Personalized Achievement Summary System
for Grades 3 through 8

You may be concerned with the stresses involved in various testing programs and the destructive labeling that sometimes follows. Yet you know that an evaluative tool is important in determining whether your student is progressing and in judging what learning objectives still need to be met. For the home-schooling parent there is an added area of concern. You sometimes question your ability to teach your student or perhaps more accurately, to know whether your teaching methods are adequate to meet his or her scholastic needs. Testing will identify strengths and weaknesses in your student's skills and can be a confidence booster for you and your student.

The PASS Test was developed specifically for home schoolers. It has certain similarities to other achievement tests in that it estimates student achievement in the subjects of reading, language, and math. But is has important differences. It introduces four major improvements over most achievement tests presently available:

• It was designed for parents to administer at home. This can greatly reduce the stress level of testing. We do not require that a certified teacher administer it.
• It is untimed, which helps students to relax.
• The student's approximate achievement level within his or her grade is initially identified by use of a brief accompanying placement test. This assigns each child to a test level where he or she is more likely to succeed, and it also allows for shorter tests. On most achievement tests, where the difficulty of the items varies greatly, students are frequently presented with items that are either too easy or too hard, creating problems in assessing academic achievement.
• Testing results show overall achievement as well as performance in each subject. The test is standardized and children's scores are compared with both national and home-schooling populations. This does not mean that the test is nationally normed, but that the scores are equated to those of public school students taking one of the nationally-normed tests.

The states of Alaska, New York, and North Carolina have officially approved the PASS Test for purposes of state reporting. In other states which require testing, you should check with your local school district to make sure it meets their requirements.

Because of the inherent stress of testing and our informal approach to teaching lower elementary grades, the PASS Test is available for only Grades 3 through 8.

We recommend testing twice yearly so that you obtain a more accurate measure of achievement. Our normal testing schedule is October and April. PASS Tests can be ordered at any time during the year, but they must be at least six months apart. You have four weeks after receiving the testing material in which to administer the test. Once the test has been returned, we will score it and send you a detailed analysis of the student's performance. Expect to receive the results within four to six weeks.

If you wish to order the PASS Test you may either order the pass test online or call 800-348-1750 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, Pacific time zone. Please note that the PASS test is not refundable once shipped.