Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I mentor a group of homeschool 8th grade students and one of them is really wanting to do a project along the lines of "Can adults pass a high school grammar test?" We have been working with narrowing down her subject group and test parameters, but she isn't able to find any approproate standardized test to administer. We have both looked online unsuccessfully and came up emptyhanded.

So, with that in mind, does anyone know of where we could obtain an appropriate test for this project? We are homeschoolers, and I am not sure if we would have access to what the public school system has.

Also, I suggested that perhaps she make up her own test, administer it to 50 high schoolers and 50 adults and take it from there. Of course, the results wouldn't be as valid or reliable as when using a nationally standardized test, but it may serve her purposes for her project, and possibly present some areas for expansion later one?

Any suggestions?

Hi,

The obvious standardized test to consider as a model is the GED (General Education Development) test that is an alternative to a diploma from a high school. This test has an English component that could be used as a model for questions. You can find practice versions of questions by search the internet using www.google.com. Here is a sample search:

http://www.google.com/search?q=GED+prac ... 1I7GGLL_en

You can’t get a real test this way, but you may find questions that have been used on past tests.

A aecond suggestion is to contact one of your local adult literacy program staff members and ask for their advice. This type of group is often contactable through your local public library (in California the State Library funds the operation of local adult literacy groups.) These programs might be able to loan you materials with the kinds of questions you need.

You may also want to checkout the company Pearson Education, Inc. This is a major publisher of education materials and tests. English materials are under the Longman imprint (www.Longman.com).
Here is a relevant catalog page:
http://www.longmanhomeusa.com/content/t ... amprep.pdf

I think somewhere in this set of references you will find the solution to your problem.

Best regards,

Barrett L Tomlinson