California Achievement Test (Online version)

My son used the CAT(online)-Beginning 3rd grade level. It was easy to follow the directions and my son had no problem completing it. The only minor glitch we encountered was while clicking the back button our PC would not replay the audio on the question. I don't know if this is a software problem or our PC. I just advised him not to go to the previous questions in that section and to listen carefully before proceeding. Overall, we had a great experience. The scores were emailed to me in just a few seconds following the test.

We used the online test for a 5th grader(took the going into 6th test) and a second grader(took the going into 3rd test) in March of the year. They had both just about finished the year's school work. My 5th grader took it on the I-pad. It worked great. My second grader took what he could on the ipad, but since we didn't know which parts needed video and sound not supported by the ipad we did a lot on the laptops. Our computers are not that old but a little slow, as they tend to get. It took so long to load and go from one question to the next that he was unable to finish in the time allotted. Having the directions repeated for every question meant he tried to read then every time which took more time, he had a hard time finding the circle to click in, and the next button constantly went back to question 2 (which may have been my computer's issue since when we switched computers it worked), so we had to find the number of the next question each time to proceed. Overall, if they are laptop savvy, it would be great- if you have a perfectly functioning laptop. My kids are now used to the touch screen. This was a practice test for my 2nd grader-since he hasn't tested before. I think we'll go with the paper test next year for him, but I definitely love the ease and convenience for my older one. Results were e-mailed within minutes, if not seconds of completing the test.

My daughters, 8th grade and 5th grade, took these tests in about one morning. They got progressively harder as they went, which was good for testing my children's limits. Although my girls didn't finish all of them in the allotted time, they scored very high, telling me that the tests work well for over-achieving and gifted children as well.

I love it! My kids were so relaxed and excited they didn't even feel like they were under pressure to take a test. It was very easy to understand and a good challenge as well. The results were easy to read and have good explanation.

I have used the CAT and the IOWA standardized tests over the past 12 years. This is the same great content, and yet simpler for the technologically savvy generation we are raising. My son can't stand those bubbles. Also, I love that I din't have to wait weeks for his scores. I will be using this testing method again.

It was awesome that we were able to get the test quickly, take it in the ease of our home and get the results instantly. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because the previous/next buttons did not make it easy to go back and review your work before submitting it. This is common place thing to do with paper tests. Students can do this more quickly if they note down which page(s) they had a questionable problem on and then click on that page number on the top of the screen, and when done click back on the last page number for that section and click submit. But none of that is intuitive and so kids are more likely, I think to not go back and check their work, which could yield a better score. Overall, though, it was a good experience and I would consider it again the future. Side note - we used this as a double-check against the Peabody test my 9yo had taken the week before. The overall results were substantially the same - only a 2% percentile difference when I averaged all the scores together from both tests. Though the grade equivalents had larger discrepancies between the two and the Peabody does test additional categories not included in this test.

We loved that my daughter could take the test at home. It only took a few hours and we got the results instantly! The instructions were easy to follow and the individual sections weren't too long. Now i know that we need to go back and work on some grammar and sentence structure.

What a wonderful introduction to standardized testing for our newly transitioned homeschoolers. We live in Minnesota and one day our wintery weather caused us to have our co-op plans dismissed. We quickly decided to get our testing out of the way that day and it was so easy to set up and begin. We had instant access to the tests and instant results. The kids felt very challenged by the questions which caused a little fear at first, but once the results came back and showed them where they were academically, they were so pleased (as was the mom/teacher)!

I ordered the CAT for my daughter who is going into 6th grade. She is homeschooled and this was the least expensive option that would satisfy the state's testing requirements. The other options would require me to pay closer to $100 and drive 3+ hours to a test giver. I liked that I purchased this late at night and by time we got up in the morning I had the link in my email and my daughter was able to take her test. The instructions were very simple to understand. The time didn't bother he because she barely noticed it up in the corner. That is one thing I had to pay attention to for her so I could periodically remind her how much time she had left. There were about 10 sections with different time limits and she could start the each part whenever she was ready. There were recommended break times but she took one break at a different time then flew through the rest. Once she completed the test I checked my email and her scores were there already. I was able to forward her scores easily to her dad and print out a copy for our records. I will definitely use this again in the future and recommend to others.