First Test

After moments of talking to me, my stance on testing is clear.  So much so that both my children have not participated any formal or informal testing since beginning kindergarten.  Recently, GM took our local Fish and Game Department's Hunter Safety Course.  She grew increasingly concerned as the classes began drawing to an end date where a final exam of sorts would be given to all students.  The requirement was a score of 80% or better to pass the class and receive the documentation necessary to purchase her hunting license.  Taking this very seriously, she studied hard, paid attention in class, and took notes to prepare herself for the test.  Being her first test ever, she was unsure what to expect and did need some instruction on completely filling in the bubble to correspond with her answer choice.  


How did she do?

Perfectly!  Yes, perfect 100%.  

Why?

Maybe she did so well because this test mattered to her achieving other goals.  Maybe she did so well because she studied hard and paid careful attention to the instructor.  Maybe she did so well because she had not been desensitized to testing.  Maybe she did so well because she tests well and doing well is important to her. 

Any of these reasons or others could be the answer to why, but what is important here is that home-schoolers experience the world through a different lens.  They see classes, tests, and learning as a way to meet their desire to achieve their goals not as some silly hoop to jump through.  Of course, I am proud of GM and we celebrated her achievement toward her goal of hunting along side her family this year.