Standardized Testing

Mother of Divine Grace School recommends that students take a standardized test each year. Below are several options.

Kolbe Academy offers the TerraNova 3 Complete Battery Achievement Test for grades 1-11 to all homeschooling families. This test costs $55 for non-Kolbe-registered families and students are given three weeks to take the test. If you are interested in ordering the TerraNova 3 from Kolbe, please contact them at 707-255-6499 ext. 123 or www.kolbe.org/standardized_testing.

The Family Learning Organization offers the CAT/5 (California Achievement Test, Fifth Edition) Full Battery Test for grades K-12. This test costs $37 and students are given two weeks to take the test. If you are interested in ordering the CAT/5 from the Family Learning Organization, please contact them at (509) 467-2552 or at www.familylearning.org/testing.html.

Seton Home Study offers the CAT-E Survey Test for grades K-12. This is a shorter and less expensive version (essentially an "overview") of the CAT test. This test costs $25. If you are interested in ordering the CAT-E Survey Test, please contact them at (540) 636-1250 or at www.setontesting.com/.

Hewitt Homeschooling Resources offers the PASS Test for grades 3-8. This is an untimed test that costs $29. It measures basic reading, language, and math skills. If you are interested in ordering the PASS Test, please contact Hewitt Homeschooling Resources at (360) 835-8708 or at www.hewitthomeschooling.com/test/tmain.asp. This test is particularly good for students who do not do well with time limits.

College Entrance Exams

Students in high school should plan on taking one or more of the college entrance exams. Note: High School students who are preparing to take the ACT or SAT should contact the college or colleges that they are interested in to ascertain which test they require.

SAT: Offered by the College Board (www.collegeboard.com) many times throughout the school year. It is generally taken by 11th or 12th graders. Students can register online.
ACT: Offered by the ACT company (www.act.org) many times throughout the course of a school year. It is generally taken by 11th or 12th graders. Students can register online.
PSAT: Offered by the College Board (www.collegeboard.com) in October of the school year. It is offered to 10th and 11th graders. Students need to call local public or private schools to find a test location.

The College Board's and the ACT's web-sites contains a wealth of information about how to register for these tests, practice testing materials, as well as information about colleges, college applications, financial aid and scholarships.

“I am writing to express my admiration for the Mother of Divine Grace Long Distance Program. First, the accountability required by the administration is very strict and binding, which is a good thing. There is no tolerance for inappropriate methods of learning such as plagiarisms etc. They have built into their program filtering devices to prevent inappropriate methods of learning. We live in the state of Pennsylvania which possesses the most comprehensive legislation governing homeschooling in the United States. Mother of Divine Grace Distance Learning program provides the credibility the State of Pennsylvania requires. Second, the content and methodology that this program contains in their curriculum is most beneficial to its students. For example, we have a set of twins one daughter and one son. We were providing the education for our daughter long distance while our son was attending a local preparatory high school. We were able to really gain an insight and comparison of the content and execution of the different methodologies of education. The content of our daughter's was superior to that of our son's. Many times we needed contact on a daily basis which Mother of Divine Grace provided with graciousness and availability. We can't say that for our son's school. In conclusion, we only have great praise for this program.”

– Mary M

homeschooling mother of five, enrolled since 2003