Student age: 6

Test chosen: Homeschool Boss

Personal review:

I liked that the tests were not too long, I didn't like the way the breakdown just didn't really give definitive 'you are here' and clear focusses (I know what we need to work on because of homeschooling so I guess that's not key.) I have never tested in America before so it's all new for me!

Liked that we could do it from home. That is a big one for me.

- Jemma H.

Age: 6 Grade: MAP Test through Homeschool Boss We chose the MAP test so we could do it at home. I liked that we got the results back within one day. My daughter scored in the 99th percentile for reading and the 95th percentile for math. I felt the reading was probably an accurate score as she is reading well above her grade level but I'm not sure if the math score was accurate. The questions were super difficult and confusing. It seemed to me as if she was simply guessing the answers and getting them correct.

-Katie V.

Descr* Ages 13 (7th grade), 11 (5th grade) & 8 (2nd grade)

* MAP reading, language & math tests for each

* My second grader took about 30-40 mins for each test. My fifth grader took about 60-75 mins for each. My seventh grader took upwards of 120 mins for each, but with small breaks.

* The testing process was a bit frustrating. The website went down 4 times and we had to repeatedly wait to return. We didn't get through after 6pm CST. Logging in required a phone call (no one was responding to my texts on day two) to reset. By no fault of his own, my oldest did two reading tests when he should have done a language and a reading. Sadly he suffers by having to test an additional day to make up for the error in testing on behalf of Homeschool Boss. They were apologetic and made sure he could do the language test anytime that worked for us. We also found some challenges in the way problems were worded - things like "Evaluate the representation of the algebraic expression" could have just said "Solve." This was hard for my kids who are overthinkers and stress about tests.

* I feel like the scores and summaries were thorough and helpful for me as a home educator. However, I will use something else next year after the multiple challenges we had this year.

-Ashley P.

We used, homeschool boss, for my 1st grader. It was extremely easy, with no stress to it. I felt that the results, were very accurate, to where my child is.

-Leigh D.

MAPS TEST

Setup through homeschool boss. We used direct pay. I emailed homeschool boss with a list of my kids names, ages and grades. They sent back separate invoices for each child to upload to Class Wallet. I uploaded those and they were approved within 2 days. The day they got approved I got an email from class wallet with the codes for purchasing the tests. I placed all the tests in the cart, put in all 5 codes and then upon checkout chose our test times and dates.

I have 5 children of various educational needs and overall, I would say the test worked well across the board for them. We are still waiting on the detailed scoring.

FIRST – AGE 15, 11th grade ADHD level 1 ASD

It took her the longest of all of the children to complete the test. She did have frustration at times but everything that takes very long in a single stretch is a frustrating process for her. She did complete the test based on her placed grade in our homeschool courses which she is 2 years ahead of same aged peers. She scored on the base score right at average for her grade level.

SECOND – AGE 12, 11th grade no known delays

She finished right around the 90-minute mark. Score was high end of average. She did not seem to have any issues testing. Fairly strait forward. She is 4 years ahead of peers her age on grade level but tested in range for her grade level still.

THIRD – AGE 10, ASD level 1 and AHDD with some speech delays

He needed almost two hours and had frustration numerous times. The questions he did not know yet were a whole issue for him. He finally moved past it but there was some level of meltdown a few times. Overall, I think any test will cause those issues for him so there is no reason to switch tests next year.

FOURTH – AGE 7 ADHD, Dyslexia

She had a LOT of frustration but she has a lot of problems with word problems due to the dyslexia. The fact that the test read the answers and questions out loud did help her. She will definitely need to stick with a test that readds for a while.

FIFTH – AGE 6 LEVEL 3 ASD

He was my biggest concern but did surprisingly well with the test. There were many questions a kid in K would not know in my opinion. Not many 6-year-olds are going to know how to read a clock. But, with the test working well with a touch screen he was very able to answer on his own when he knew the answer. He actually scored a bit above average for a K student. I do not think a test would work at all for him without the touch screen. He needs that option to answer alone without assistance.

-Ann S.