Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence^SM
Ninth Grade Fast Track Battery Test Information

KIDTEST FAST TRACK 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 --- 10 minutes (just a little over an hour in total!).
Maximum time allowed to complete each test --- 25 minutes.

The Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence^SM Ninth Grade Fast Track Battery consists of eight (8) subjects:

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 the questions asked. The Kidtest.com^SM computer system will track the completing progress of each student as s/he takes battery tests.

The Kidtest.com 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.com^SM has data. Overall, aggregate battery performance will accompany performance breakdowns within all eight (8) categories covered by the battery. The groups that Kidtest.com^SM ranks scores against will include the Kidtest.com^SM 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 a given report will depend on the number of scores in Kidtest.com database and will only be reported if deemed appropriate.

It is important to note that the exams in the Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence^SM on the Kidtest.com^SM website are different from standardized tests. A standardized test is one that attempts to measure academic skills and scholastic development relative to others in a grade or age level. Scores of one person in a variety of subjects are compared to those from the same exam taken under precisely the same conditions by others. Standardized tests are sometimes called "norm-referenced" tests because of this comparison.

A Benchmarked test is the type of test that Kidtest.com^SM 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 were taken, we do not call these exams fully "standardized". Kidtest.com’s^SM benchmarked exams are potentially highly informative. Keeping this in mind, however, they cannot measure performance as accurately as standardized exams given under controlled test-taking conditions. This means the percentile scores you receive from Kidtest.com^SM 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 Sequence^SM 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^SM test was created using National Standards as well as Instructional Goals and Objectives from various states. Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence^SM 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 of Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence^SM 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
• 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 and Reading

The International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers have approved twelve National Standards for the English Language Arts. Kidtest Benchmarked Sequence^SM 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 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 to develop an understanding of content across the cirriculum.
    
    
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 Sequence^SM tests reflect these standards.

Instructional programs from pre-kindergarten through grade twelve 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 Sequence^SM 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

Health Education

The questions were formulated using the 7 National Standards for Health Education.

1. Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention. A performance indicator for this standard center around identifying what good health is, recognizing health problems, and ways in which lifestyle, the environment, and public policies can promote health.
   
   
2. Students will demonstrate their ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services. Performance indicators focus on identification of valid health information, products and services including advertisements, health insurance and treatment options, and food labels.
   
   
3. Students will demonstrate their ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks. Performance indicators include identifying responsible and harmful behaviors, developing health-enhancing strategies, and managing stress.
   
   
4. Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology, and other factors on health. Performance indicators are related to describing and analyzing how one's cultural background, messages from the media, technology and one's friends influence health.
   
   
5. Students will demonstrate their ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health. Performance indicators relate to interpersonal communication, refusal and negotiation skills, and conflict resolution.
   
   
6. Students will demonstrate their ability to use goal-setting and decision-making skills to enhance health. Performance indicators focus on setting reasonable and attainable goals and developing positive decision-making skills.
   
   
7. Students will demonstrate their ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health. Performance indicators relate to identifying community resources, accurately communicating health information and ideas, and working cooperatively to promote health.
   
   

The school health education program should be based upon local needs, the health behaviors and problems within the school population, and national data suggesting the health status of children and youth. Experts have identified 10 content areas as necessary for a comprehensive school health education program (American School Health Association, 1994):

1. Community Health
2. Consumer Health
3. Environmental Health
4. Personal Health and Fitness
5. Family Life Education
6. Nutrition and Healthy Eating
7. Disease Prevention and Control
8. Safety and Injury Prevention
9. Prevention of Substance Use and Abuse (Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs)
10. Growth and Development