Holly Gouge, Western, NC, Holly@smarttesting.net, 828-442-2507
About: Holly lives in McDowell County with her husband and two daughters. She’s originally from Indiana, has lived in Alabama, and now resides in McDowell County, NC. Through her life experiences, Holly has compiled a vast array of knowledge that can help families in their homeschool journey, as well as provide public and private school support. Holly and her family enjoy a wide variety of interests and activities, including but not limited to hunting, fishing, classic cars, volleyball, basketball, American Sign Language, computers, technology, and more. Holly has been involved in the local church her entire life. She has worked with children and youth ministries, missions, and various choirs and currently serves in the areas of IT, media, and sound.
Education: Holly received her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Mars Hill College (University) after completing many undergraduate hours at Western Piedmont Community College and McDowell Technical Community College.
Educational Experience: Holly started her career in public education as an after-school assistant, working in the cafeteria and then as a teacher’s aide with TITLE I. She has certifications in K-6-Elementary Education, TESOL (Teaching English as a second or foreign language) (K-12), Middle School Math (6-9), and Middle School Science (6-9). During her time in public education, Holly taught a wide range of students and, therefore, on teams including but not limited to PEP (Personalized Education Plans), AIG(Academically/Intellectually Gifted), teams of determining if IEP is necessary (Individualized Education Plans), including IEP Plans when determined appropriate, & 504 (a plan developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to the learning environment). While teaching Middle School science, she served in many different aspects of an after-school club called NCSO (North Carolina Science Olympiad), including event coach, assistant team coach, and head team coach. She helped many students of various academic abilities place in regional and state competitions. The small group teams, as well as the school teams, were able to place and compete very well. Holly also has experience and knowledge for equipping beginning readers of all ages with skills for success. She has experience teaching non-native speakers (children, adults) to increase their English language receptive and expressive skills. Though new opportunities to homeschool began in 2020, Holly has never been completely new to the homeschool community. She has had friends and extended family who have homeschooled as long as she has known them. Based on the information provided, Holly can, therefore, support families through her understanding of the effects of different parenting and learning styles on schooling.
Why: Holly is eager to test students throughout the year. One thing that Holly truly likes about homeschooling, as well as supporting testing in public and private schooling, is that testing doesn’t have to be “at the end of the year.” Per NC Law - The chief administrator is responsible for obtaining and/or scheduling the nationally standardized test at some time during the academic year. This allows parents to adjust testing based on family needs. Holly likes the fact that SMART provides an OFF-PEAK time. Homeschools, public and private schools, and parents can utilize SMART to support students in gaining information to help show families how to further support the student educationally through the students’ strengths and weaknesses.
As a SMART Testing associate, Holly hopes to be an Encouraging Advocate who, through Consulting, will use low-tech and High-tech resources to equip parents in providing developmentally appropriate educational experiences.
Service Areas: McDowell, Rutherford, Cleveland, Burke, Catawba, Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery counties (NC). Contact for inquiries about other NC counties and out of state. Willing to travel
TESTIMONIALS
Holly was very knowledgeable, respectful, and professional! Very nice and respectful!
~Kristi M.
I wanted a personalized and individualized look at my kids’ academic progress and have a baseline to move forward with our homeschooling journey. Our testing administrator, Holly, offered both through her detailed notes and thorough explanation of my kids’ test results. Holly was courteous and direct in her communication prior to our testing appointment. Holly was very personable, kind, and knowledgeable during my children’s testing session, as well as after the testing session when we met to discuss the results. I appreciate the time that Holly took to go over each child’s individual results and reports. She offered tips and tricks to help each child improve on their weaknesses and to enhance their strengths. As a homeschooling parent, this was an invaluable session.
~Whitney S.
Holly is detail-oriented and wanted to make sure I knew everything I needed to know. She was kind and considerate of his needs, even making sure he had a snack! Holly made me feel confident in moving forward with my child’s education at home!
~Cori W.
The coordinator was very personable, answering all questions I had before and after. Holly communicated all needed information and was very responsive to questions I had. She made her comfortable and was very detailed and sweet in her answers. Great experience!
~Allison J.
I continue to use Holly as our testing administrator due to her caring and patient nature. She seems to easily work around my son's anxieties and chooses to go the extra mile for us if that is what is best. She is understanding when life gets complicated and also shows her appreciation when I can be fluid about her needs as well. She has always been prompt for our appointments and values my time while also making sure to answer my questions to the best of her ability. She individualized my boys, even though they test together at times, by suggesting curriculum or activities that pertain to their unique interests, strengths, and weaknesses. She has been a joy to work with, also due to suggesting conferences or lectures that I can attend as their mother and teacher to gain a better understanding of methods that will work best for each of them. She always makes sure to email me when it is getting time to schedule the next assessment. She makes every effort to work with me on the best weekday and time for my family to meet with her, and she also sends me a reminder the week before our appointment. She always does her best to help my boys feel at ease, as well as doing a little extra if she feels either of them needs a moral boost. She always does her best to make sure that the results are given to me in an understanding manor and even took the time this year to tell my teens how much progress she has seen in them since last year.
~Kim N.
I chose SMART testing because the testing was done in person rather than online. I found SMART testing to be very beneficial. Holly was so helpful. She guided us in understanding the results and what areas need improvement, plus resources to make those improvements. Holly went above and beyond to make an appointment for us, and keeping us updated as well. She was very knowledgeable and professional. She thoroughly explained the results and what areas could use improvement, along with resources to make improvements. So thankful for SMART Testing!
~Crystal W
S.M.A.R.T. was recommended by friends, as this is our first year homeschooling. My daughter is shy, and she warmed up to Holly quickly. She was very thorough in going through the results and took time to make sure I understood everything. ~Erin F.
I needed a test that was hands-on and one on one without using the computer. She was very professional. Holly took her time answering all our questions thoroughly.
~Jessica G
This test gave clear and precise results to know which areas to focus on and support. Holly gave great explanation and recommendations on testing and why, also easy scheduling and accommodations, was very understanding of my son and his needs, and making it flow easily to get him through the test.
~Jania W
C. can be a difficult child to take at times with his ADD and Autism, but she worked really well with him; she was patient with him. She was wonderful with my child, she explained the results clearly, and she wasn't judgmental towards my family. She was thorough and made sure we understood before we left. We loved her and will definitely recommend her to others.
~April R.
The Woodcock-Johnson is a very detailed test. I wanted to see where my child was lacking. Holly was very informative. She made everything easy to understand and explained everything well. She stayed least an hour making sure we understood everything. We will definitely do it again in a year.
~Monica T.
We chose this testing to see if our child was on track and what we needed to help him with as far as learning and supporting his needs. It gave me an outline of where my child needed more help and to get him on the right track. Holly was very patient and explained the results in an understanding and professional manner. There was a perfect outline of what we needed to focus on for our child. It also gave tips on how we can help him learn.
~Melisa M
I was looking for a tool to guide my path ahead in homeschooling, to see where I’m meeting my kids at academically. I was very pleased and I appreciate Holly's time and thorough instruction in how to better help my child succeed. It was a great experience. I will encourage others to visit her for any testing needs.
~Leslie
Holly is very friendly. My son really liked her. She explained everything and gave tips to help my son. I will definitely want to test w her next time. The feedback was very informative
~Melissa P.
Holly was great to work with my schedule and always called when she was headed my way! She offered lots of resources in weak areas.
~Juliet
Holly kept me updated and answered all my questions. He has ADHD and she was patient with him. After testing, Holly answered all questions and made sure we understood the results.
~Caroline J.
I appreciate the care and attention that Holly put into the comments about my children's strengths/weakness and interventions for each of them. I also appreciate being able to get advice for possible learning/processing struggles in regards to things that may help him, groups that could offer assistance, and possibly a specialist to see. She answered all of my questions in a timely manner, and made sure that I knew where I needed to go in case my cell phone lost GPS on the way. She allowed my children to work together for parts, asked my opinion on which one to work individually with first, explained the location of the bathroom I could use while waiting, kept the door to the building she and my children were in locked so that random people would not be entering, my younger son was anxious because of testing and she handled it appropriately. Our after testing consultation was rushed because my son's took longer to test than expected, however, she still answered my questions to the best of her ability during the time we had and has answered a few additional questions via email. I am very grateful to have found SMART and Holly and will absolutely use her in the future if she is open to seeing us again.
~Kim N.
Holly was very informative. She worked with my kids one on one and the manner in which she administered the test was helpful. She was thoughtful and empathic and offered various suggestions on what to do to help my children succeed- academically. I liked the setting., and how the test is based on what the child knows opposed to pass or fail. That helps me understand my children’s strengths and weaknesses. And how to build from there.
~Shanikka C