Crystal Children & Teacher Supply is always here to inform our customer base with information concerning every test their child or student may take! With The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) is rapidly approaching we've taken it upon ourselves to shed some light on this doozy of a test! The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) are standardized tests provided as a service to schools by the College of Education of the University of Iowa. The tests are administered to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Over time, participation expanded and currently nearly all school districts in Iowa participate annually in the program, as do many other school districts across the United States, including many of ours in Houston. ITBS are written in levels 5-14, which generally correspond with grade levels (K-8). Each test level consists of a series of tests administered in content sections with each section designed to measure specific skills. Sections for levels 5-8 include: Vocabulary, Word Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Listening, Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and Sources of Information. Sections for levels 9-14 include: Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation, Usage and Expression, Math Concepts and Estimation, Math Problem Solving and Data Interpretation, Math Computation, Social Studies, Maps and Diagrams, Reference Materials, Word Analysis, and Listening. If you're interested in getting prepared for this test please visit our shopping cart here or our website page here for more test prep material for the ITBS!

Schools in Texas are scrambling to get ready for the upcoming new standardized test. This new test is called the STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) and will be implemented into the 2011-2012 school year for grades 3-8 and exit level. The STAAR is taking over our previous test TAKS which has been installed since 2003. Previous to the TAKS we had the TAAS (which reigned for over 10 years from 1990-2002), the TEAMS (from years 1986-1990) and the TABS (from years 1980-1985). The new tests will be significantly more rigorous than previous tests and will measure a child’s performance, as well as academic growth. A report from the Texas Education Agency states that the "STAAR will represent a more unified, comprehensive assessment program that will incorporate more rigorous college and career readiness standards". The STAAR test will be intended for college and career readiness rather than minimum skills will be the focus for older students. Students will have less opportunity to guess at multiple choice questions as more open-ended items appear on tests, particularly in math and science, requiring students to come up with original answers. You can view what objectives the STAAR will cover here at the TEA's (Texas Education Agency) website located here. Although your child or student is over a year away from having to take this brand new test, it's good to start preparing and here at CRYSTAL Children & Teacher supply we can help you do just that. End TAKS on a high note with a commended score! Click here to view our TAKS Products to make sure your children or students do well this final year for TAKS.

On behalf of CRYSTAL Children & Teacher Supply we hope everyone had a wonderful winter holiday and a safe new year. With every new year there will be a plethora of tests that will challenge your children and students. Here at CRYSTAL Children & Teacher Supply we offer only the best way to get your children and students ready for these difficult tribulations. First on the list of the new year is the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10). This test is one of the leading standardized achievement tests utilized by school districts in the United States for assessing children from kindergarten through high school; it is used to measure academic knowledge of elementary and secondary school students. The tests include three types of questions: multiple choice, short answer, and extended response. Besides requiring a written answer of five or six sentences, the extended response may also require the student to graph, illustrate or show work. Such answers are usually included within the areas of science or mathematics. CRYSTAL Children & Teacher Supply offers quite a variety of books to help your child ace this acclaimed test. All of our books specifically concerning the Stanford Achievement Test can be located in our shopping cart here.