Homeschool Hints Podcast · Midwest Parent Educators - MPE

True Compass: How assessments can help homeschoolers in career readiness, exploration

·22 min·1 clip

The Highlands Ability Battery uses tasks, not just questionnaires, to show what students actually do well.

Shansi Amaniyi welcomes Christy Windisch and introduces her work through True Compass. Christy explains that her background is in speech language pathology, not homeschooling, and that outside view shaped the way she now helps families think about next steps. True Compass grew as she met students and homeschool families looking for guidance, including families in Wichita and across Kansas. She also points to the learning lab in Wichita as a helpful place for non traditional education. The discussion centers on assessments that look at aptitudes and possible career directions. Christy explains that the test can point toward careers at many different education levels. A student might be headed for college, a PhD, an apprenticeship, or a trade. She is careful to say the goal is not to box anyone in. The real work happens when families talk through what the student values. A person can be gifted in one area and still choose a different life. Christy gives examples of students with interests in music or drama who decide they do not want the lifestyle those fields may require. Some of those students may still keep that passion in their life locally. The conversation also turns to careers that overlap with creative interests, like music editing, sound work, or podcasting. Christy says students often have not made those connections yet. She also talks about spatial skills and how they may fit roles in law, ministry, or other professions. Those strengths may still need an outlet in hobbies or side pursuits if the daily job does not use them directly. Again and again, the interview circles back to the difference between aptitude, interest, personality, and values. Christy says aptitudes are stable and unlikely to change much. Interests and personality may shift a little over time. Because of that, the assessment can stay useful long after the first conversation. Families can return to it later and look again at what a student brings to leadership or work. The tone stays warm and practical throughout. It feels like a parent friendly conversation about real choices, not an abstract theory of education.

As heard by us

A practical look at aptitude testing as one tool for thinking through next steps.

This episode treats assessment as a useful way to think about aptitude and career direction. Christy Windisch, owner of True Compass, draws on about 25 years as a speech-language pathologist and on work with homeschool families seeking guidance for students.

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Why you'd press play

You want a clearer way to talk with a student about strengths, goals, and what kind of path fits.

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