Kidtest Benchmarked Sequencesm
Eighth Grade Battery Test Information

KIDTEST CHALLENGE BATTERIES PUT POWER INTO YOUR HANDS BY offering independent online assessment identifying academic strengths and weaknesses, providing peer comparisons and helping your student maximize performance and potential.

  • IDENTIFY academic strengths and weaknesses!
  • TRACK progress over time!
  • RECEIVE private, confidential feedback!
  • EXPERIENCE a realistic timing component!
  • LEARN and PRACTICE test-taking skills!
  • PREPARE and SCORE HIGH on achievement test!

Estimated time to complete each test --- 20 to 30 minutes.
Maximum time allowed to complete each test --- 50 minutes.

The Kidtest Benchmarked Sequencesm Eighth Grade Battery consists of seven (7) subjects:

a.Mathematics..............................................................50 minutes50 questions
b.Reading.....................................................................50 minutes50 questions
c.Study Skills...............................................................50 minutes50 questions
d.Language..................................................................50 minutes50 questions
e.Spelling.....................................................................50 minutes50 questions
f.Social Studies............................................................50 minutes50 questions
f.Science.....................................................................50 minutes50 questions

Each subject was created to test an appropriate element of widely recognized national standards for student ability and knowledge at specific grade levels. Each subject in this battery is timed separately. Students may and in some cases should take the individual tests within the battery at different times to make sure that he or she is not overwhelmed with the volume of questions asked. The Kidtest.comSM computer system will track the completion progress of each student as he or she takes battery tests.

The Kidtest.comSM scoring system will produce a report providing detailed performance information according to the test scores, including percentile comparisons to a number of student samples for which Kidtest.comSM has data. Overall, aggregate battery performance will accompany performance breakdowns within all eight (8) categories covered by the battery. The groups that Kidtest.comSM ranks scores against will include the Kidtest.comSM universe for a given grade and, in many cases, will include sub-groups identified by age, country of residence, state of residence and so on. What comparisons appear in any given report will depend on the number of scores in Kidtest.comSM database and will only be reported if deemed appropriate.

A Benchmarked test is the type of test that Kidtest.comSM offers. It mimics standardized tests because it compares your test scores in several important subjects to those of your peers. However, since we cannot verify the conditions under which these tests are taken, we do not call these exams fully "standardized". Kidtest.com'sSM benchmarked exams are potentially highly informative. But they cannot measure performance as accurately as standardized exams given under controlled test-taking conditions. This means the percentile scores you receive from Kidtest.comSM are related to many other tests taken under the same uncontrolled conditions under which you took your test. This produces an error factor that is unknown.

Standards Used in Creating
Kidtest Benchmarked SequenceSM Tests

Introduction

The standards below represent the general framework under which the Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence tests were created.  Each sequence battery assesses grade and age appropriate elements of this framework. Each Kidtest.com test was created using National Standards as well as Instructional Goals and Objectives from various states. Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence tests are not intended to be used as replacements for nationally standardized tests, but rather they are intended to be an independent assessment for students and parents.

Science

The assessment components for Kidtest Benchmarked SequenceSM tests are based on the National Science Education Standards, published by the National Research Council. These standards represent the contributions of thousands of scientists and teachers to describe a scientifically literate society.

1. Unifying Concepts and Process
  • Systems, order and organization
  • Evidence, models, explanation
  • Change, consistency, measurement
  • Evolution and equilibrium
  • Form and function
2. Science as Inquiry
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry
3. Physical Science
  • Properties and changes of properties of matter
  • Motions and forces
  • Transfer of energy
4. Life Science
  • Structure and functioning in living systems
  • Reproduction and heredity
  • Regulation and behavior
  • Populations and ecosystems
  • Diversity and adaptation of organisms
5. Earth and Space Science
  • Structure of the earth system
  • Earth's history
  • Earth in the Solar System

Language, Spelling and Reading

The International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers have approved twelve National Standards for English Language Arts. Kidtest Benchmarked SequenceSM tests were designed with these twelve national goals in mind.

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves and of the cultures of the United States and the world. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions of human experience.

3.Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate and appreciate texts.

4.Students adjust their use of spoken, written and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5.Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences and for different purposes.

6.Students apply knowledge of language structure, spelling and punctuation, media techniques, figurative language and genre to create, critique and discuss print and nonprint texts.

7.Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems.

8.Students use libraries, person-to-person interviews, databases, the Internet, video, etc. to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

9.Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions and social roles.

10.Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and develop understanding of content across the curriculum.

11.Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12.Students use spoken, written and visual language for learning, enjoyment, persuasion and the exchange of information.

Math

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has developed a list of standards that they deem necessary for the understanding of mathematics. Kidtest Benchmarked SequenceSM tests reflect these standards.

      Instructional programs from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to understand and use:

1. Number operations
  • understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers and number systems,
  • understand meanings of operations and how they relate to one another,
  • compute fluently and make reasonable estimates.
2. Algebra
  • understand patterns, relations and functions,
  • represent and analyze mathematical situations and structures using algebraic symbols,
  • use mathematical models to represent and understand qualitative relationships,
  • analyze change in various contexts.
3. Geometry
  • analyze characteristics and properties of two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric relationships,
  • specify locations and describe spatial relationships issuing coordinated geometry and other representational systems,
  • apply transformations and use symmetry to analyze mathematical situations,
  • use visualization, spatial reasoning and geometric modeling to solve problems.
4. Measurement
  • understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems and processes of measurement,
  • apply appropriate techniques, tools and formulas to determine measurements.
5. Data Analysis and Probability
  • formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize and display relevant data to answer them,
  • select and use appropriate statistical methods to analyze data,
  • develop and evaluate inferences and predictions that are based on data,
  • understand and apply basic concepts of probability.
6. Problem Solving
  • build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving,
  • solve problems that arise in mathematics and other contexts,
  • apply and adapt a variety of appropriated strategies to solve problems,
  • monitor and reflect on the process of mathematical problem solving.
7. Reasoning and Proof
  • recognize reasoning and proof as fundamental aspects of mathematics,
  • make and investigate mathematical conjectures,
  • develop and evaluate mathematical arguments and proofs,
  • select and use various types of reasoning and methods of proof.

Social Studies

The National Council for the Social Studies has identified 10 strands to form the basis of Social Studies instruction. Kidtest Benchmarked SequenceSM tests cover the appropriate material for each grade.

  1. Culture
  2. Time, Continuity and Change
  3. People, Places and Environment
  4. Individual Development and Identity
  5. Individuals, Groups and Institutions
  6. Power, Authority and Governance
  7. Production, Distribution and Consumption
  8. Science, Technology and Society
  9. Global Connections
  10. Civic Ideals and Practices

Study Skills

This Study Skills Test was created in accordance with standards that require students to:

  1. Demonstrate the appropriate use of parts of a book.
  2. Demonstrate a knowledge of information found on a title page.
  3. Use the Card Catalog to determine the book's call number, author, publisher and illustrator.
  4. Locate information in the library using classification systems.
  5. Use dictionary entries to determine the best meaning for a multi-meaning word used in context.
  6. Identify the main idea in a list of topics.
  7. Recognize creative property and copyright laws.
  8. Use a pronunciation guide to determine the number of syllables in a word, the sounds of letters and word origin.
  9. Use guide words to locate information.
  10. Use study skills of scanning, skimming and reading to prepare for a test.
  11. Use study skills techniques to check comprehension and understanding.
  12. Recognize and use a graphic organizer.
  13. Use various reference sources in written material.
  14. Use various testing strategies when taking tests.
  15. Organize information to classify, compare and contrast and make analogies to answer test questions.
  16. Develop strategies for effective reading (finding main idea, paraphrasing).
  17. Determine subject area, given information from a text.
  18. Use online library reference sources.
  19. Recognize library materials.
  20. Use appropriate reference materials for a specific task.
  21. Determine topic as too broad or too narrow.
  22. Select correct keyword or phrase to locate information.
  23. Use a graphic organizer to organize information.
  24. Determine the author's purpose for writing specific material.
  25. Predict the type and use of the book, given chapter names in an informational book.
  26. Organize information in a written assignment.
Success. Help your student make it happen with Kidtest.comSM.