L@L Notes: Testing, Shannon Brown

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Thanks for listening to Leigh! @ Lunch! If you’re interested in topics that came up during the show, see below for a list of links and other notes you may find helpful. If you missed “2012 TESTING with Shannon Brown” (1/11/12), click on the title to listen to the show archive now (available 15 minutes after the show ends).

Had a question for this week’s show you didn’t get to ask? Email 1smartmama@gmail.com or comment on this post for an answer!

Coming soon from 1 Smart Mama

Ongoing events

• Follow Leigh on BlogTalkRadio to be eligible for weekly giveaways!
  Go to www.blogtalkradio.com/1smartmama. On the left side of the page, under the image, click “follow,” and then register for a free account on BlogTalkRadio. (You can also use your Facebook account.) Once you’re signed in, you’ll be able to follow the show. As a follower, you’ll receive notifications about upcoming shows, and you’ll be eligible for the weekly giveaway of a book or product related to the show.
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Notes from today’s show

• To purchase your own copy of today’s giveaway, the Stanford Practice Test books, visit the Classical Conversations Bookstore.
• Don’t forget — this month you can purchase Memory Master products at a sharply discounted rate at the CC Bookstore!
• Saturday, January 14th, Leigh will be leading a *free* 1-day parent practicum at West Lakewood Baptist Church in Lakewood, California. Click here to register. The following Saturday, January 21, Leigh will be at First Baptist Church in Keller, Texas for another *free* 1-day practicum. Click here to register. Books will be available for sale.
• Shannon Brown is the executive director of Homeschool Testing Services (http://cctestingservices.com). View the event calendar to find dates and locations.
• Find out more about the testing laws in your state. Our tests are accepted in most locations.
• Classical Conversations uses the Stanford Achievement Test (also called the SAT 10), a product of Pearson Education.
• Order early for the $50.00 testing rate. Within 4 weeks of the test date, the price goes up to $55.00. See official pricing and policies here.
• You can find cheaper alternative test prep books, but the ones sold by CC are the ones that match exactly with the test. (Read Leigh’s reasoning here.) Parent/Admin books are $15, and student books are $5 each. Save your teacher’s guide to reuse it or offer it to another mom in your CC community.
• National Latin Exam, ACT (American College Testing), PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test), SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test), AP (Advanced Placement), and SAT II (Subject Tests) are other standardized tests that may be useful for evaluating your students’ progress.
• Taking a test multiple times alleviates the “high stakes” sensation for anxious testers and allows your children to experiment with different test-taking strategies.
• For more information about specific state regulations (examples: Florida/Oregon, changes by district), email support@cctestingservices.com.
• This PBS parents’ guide tells you more about the different types of standardized tests, where and how widely they’re used, and what are their goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

Thanks for listening!