minimum
for grade level ability.
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Percentile scores are equivalent to the percentage
of students from the norm group who received lower
scores than the student. For example: a student with
a percentile score of 73 means that the student did
better than approximately 73 percent of the students
in the norm group. Percentile scores do not represent
the number of questions answered correctly.
Percentiles are useful for comparing a student’s
performance over several sections on the test. However,
because they are not measured on an equal scale of units,
they are not suitable for most statistical calculations.
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Derived from the term STAndard score from a NINE-unit
scale, stanines are based on the mean of the norm group
(who are given the score of 5) and a standard deviation
of 2.0. Scores are determined by the amount of standard
deviation from the norm group, in approximately one-half
standard deviation increments.
The following table lists the meaning of each score:
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9
8
7
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Highest level
High level
Well above average
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6
5
4
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Slightly above average
Average
Slightly below average
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3
2
1
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Well below average
Low level
Lowest level
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Stanine scores are useful in calculating means, correlation
coefficients, and other statistics which are meaningful
to test evaluators.
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Christian Liberty Press offers an Independent
Testing Service for students who need to be tested but do not want to enroll
in a home school program.
CLASS will accept the test results of students taking the
Independent Testing Service if the test:
1.
2.
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is appropriate for the grade level entering, and
was taken within six months of enrollment.
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If your Testing Service results are accepted, you will receive
a discount in your enrollment cost equal to the cost of the
testing service.
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