Soon we will have more information about this Homeschool Group. As the network continues to grow, this website is evolving (can we use that word?) to meet the needs of the homeschool community. An information form is being designed so that we can post a basic profile for each homeschool group. Once finished, it will be emailed to the leaders who are partnering with CVHE.net and when we receive it back, a page like this will be created for each homeschool group.

If your group would like to partner with us, contact us and we will send you an information form as soon as the design is complete.

GBCHE Calendar of Events

Plays
May 23-  12:15 pm Wizard Of Oz
ticket price $6.95 per person
Shaftman Peformance Hall Roanoke, Va.
register by April 25 with Sue Ann Sochor
call 540-587-0240


Field Trips
April 8- Surrender of Confederacy Re-enactment
April 12-Natural Bridge
April 29-Safari Park, Natural Bridge (not the zoo)
May 12- Krispy Kreme factory tour in Alexandria and the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly

Other Events
Park Days- Bedford & Lynchburg
Homeschool Swim-Thursdays
Bedford Y; 11:30-1:30 p.m.
2 & 4th Fridays in April- Peaks View Pacers Sign-ups
April 7- Art and Literature Contest Deadline
April 8-Spring Skies at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah; ages 8-12
April 13-This Old Bat House; ages 13-17
April 15-Deadline for registration for CTBS Testing at Forest Alliance
April- Tennis lessons-Liberty & Poplar Forest
April 23- Outdoor Game Day at Susan Stalker’s home
April 29- Skating at Funquest
April 30-Homeschool Science Fair
April 30-CVHE Homeschool Conference:
“Alive in ‘05; Basics and Beyond”, Liberty
University
May 13-14 Roanoke Home School Spring Conference
May 14 GBCHE Used Curriculum Sale
June 11-GBCHE end of the year picnic
June 16-17- HEAV convention

For more information, contact LlmomsavedbyGD@aol.com

Information about testing

Laurie Lawrence
1030 Meander Ln.
Thaxton Va. 24174

Greater Bedford Christian Home Educators
January 25, 2005

Dear Homeschooling Family,

Greetings from GBCHE. I hope your school year has been very successful, fun, and blessed! As most of you are aware state law requires us to test our children every year (unless you are currently operating under a Religious Exemption). You are not required to submit test results for kindergartners! Now is the time to plan how you will test your children, and this mailing is intended to help you with that decision. Please Read This Information Fully Now Because Of Registration Deadlines. Test results must be submitted to your school board by August !, 2004. Virginia law requires test results for language arts and math only. You may choose one of the following testing methods:

1. Administer a test to your children yourself
2. Prepare a portfolio of samples of your children’s work
3. Enlist a certified teacher or qualified homeschool parent to test your children
4. Test with GBCHE May 2-5 at Forest Alliance Church

Below is an explanation and further instructions for each option.

1. Administer a test to your child(ren) yourself.
You may administer a standardized test to your own children through the following companies:

Bob Jones University Press Testing & Evaluating Service( 1-800-845-5731 or testing@bjup.com)

BJU offers the Iowa (ITBS-TAP) or the Stanford (SAT-TASK) for $39.50 to $40.50 depending on the grade level of the test. (There is no HSLDA member discount). You or your spouse must have a minimum of a 4- year bachelor’s degree or be a certified teacher in order to administer the test to your child. The Stanford requires the test administer to have a 4-year degree AND experience and/or training in test administration, AND to be pre-approved tester through the completion of an application. . They no longer offer the practice tests for the Stanford or the Iowa, but they do offer Test Alert( 28.00) and Better Test Scores(10.00 for each subject, math, language arts, or reading) Bob Jones says these tests give better test scores. You can go to their website for more information. Be aware that depending on the order volume at BJU, there may be a several week delay in receiving your tests, and that you may not hold the tests for longer than 50 days before administering. Also, you should allow up to eight weeks to receive results. You will receive one copy of the results that are a detailed analysis of your child’s performance in every subject area. You may choose to administer the core battery only( math and language arts skills) or the complete battery. If you are interested in this option, call the above number or go to the website for catalog and ordering information.

Sycamore Tree offers the CTBS and you have to have be a credentialed teacher to administer. The test covers all subjects and the price is $50.00. Their phone # is 1-800-779-6750

The following companies have test that can be administered by the parent:

Family Learning They offer the CAT for $37.00 and the MAT( a shorter test) for $27.00. Both cover all subjects and can be administered by the parent. To order call 1-800-405-8378

Bayside School Services offers the CTBS for $41.00; and it covers all subjects. To order call 1-800-723-3057

Seton School offers the CAT-E Survey Tests for $20.00. This is a shorter test. If you have a child who has a short attention span, this would be the test for them. It tests Math and language arts. To order call 540-636-9990

McGuffey Academy offers the Stanford Achievement Test and Diagnostic Testing scored & evaluated by the Academy It covers all subjects and the cost is $35.00. To order call 1-706-782-7709.

Christian Liberty Academy They offer the CAT 70 for $20.00. to Order call 847-259-1297

2. Prepare a portfolio of samples of your child’s work.
Under the Code of Virginia Section 22.1-254.1, article 3, you may submit the "Results from another evaluation or assessment which, in the judgment of the division superintendent, can indicate that a child is achieving at an adequate level of educational growth." This consists of a short portfolio that includes a written evaluation of how your child has met the Standards of Learning during the school year, and a few dated examples of their work. Typically, you would include a sample from the beginning, middle and end of the school year. The evaluation should be well written, and should restate the Virginia code under which you are submitting the evaluation. It is not required that that you possess a college degree to operate under this option, but it certainly doesn’t hurt! The evaluation need only include assessments in math and language arts. Copies of the Standards of Learning for you city/county can be obtained by calling the school board office and requesting them, or from HEAV on 3.5 diskette(1-804-288-1608)) or at www.knowledge.state.va.us and click on Standards of Learning.
Any certified teacher in the area may perform an evaluation on your child, and write up an assessment. If this option interests you, please contact the teacher listed below, or any other willing, certified teacher you know, and make your own arrangements.
Sarah Harf 434-528-0926

3. Enlist a certified teacher or qualified homeschool parent to test your children.
Any qualified and willing adult may test homeschool children other than his/her own. The qualifications for administering a particular test are given above in section 1. You may contact a certified teacher or qualified tester and arrange to have him/her test your children with any of the standardized tests. In the case of the Stanford Test, there is a minimum number of children required in order to give the test. If you are a qualified Stanford examiner and need more test takers, please call Carol Martin at 540-587-6674
Hien Van Eaten, a homeschooling parent, is qualified to administer the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement ( K-TEA). This test is in individually administered measure of school achievement of children and adolescents in grades 1 through 12. It offers age-based norms(6 years o months to 18 years 11 months) as well as grade - based norms. The K-TEA offers norm-referenced measurement in selective achievement domains, and it also provides criterion-referenced assessment in the analysis of students’ errors in the various content areas. Overall testing time will vary with each individual because no K-TEA items are timed. The average testing time is 1 to 1.5 hours.

Hien has given the K-TEA many times to her students in the 7 years that she taught Special Education. Although it is intended for use to diagnose children who might have special needs as well as to test children with special needs, it is a standardized achievement test that can be used for any student( with or without special needs) grades 1-12. THE SCHOOL BOARDS IN OUR AREA DO ACCEPT THIS TEST. The parents whose children Hein have tested like the fact that it is individually administered, it is not timed, and the child would only have to be tested for one day in less than 2 hours. The cost per individual testing is $30-35.(You may want to check with her about these prices).

Hein has taught in both public and private schools for 10 years( 3 years of high school math and 7 years of Special Education). She has been homeschooling for the last 4 years and does private tutoring in her home after school. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education and a Master’s degree in Special Education. Parents may call Hein at 434-525-3080 for more information.

4. Test with GBCHE in May at Forest Alliance Church. Test offered-Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills
The Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills( CTBS) will be offered on May 3-7 at Forest Alliance Church. This test is a nationally standardized test and it is approved for use by Va. homeschoolers. It is a survey test that takes approximately three hours. The cost is $20.00 per student and is offered for grades 1-12. The test covers ten academic subject areas: Vocabulary, Comprehension, Spelling, Language Expression, Language Mechanics, Study Skills, Social Studies and Science. You will have your test results within 2 weeks of the date tested. Test reports include a complete results tabulation with Scale score, Percentile rank, and Grade equivalent for every subject area. Parents are also able to request a specialized report that includes only those results they wish to file with the school district. There is a $3.00 charge for the specialized report.
This test is advantageous in that a student has only one day of testing and the results are returned quickly. This test may be good for a child with a short attention span, or for one who does not tolerate test taking well. If your child makes careless mistakes on tests, one of the longer tests may be more representative of his/ her work. PLEASE SEND IN THE ENCLOSED FORM BY APRIL 10. Please read fine print at the bottom of the form. You will be notified about the specific date that your child will be tested. You do not have to be a member of GBCHE to test with the group.

The required score for homeschoolers is the 23rd percentile or above and if your child does not achieve the minimum score, it doesn’t mean the end of homeschooling. Our job is much easier if everyone registers by the deadline. If you are testing with GBCHE, please mail your registration today. You may make copies of all or part of this mailing as needed. If you have any questions about testing or GBCHE, please call me at 540-587-6674

Carol Martin
Information Coordinator, GBCHE
CTBS Testing Registration Deadline
If you plan to test on May 2-5, Do not forget to your payment must be received by April 15. Fee $20.00 for each child Address - Cindi Newman 19 Coachside Lane, Pittsford,NY. 14534 Please put email address on registration If you want a confirmation that your registration was received; also important Testing days will be as follows: Monday-1st Grade, Tuesday-4th grade and up, Wednesday-2nd grade, Thursday- 3rd grade. Be there at 9:00 am.

CTBS Test Registration Form May 2005
Note: I must receive your payment by April 15, 2005 in order for the checks to clear before I fly to Lynchburg. If your payment is received after April 15, 2005, there will be a $15 late fee that must be paid in cash the day of testing.

Parent(s):_________________________________________

_________________________________________

Mailing Address ____________________________________

____________________________________

________________________________________
Phone number
___________________________
This will not be used for anything other than an important message regarding the testing date of your child's test.
Children to be tested Grade to be tested

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

I reserve the right to refuse to test your child if you arrive late, By arriving late, you delay the entire test, penalizing those who arrived on time, and possibly causing them problems if the testing ends late.
I agree to have Cindi Newman administer the CTBS Test to my children listed above. I understand that if I arrive late or if my children disrupt the testing session, Cindi Newman has the right to deny or discontinue testing of my child.

Printed name_____________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Testing results will be mailed prior to June 1,2005
 

Many of you have requested a GBCHE registration form, and to make it easy for everyone, we decided to put it up right away. Just click on the link below. The file is a word (.doc) file. If you have any problems, contact us ASAP and we will get it to you another way (by fax or by e-mail).

GBCHE 2003-2004 MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION FORM