Measuring Your Child's Academic Strength

What follows is a sampling of academic work from schools where high standards are already in place. Spend some time with your child and see how well he or she measures up. Then compare these examples to what your child is currently working on in school. This exercise will give you a good idea of how the standards in your child's school are measuring up.

2nd Grade Writing and English

• Use a dictionary to find meanings of words.
• Make a personal dictionary or word list to use when writing.
• Alphabetize words to the third letter.
• Read a non-fiction book and relate its contents.
• Identify the setting of a story on a map or globe.
• Identify, locate and utilize the table of contents and glossary of a book.
• Use the table of contents to locate specific book chapters and predict the book's contents.

Source: Beaufort County School District (South Carolina)

4th Grade Reading

At the proficient level, your child will be able to describe why Charlotte thought she could fool Zuckerman.

"Having promised Wilbur that she would save his life, she was determined to keep her promise. Charlotte was naturally patient. She knew from experience that if she waited long enough, a fly would come to her web; and she felt sure that if she thought long enough about Wilbur's problem, an idea would come to mind. Finally, one morning toward the middle of July, the idea came. `Why how perfectly simple!' she said to herself. `The way to save Wilbur's life is to play a trick on Zuckerman. If I can fool a bug,' thought Charlotte, `I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs.'"

Source: U.S. Department of Education, passage/excerpt used by permission from Harper Collins Publishers

7th Grade Math

The table below gives the record for Joan Dyer's last 100 times at bat. She is now coming up to bat again. Use the data below to answer the following questions:

1. What is the probability that Joan will hit a home run?
2. What is the probability that she will get a hit?
3. How many times can she be expected to walk in her next 14 times at bat? Explain your answer.

Source: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

8th Grade History

Describe major events and explain ideas leading up to the American Revolution, the contributions of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and others in establishing a new nation, the importance of the Declaration of Independence, and how the principles which brought about the American Revolution influenced other nations then and now.

Source: California Department of Education

High School Science

The diagram below represents a cross section of a portion of the Earth's crust. The rock layers haven't been overturned. Which formation is oldest? Explain your answer.

1. Basalt
2. Sandstone
3. Shale
4. Conglomerate

Source: Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS)

High School English

Identify the antonym for the following.

1. NEMESIS
   1. foe
   2. enemy
   3. colleague
   4. savior
   5. pathos

Choose a related pair of words that best expresses a relationship similar to that in the original pair of words.

1. WILDERNESS : CAMPING
   1. car : driving
   2. library : reading
   3. tent : backpack
   4. horse : riding
   5. walking : sidewalk

Source: Colorado Reading and Writing Assessment Workbook

International Test Questions

8th Grade Math

1. P=14 and Q=31
2. P=10 and Q=14
3. P=10 and Q=31
4. P=14 and Q=15
5. P=15 and Q=14

Source: Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

8th Grade Science

____ Yes

____ No

Source: TIMSS

Answers:

7th Grade Math: 1) .09 or 9% ; 2) .51 or 51% ; 3) 1.54 or once or twice
High School Science: d
High School English: c, b

International Test Questions
8th Grade Math: e
8th Grade Science: No

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