Weeks ago, President Trump decided to suspend requirements for end-of-the-year standardized testing for public school students. The question surfacing immediately in home schooling communities was, “Does this apply to us?” Basic Skills reached out to the Oregon Department of Education for clarification. We requested, in light of the Coronavirus, that there be some modification of the…
Why would someone say that frisbees, microwave ovens, and Velcro are “strange bedfellows”? To answer this, you’d have to know their origins, the stories behind the inventions. In the 1940’s Yale students sailed pie tins through the air and played catch. Ten years later, Walter Frederick Morrison, a flying-saucer enthusiast, improved on the idea. Morrison and…
A ten-year-old student was shocked when a substitute teacher handed back a recently scored pop quiz. To his surprise, he was awarded an “F” missing 10 out of 10 points. One question missed went something like this: Katie went to the store to buy flour for her mother. She found a one-pound sack of flour for $.40 and a…
A common saying most of us have heard before goes something like this: “Those who can do, and those who can’t… …teach.” I know. The above quote attributed to H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) is cynical. Are teaching and doing mutually exclusive? His point is that there is more to understanding, to comprehending, than simply knowing and…
In my last article, I explained the first category of questions your student will need to be able to answer in the reading section of an achievement test. These questions are fact or knowledge based. Being able to “know” and parrot back a piece of information is a “first step” kind of question. The utility and value…
An achievement test measures three areas: reading, language arts, and mathematics. When you think about the reading part of the test, you’re probably thinking how well does my student understand or comprehend what they just read? You’re right in a general sense. But, how well your student comprehends what is read is broken down into seven…
Are you considering giving your child an achievement test this year? If so, lurking in the back of your mind is the question, “Am I really competent to do this? Isn’t this something only trained teachers can do?” Well, teachers are trained to teach and manage large groups of students. What they do is both…
Will students who were previously attending campus classes return backmto school the first of May? If they do, most kids will have spent 6 weeks away from the books. I know, some schoolwork is supposed to be continuing, but I’m guessing probably not that much. No blame here. It’s too much to expect parents to…
A test holiday has been declared for students in public schools nationwide. Sort of reminds me of the child’s game of hide and go seek where at the end, the seeker calls out, “Olly olly oxen, free, free, free.” This meant you could come out safely into the open. No penalties, no consequences, no getting…
During the plague of 1527, Luther was asked what to do. What he said was simple, direct, and comforting. I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become…