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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: Feb 23 2011 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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I hope you will indulge me on this topic. I know that Jen touched on it very well in this post but I'm still curious on how others conduct this or even if you don't? (Jen, I'd love to hear some more!)
This is our first year away from "quarter finals" and I really have not emphasized any testing. I wanted a smooth transition by getting comfortable with the methods rather than testing. As I start planning for next year my head is popping with thoughts on "end of the term exams".
I've been having my oldest dd write essays on certain topics every time it feels a unit in history is complete and ready for transition. (We have been very pleased with this format, her essays must have an outline, draft and final which goes into her History Notebook) Other subjects, however, I've been relying solely on her oral narrations.
I think too, that as we've gotten away from many workbooks or drilling the testing does have to become more of a tell me about ... format. The language arts no longer have a fill in type test but more of are things used correctly in writing/speaking. I like the idea of oral answers from my younger dd (and boys in later years).
I guess I'm feeling a little unsure on how to do this and proceed. I'm just getting the hang of putting our learning together and picking the right material. Here are some questions at the top of my head:
-When do you put the exam(s) together?
-Should this be part of my original planning?
-Do you transcribe the oral answers or do you just evaluate and write notes for the younger ones?
-Do you do this for every subject?
-Are the subjects all on one test?
-Do you split subjects?
-Do you keep it to one question per subject?
-Done in a day, through out the week?
-How much time should the testing take?
I'm sure that it is also a matter of practice and I'll pick up a rhythm and style along the way. At this point the exam part is new too me and I'm looking for some direction as you can see. 
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Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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Mackfam
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Oh, I'm so glad you asked this question, Jenny, because I'd love to hear more from others, too! This is the first year I've really put effort and commitment into considering and applying these end of term exams! I'm still learning and I'd just love to hear how others approach this, too!
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| the testing does have to become more of a tell me about ... format. |
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I love how you expressed that, Jenny -- a tell me about format!!
CM asked her students to complete "tell me about" exams at the end of each term. There are many examples in her volumes, specifically in Volume 2, 3 and 6. I thought I'd pull out some of my notes and start by listing some of CM's reflections and principles first before I tell you what our year looked like.
From Volume 2:
CM is speaking to parents in this volume, and this particular chapter CM speaks to the idea of examinations. She explains that the problem does not lie with the examination, but rather in the competition. Keep in mind that she is writing within the context of the state of formal education of the period, but I think you'll see that it is still very applicable, if not more so, today.
CM, Vol 2, p. 224 wrote:
| Only knowledge is advancing, and it is full time that we reconsider our educational principles and recast our methods. We absolutely must get rid of the competitive examination system if we would not be reduced to the appalling mediocrity which we see...to have befallen an examination-ridden empire. |
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From Volume 3:
There is an excellent example of an examination given to a child of 12 on p. 302 - 329. Prepare to be blown away! It IS helpful to see the different types of questions asked by looking at these examples.
These are the subjects for the various exams given:
Bible Lessons
French
German
Italian
Latin
English History
French History
Roman History
Geography
English Grammar
Singing
Writing from memory
Drill
Dictation
Drawing
Natural History
Botany
Physiology
Arithmetic
Euclid
Composition
Work (this refers to outside work, like gardening, or other practical, purposeful handwork)
WHOA!!! That's alot, isn't it?! Sometimes maps and diagrams are asked for, and sometimes the questions require an essay/narrative style response.
From Volume 6:
CM, Vol 6, p. 158 wrote:
| A student may writes 30 - 40 pages without fatigue |
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CM, Vol 6, p. 241 - 242 wrote:
| "No revision is attempted when the terminal examination is at hand; because too much ground has been covered to allow of any 'looking up.' What the children have read they know, and write on any part of it with ease and fluency... It rarely happens that all the children in a class are not able to answer all the questions set in such subjects as history, literature, citizenship, geography, science. In the course of an examination they deal freely with a great number of substantives, including many proper names; I once had the names used by a child of ten in an examination paper counted; there were well over a hundred...and upon all these subjects the children wrote as freely and fully as if they were writing to an absent sister about a new family of kittens! The children write with perfect understanding as far as they go and there is rarely a 'howler' in hundreds of sets of papers. They have an enviable power of getting at the gist of a book or subject. Sometimes they are asked to write verses about a personage or an event; the result is not remarkable by way of poetry, but sums up a good deal of thoughtful reading in a delightful way..." |
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CM, Vol 6, p. 244 wrote:
| "There is little to be said for the technique of the verses but I think the reader will agree that each set shows thoughtful appreciation of some part of the term's reading. The verses are uncorrected. Much use is made according to this method of the years from 6 to 8, during which children must learn to read and write; they get at the same time, however, a good deal of consecutive knowledge of history and geography, tale and fable, some of which at the end of the term they dictate in answer to questions and their answers form well-expressed little essays on the subjects they deal with." |
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So....summarizing from this we can gather this about end of term exams:
** they are not studied for beforehand, nor is anything looked up.
** students write from what they know
** subjects that CM mentions that we know exams were offered on: history, literature, citizenship, geography, science.
** Proper names are given on exams. Children listed as many as they could recall.
** Sometimes they are asked to write verses of poetry summarizing a character, event or topic of study for their exam.
** These are UNCORRECTED.
** Exams begin around age 6.
CM, Vol 6, p. 272 wrote:
| "The terminal examinations are of great importance. They are not merely and chiefly tests of knowledge but records which are likely to be permanent. There are things which every child must know..." |
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CM, Vol 6, p. 293 wrote:
| "The Parents' Union School....is worked by means of programmes followed by examination papers sent out term by term." |
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CM, Vol 6, p. 294 wrote:
| There is probably no better test of a liberal education than the number of names a person is able to use accurately and familiarly as occasion requires. |
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CM, Vol 6, p. 296 wrote:
| "...suppose the young people of a Continuation School ... got some degree of intimacy , some association, with, say, one hundred such names in a term, we might say that they were receiving a liberal education." |
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CM, Vol 6, p. 296 wrote:
| It is not the best children that answer the examination questions; the general rule is that everybody takes every question." |
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What stands out to me in reading the examples of examinations given is the prose - her students often wrote prose based on their term's studies. These did not require extra studying because the end of term exams functioned much as a narration does - it asks the child what they know, what they remember.
* * * * * * * * *
I'll post in a new post how this works in our family, how I've taken this, considered it, and applied it this year for our own end of term examinations. Hopefully this is a good starting point for anyone considering CM's methods and example in end of term examinations.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Feb 23 2011 at 6:08pm | IP Logged
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So....having considered how CM implemented these end of term exams, and knowing that I wanted to offer end of term exams in our home, I began to work this idea a little. You may notice some differences from CM's examples above, but hopefully with the reference point of CM's example, you can clearly see where I diverge.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -When do you put the exam(s) together? |
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At the end of each term.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -Should this be part of my original planning? |
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I didn't.
I knew I was going to work on end of term exams, but I so enjoy seeing where we end up organically at the end of the term, that I can't really anticipate enough to set up inviting exam questions at the beginning of the year. I could ask, "Tell me everything you know about the Middle Ages...or such and such century." But it wasn't until I heard the colorful narrations and began to see some of the connections developing that some of my exam questions really came into being. For that reason, I think I'll continue in this manner next year - setting up end of term exam questions at the end of each term. It doesn't take me very long to come up with these. I have done exam questions for a 9th grader and 5th grader in one afternoon this past year.
Next year, I'll be working on end of term exam questions for 3 students (10th, 6th, 2nd grades), so I may build in a specific teacher work day at the end of the term to work on these.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -Do you transcribe the oral answers or do you just evaluate and write notes for the younger ones? |
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For oral exam questions, I made notes right on my exam week plans for my 5th grade son (which I then file along with all the weekly lesson plans). I did save anything that was turned in - lists, illustrations, diagrams, maps, pictures of projects, etc. I certainly could have transcribed...honestly, I didn't think about it. Hmmm  might have to think about that for next year because I do think it's a good idea! Thank you!
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -Do you do this for every subject? |
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Yes.
I'll give you an example question for Picture Study/Art:
List as many Impressionist painters as you can remember. If you remember a piece of art, please note that to the side of the artist's name. Illustrate in a painting of your own some examples of Impressionistic characteristics.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -Are the subjects all on one test? |
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The bigger essay type exams are one subject/day so that there is plenty of time to write, explain, narrate, illustrate. They are not on the same test. I'll attach an example of an essay week and the format at the end of this post.
I might sometimes include a shorter exam on the same day as an essay exam.
Do you mean do I split up subjects for different days? If so, yes. I do.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -Do you keep it to one question per subject? |
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Usually. If there is more than one request/question it does tend to stay within a theme as in the above Impressionist painters question.
I might ask one big question and then request something related to it...like...
List all the names you remember from this term's work in history, including all the places you remember as well. After each name/place, describe or tell about what you remember from each of these figures and places in a brief sentence. Pay attention to punctuation and spelling.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -Done in a day, through out the week? |
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I've found that this works best for us over the course of a week. The days are light and easy, with plenty of time for other pursuits, but they're not too crowded and the child (especially the older child writing essays) doesn't feel overwhelmed or rushed.
If I only had younger children I could probably finish up sooner than one full week and still have it be reasonable, but since I have an age spread, I stretch everyone's work out over the week.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| -How much time should the testing take? |
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I've never required a time. I just ask a question and request "best work." We begin in the morning, and are easily done by lunch, except for my high schooler who might take a couple of hours during the quiet time to finish up writing.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| I'm sure that it is also a matter of practice and I'll pick up a rhythm and style along the way. At this point the exam part is new too me and I'm looking for some direction as you can see. |
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It's still new to me, too, and I'd love to hear more from others that do a CM type end of term exam to gather ideas. I will say that I have learned and developed how this looks in my home from term to term this year...and I suspect it will work the same way for you, Jenny.
I read everything I could from the CM's volumes, paying special attention to examples of end of term exams given to students in her Programmes, and tried to adopt the method/ideas and apply them in our home. I've really enjoyed it and will definitely continue next year. The children enjoy exam week. (<-- Amazing!!)
If I can draw a few conclusions from the past year they would be:
:: Setting aside one week as "exam week" takes the pressure off all of us and allows this to be enjoyable.
:: IN ESSENCE these exam questions are just NARRATIONS COVERING A WIDER EXPANSE OF KNOWLEDGE. I still have to be careful not to default into a reading comprehension type question. These exam questions can be bigger picture type questions since they're covering an entire term of work.
:: Younger students exams are oral. Once they are writing, they provide lists and illustrations. Then as they progress - lists with sentences, and finally, after they're writing written narrations, their exams are written essays.
:: I evaluate language arts in and through the exams for religion/history/science/literature rather than separately. Ex: Is the child using the comma correctly? How is spelling? How is penmanship? This lightens the load enormously! I don't test on dictations formally as CM does in some of her examples.
:: Just as there can be different types of narrations, there can be different types of examinations. This adds variety and can be exciting. Think of the playet, craft work, demonstrations, projects, maps, diagrams, illustrations, painting, novelette, poetry.
Here are a couple of end of term exam weeks from this past year:
9th grade, Term 1:
2011-02-23_175811_Schedule-9th-Term1-Examinations.pdf
5th grade, Term 1:
2011-02-23_180404_Schedule-5th-Term1-Exam.pdf
These evolved somewhat over the last couple of terms, but the general approach and idea is the same and it works for us. My 5th grader is doing more writing now, and I incorporated more of a variety of examination formats in other terms.
I'm really looking forward to reading about other's thoughts and how others might approach this in their home!!!! Thanks for bringing this up, Jenny!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Grace&Chaos
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Jen, you're amazing  . I'll be rereading this several times to get a grasp on the topic. I appreciate so much the links to your exams. It will help me to put into practice what I'm thinking by seeing some type of format. Unfortunately, I don't do well with just a 1,2,3.. list; I like tables and color. Even my hand written notes end up in different color inks .
Love to hear others thoughts on this too!!!
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Blessings,
Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Feb 26 2011 at 9:19am | IP Logged
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Grace&Chaos wrote:
| Even my hand written notes end up in different color inks . |
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Me too!! But I bet you could have guessed that! 
Grace&Chaos wrote:
| Love to hear others thoughts on this too!!! |
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I would as well!!! I'm really just getting into a good groove with this during this past year and I'd so welcome other observations, insight, experiences.
Anyone?
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Angel
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| Posted: Feb 28 2011 at 1:33pm | IP Logged
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I've had my eye on this thread for several days and finally I have had a chance to print it out... maybe I will actually be able to read it soon!
Jenny, I'm happy you asked this question. CM style exams have always intrigued me and I printed out the thread you linked to in the fall, but never got around to discussing it. I have been experimenting with "exams" this year with my two older kids (ages 14 and 11) in a low-key fashion, mainly in history and science. (They take traditional tests and quizzes in their math and Latin curricula.) Mainly I was looking for a sense of closure... in the past we've done projects, but sometimes those fizzle. They're too long, too involved, etc.
So this year I've given them writing topics to wrap up certain topics. Often I will make a list of questions or approaches for them to choose from, including creative options like writing a story or poem. This is working pretty well for us and I hope to be a little more organized about it, extending to more subjects, here at the end of the year. We'll have a week of standardized testing after we stop in May, but ideally I would like to take the week before to wrap up the whole year. For my 11 yo dd this is less about grading than about just wrapping up what she's learned, but I'm looking ahead to high school for my ds.
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Angela
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Grace&Chaos
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Angela, it's so interesting that you and Jen both mentioned poetry. I've been reading SCM Language Arts Handbook and in the section about composition it suggests that about age 11 - 15 you start asking for narrations in the form of poetry. I have not done this yet, but I like the prospects of it.
I also agree with you. I've been thinking about exams not for grading purposes but because it does bring "closure" and "wrap up" for our focus and efforts. I like Jen's idea of a teacher work day to create my exams and will be adding that into my planning for next fall. I can see the benefit of not doing it during my original planning.
Thanks for the input on projects. I think with my younger boys that might be too high of an expectation during an exam week (focus might be lost by the test takers ), but I like the idea of something smaller scale like maps, diagrams, drawings and maybe even a quick demonstration. So many possibilities, I love it !
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Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
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Angel
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| Posted: March 01 2011 at 12:28pm | IP Logged
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About projects... I know that some people are able to manage them so that they fit into a "project week" (see Theresa's Field Work site for an example) but in our hands, projects tend to be rather amoeba-like and are less about summarizing and synthesizing what we have learned than about actually learning new material (or say, research skills) in a hands-on way. So I think we have more luck in incorporating them as we go along. After reading the quotes Jen pulled from CM's books, it really emphasizes to me that the end-of-term "exam" (there must be a better word for this, because it isn't really an "exam" like we tend to think of it, is it?) is all about synthesis -- helping the child to pull together and review all the strands of knowledge that he has picked up from the books and projects and experiments of a certain period of time. In that sense, it's a lot like how I (personally) go about learning: when I'm interested in something, I read a lot of books, talk to people, do research, etc, but then I generally have to write about it (informally) at the end to pull everything together.
Anyway, now that I have actually been able to read the thread (!), I thought I would come back and answer some more of your questions specifically.
Grace&Chaos wrote:
-When do you put the exam(s) together?
-Should this be part of my original planning?
-Do you transcribe the oral answers or do you just evaluate and write notes for the younger ones?
-Do you do this for every subject?
-Are the subjects all on one test?
-Do you split subjects?
-Do you keep it to one question per subject?
-Done in a day, through out the week?
-How much time should the testing take?
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In my experimentation this year, I've been less formal than Jen. The first time I did this, I sat down for about 30 minutes one morning and wrote down a couple of formal questions in sharpie on printer paper, which I left out for my 14 yo and 11 yo to pick up. I had been thinking about what to have them write about for a while before that, but "thinking time" happens while I'm going about the rest of my day - laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. I had also been reading CM's v.6, so I had examples of her exam questions in my brain.
I only gave them 2 questions each, but the questions incorporated several different subject areas, including science, history, language arts, geography, art, and religion.
For example, these were my 11 yo dd's questions:
Imagine you are a Catholic girl in England when it was illegal to be Catholic. Write a letter from prison explaining who you are, how you were captured, and why you have remained Catholic in spite of persecution. Date your letter.
Choose a bird you have observed or researched this term. Write about its life (as a story or poem, if you want). Follow it from egg to death, including any migrations. Illustrate your writing.
I wrote each one down on a separate piece of paper, just to help us keep them separate.
I know that CM says these exams are to be uncorrected, but I did ask my dd to redo the first one because of a lack of effort. After we discussed my expectations she did much better, but I also think she enjoyed the writing more. This was a lesson to me that I should make my expectations clear up front. So I do give my kids length limits (as in, "at least one page, please.") She decided to write a poem about hummingbirds for the 2nd question, and that turned out really well. I decided to give her the option to write poetry after reading in v. 6 that CM often asked for exam narrations in the form of poetry. (Also, I should mention that I never assigned her the study of hummingbirds; birds are my dd's "thing", but I find it helpful to have her put her self-directed knowledge together sometimes.)
Like Jen, I wouldn't know what questions to ask at the beginning of a term, especially since the kids direct a lot of their own learning. I haven't devoted an entire week to "testing", but I think I will probably do that in May; it's a good idea.
As far as oral testing goes... I think I do that more with particular books than with subjects. For instance, after my ds finished Rocket Boys, I asked him to describe to me how rockets worked. His description included his favorite scene from the book and also compared it to the movie October Sky, which is based on the book. But I didn't transcribe it because we were standing in the middle of the kitchen.
I haven't worried about doing any of this with my 7 yo so far... mostly I have just been trying to coax any sort of narration from him at all. But I think I will add him to our "wrap-up" week in May -- probably leaning heavily on experiments and demonstrations (and possibly Lego), which he enjoys soooo much more.
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Angela
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florasita
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Wow Jen Thank You for such wonderful explanations & examples ! this is really interesting 
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florasita wrote:
| Wow Jen Thank You for such wonderful explanations & examples ! this is really interesting |
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You're so welcome, Rox! This has been a fun thread to be a part of and see how others might approach this idea, and I am excited about adding to it in the future! This one is definitely in my FAVORITES!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Angel
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| Posted: March 12 2011 at 3:54pm | IP Logged
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Just coming back to add a couple of links for future reference...
Ambleside Online's Exam Questions
(Not all terms and years are covered)
"Examinations" at Charlotte Mason Help
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Angela
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Adding another resource for Charlotte Mason examinations:
PNEU Exams
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Jen Mackintosh
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Angel
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I wondered if we could update this thread on how things have been going? If I was smart I would probably wait until January because I know everyone is so busy right now, but the topic is on my mind because we're wrapping things up before Christmas.
I've altered the idea a little this time for my two oldest, making it more of a "write 2 essays this week" kind of thing. Considering our unschoolish bent they have choice. My 12 yo dd is writing on "winter ecology" and a bird of her choice. My 15 yo is writing about what a planet in a system with 2 suns would be like (he's been deep in astronomy and science fiction lately) and... something else, which will probably be a topic I give him.
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Angela
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Erin
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Angela
Our school year ended last week and this year we concluded with exams at my children's request. Rather fun. It was a mixture of written essays, purchased exams (SOTW) and online quizes.
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Grace&Chaos
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Hi Angela, I don't have this neatly written out but I'll try. We did our first term exams week right before thanksgiving:
for my sixth grader:
Math: calculadder math drill page one on decimals and one on fractions
Science: she orally explained two laws she had learned; and told me a short biography about one scientist she found interesting.
History: I wrote six questions pertaining to her readings and she wrote out nice paragraph answers
Religion: she wrote an essay with outline about Old Testament Laws
Geography: she wrote another essay with outline about Ancient Egypt(ians)
Poetry/Latin: she recited one poem in latin
Music: she described one instrument she found interesting and a told me about a piece(music) where she could hear the instrument
I didn't require my third grader to do much except just in casual type conversation.
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Jenny
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SuzanneG
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Bumping this, as it's been really helpful to me, as we're doing "end of term exams" for the first time in the next month.
Would love to see anyone else's exam questions, by subject, like Jenny listed above.
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Suzanne in ID
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: May 10 2013 at 2:24pm | IP Logged
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We just finished up Year 1 of (mostly) AO, so my children are younger than yours, Suzanne, but I'll link to our exam questions here in case it's at all helpful. I listed out both the questions and some of my kids' answers:
1st grade, Term 1
1st grade, Term 2
1st grade, Term 3
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Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: May 10 2013 at 6:06pm | IP Logged
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Great, Celeste! Love it all! I especially love how it helped you draw some conclusions about what you had done during the term. Not that you wouldn't KNOW those things without the exams, but love how it wrapped things up for you and confirmed your thoughts about choice of books, interests, challenges, strengths/weaknesses, etc. It has a finality that is motivating as a homeschool mom / teacher, IYKWIM.
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: May 10 2013 at 6:10pm | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
| It has a finality that is motivating as a homeschool mom / teacher, IYKWIM. |
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Yes, that's exactly right, Suzanne! And it has the same effect for the kids too--during each set of exams, I think they have really surprised themselves by how much they have retained, and I'm sure that's motivating for them as well. 
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Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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AmandaV
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| Posted: May 14 2013 at 11:51am | IP Logged
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Celeste, I just have to tell you how impressed I am by your complete immersion in and implementation of the CM methods! And your write ups on some of CM's writings are great - I don't have time to get through them right now but try to book mark. Anyway, mainly, on topic I have found your posts on exams helpful and inspiring and sort of a kick in the behind to get to them myself with my 3rd and 1st grader. :)
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: End of Term Exams CM Style
