How to Use this Book
From What Your child
Needs to Know When
This is not a book that requires you to start
at the top of the Table of Contents and linearly
work your way through to the end; although that
may not be a bad idea. Read the chapters with
an open mind (and a highlighter). Pray about ideas
which are new to you, and ideas which seem familiar.
Give yourself a chance to see things from a point
of view other than what you are accustomed to.
This book is divided into four major sections:
Section I: Philosophy of Education
Section I explains how we have been conditioned
to believe that the state is competent to assess
our children’s intelligence. This section
looks at America’s two main world views—Christian
and secular, then goes on to clarify the difference
between state education and biblical education,
taking a brief look at each major time period
to see how public education arrived at where it
is today, and how important it is to return to
a Bible-centered education.
Section II: State Achievement Tests
This section explains what achievement tests
are, explains test terms, test scores, testing
limitations, and how to avoid test anxiety, and
answers the most frequently asked test questions.
It also critiques testing evaluations and explains
better methods of evaluation which you can implement
with the information and Check Lists in this book.
Section III: Teaching Wisdom
Section III is an introduction to the Heart
of Wisdom teaching approach based on the philosophy
described in this book. It explains how to use
the Bible as the core of the curriculum. It includes
ideas and resources for implementing this approach
with any curriculum. For more about this approach
visit our Internet site at HomeschoolUnitStudies.com.
Section IV: Evaluation Check Lists
The first two chapters in Section IV include
two very important Check Lists—a Bible Reading
Check List and a Character Quality Check List.
The rest of the check lists in Section IV include
basic skills from the main achievement tests.
You will fill out the check list of skills at
either your child’s grade level or a level
below. The results will help you in several areas.
- Using the Checklists
- Check Lists as Diagnostic Tools
The Check Lists are divided by school subjects
and then by grade. Each subject division includes
teaching advice on that subject and a check list
to keep track of your children’s skills.
These Check Lists are more effective diagnostic
tools than achievement tests, which measure knowledge
of subjects taught and how well a child can take
a test.
Each Check List measures a broad range of abilities
or skills that are considered important to success
in school. Check Lists show you what to look for
when checking the basic skills your child should
know in each grade. Check Lists enhance the process
of observation, make it more reliable, and help
ensure consistency by providing an explanation
and illustrations for each performance indicator.
Check Lists as Planning Tools to Develop or
Choose Curriculum
If you are using this book to plan your curriculum,
simply use the appropriate Check List to make
a list of things your child has not mastered,
make your own modifications to include or emphasize
what you consider high priority, and add special
items central to your own philosophy. Once you
have determined the goals you want to accomplish,
schedule and plan your time. Be sure you master
the basics in this book.
Studies show that combining the check list with
a cumulation of the child’s work, such as
a portfolio, will give a great deal of information
and evidence about children’s activities
and development that can be used to enhance instruction
and to plan future goals. (Meisels, Liaw, Dorfman,
and Fails)
“Teaching to the Test”
If you invested in this book to “teach
to the test,” I recommend that you first
read this book and reexamine your motives. If
you simply teach to the test, the test results
will be worthless. You won’t know what your
child really knows; the results will only reveal
whether or not your child has the ability to remember
specific information for a short period. Teaching
to the test alters what you can interpret from
test scores because it involves teaching specific
content. It also weakens the direct judgment that
can be reasonably drawn about students’ knowledge.
Rarely should you limit your inference about knowledge
to the specific questions asked in a specific
format. Making inferences about a broader area
of skills gives you a better idea of your child’s
strong and weak areas.
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