Evaluation of Basic Skills A standardized test of reading, writing and math skills for ages 3-18
					This Evaluation tool is used to: Find a student's level of basic concept understanding in Math Measure a child's specific phonetic reading and spelling ability Compare age-level performance with a standardized test Diagnose and plan instruction for basic academic skills The Evaluation Applies Montessori principles to basic skill development Is simple and can be completed in less than 30 minutes
			History and Background
		The Evaluation of Basic Skills test was developed by Lee Havis, director of TRUST TUTORING -- to provide a reliable measure of basic skill ability of students enrolled in a program of individualized learning. It is approved by the International Montessori Society and has been successfully administered to evaluate students of all ages since 1995 -- providing a simple, effective evaluation which is quick and easy to administer in comparison with the ordinary traditional standardized tests.
	What's wrong with Traditional Standardized tests?
	Traditional standardized tests have many negative features which discourage their use and value in practice: 1. Complicated to administer; 2. Restrictive in use; sometimes requiring the services of a psychologist of other specifically qualified person to administer the test; 3. Controlled by company; i.e., the test may require control of results by an external testing service; 4. Time-consuming; sometimes requiring hours of detailed questioning; 5. Fact-based; not concept understanding; e.g., words may not follow phonetic sequence and regularity; math with difficult calculations does not isolate the particular concept difficulty. 6. Expensive The "Evaluation of Basic Skills" test avoids and overcomes these problems with many favorable advantages.
		Advantages of  "Evaluation of Basic Skills" test
	1. Easy to administer. 2. Fast; can be given in less than 30 minutes. 3. Private tutor/tester use; we administer the test and scale for age-level performance. No outside testing service is required to calibrate or maintain results. 4. Broad use; for children aged 3-18 5. Standardized; raw scores compared to age-level performance on easy-to- read charts. 6. Diagnosis for Instructional Planning; answers reveal areas of weakness, lack of concept understanding versus careless errors and inattention. 7. Concept understanding emphasized in math; each concept is isolated for clear basic information. 8. Phonetic skills measured; specific rules of phonics are isolated and sequenced in difficulty. 9. Cost effective; A fraction of the cost of ordinary standardized tests The Evaluation of Basic Skills test is given as an integral part of the tutoring services of Academic Consulting and Tutoring and the Tutoring Advantage.
	Pricing: The fee for the Evaluation of Basic Skills alone is $50 -- This evaluation is used to place students in our tutoring program and is included in the first paid tutoring session FREE of charge.