The TerraNova is a nationally-administered standardized assessment test similar to the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) and the SAT-10 (Stanford Achievement Test, Version 10).  The overall purpose of the TerraNova is to provide achievement scores that are valid for most types of educational decision-making.  This gives teachers, parents, and tutors a better understanding of a student's educational strengths and weaknesses which can then be used to help differentiate the student's studies.

The TerraNova test includes questions in each of the 4 main subject areas: Reading / Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Science / History.  Scores in each of these subject areas are then compared as a percentile with other students in the same grade around the nation.  These percentile scores can be useful in judging overall performance of a student irrespective to difficulty level of the questions themselves.  For example, a 90% on a very easy test may not be that good of a score and only put a student at the 50th percentile, but a 90% on a difficult test may be good enough for a 98th percentile meaning that the student scored the same or better than 98% of his or her colleagues.

Since the scores on a test like the TerraNova can be instrumental in shaping a child's education it is very important for students to do well.  That is why we have created extensive practice materials through our www.BrightEducation.com website.

Learn about TerraNova Practice Testing >

“When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space which I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant, and which know me not, I am frightened, and am astonished at being here rather than there; for there is no reason why here rather than there, why now rather than then. Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time been allotted to me?” - Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal is one of the less known and less studied philosophers. A 17th century Renaissance man, he is more known for his contributions to physics and mathematics, especially regarding projective geometry and the theory of probability, than the search for the meaning of life. However, he is one of many French philosophers who have studied the topic. Each of the major philosophers that have come from the land of wine and snails has developed his own distinct theories on the meaning of life. Also, like Pascal, they tend to dip into other subjects and realms.

René Descartes was a contemporary of Pascal though he operated in different circles. Probably most famous today for his quote "I think, therefore I am," he was well known for his work in mathematics, science and literature, as well as philosophy.

He has also been given the illustrious title "Father of Modern Philosophy" for which he may or may not enjoy taking credit. Descartes centered his musings on the idea that our essence is thinking. Our senses may give information but our minds allow us to make sense of the world. This led to a questioning of our physicality, whether we exist in a corporeal form at all. Reading Descartes, you are led to question whether in fact this is all a dream or imagined state of being, which begs the question of whether there is any meaning at all.

Jean-Paul Sartre is best known as an existentialist, famous for his explicit depiction of the idea that existence precedes essence, the core theory of existentialism. He was also a prolific writer, winning the 1964 Nobel Prize for literature, and political activist. This is a theory in opposition to most traditional philosophy, which espouses the idea that essence, or the meaning of life, is an unchanging and fundamental thing. Basically, Sartre claimed that a person defines oneself, rather than being defined or directed by some outside force. He said, "man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world - and defines himself afterwards." Another view of this theory is that we create our own meaning in life out of our experience, though that meaning is dependent on the fairness of the outside world.

Throughout the millennia, there are countless stories of men and women who have spent their lives searching for the meaning of life. However, is this a worthwhile pursuit or a waste of time? 

Let us suppose that there is a meaning of life. If it cannot be discovered after hours, days, weeks, months or even years of searching, is it worth taking the time to do so? In effect, does the possible answer merit the search?

It would be hard to find anyone over the age of 10 that has not once wondered why they exist. It seems though that most people either accept an already posited answer to the meaning of life, generally from a theological or philosophical tradition. For some though, it may make more sense to contemplate the subject, find it unanswerable, and then move on to other pursuits.

It is also worth considering if the meaning of life is important on a personal or a grand scale. "What is my meaning of life?" is a very different question than "What is the meaning of all of this?" Then again, does either question matter?  Would knowledge of the meaning of life change all that much in your life?  Certainly the consensus of most accepted meanings given so far has been that your purpose is to live a good life. This may vary depending on the religious leader or philosopher you subscribe to, but this is a very common theme. The search for the meaning of life does not seem to be critical to this idea. Instead, it seems to be built on the search for comfort for you and your family in this life.

There are many people who live good, virtuous, happy lives without spending time contemplating the meaning of it all. To be a good person, to be happy, to love and be loved – all of these are worthwhile pursuits that may actually satisfy the tenets of some philosophies unintentionally.

Know Thyself. ~ Plato 

No discussion of the meaning of life is complete without a discussion of perhaps the most influential of all Western philosophers: Plato. Student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy, he has influenced countless generations of free thinkers and under-the-influence philosophy students.  His most famous quote, "Know Thyself," is not only a favorite of coffee shop artwork, but an extremely simple summary of his philosophical thoughts on the meaning of life.

The foundation of Plato's philosophy is based on his Theory of Forms, an intense theory that nevertheless resonates. Forms, in essence, are unchangeable, untouchable types, or more clearly, Ideas. These ideas were not able to be sensed in the physical world. Rather, they are essences, typically described as aspatial and atemporal, that is, outside of space and time. They simply exist. Plato postulated that the forms existed in another part of the universe that is more pure than the space which we inhabit.

In Plato's teaching, there exist ideal Forms which we cannot know, but for which we should nevertheless strive. The ultimate Form, which also informs all the other Forms, is the Form of the Good. In essence, the purpose of human beings is to pursue the Good with the only means available to us: intelligence and reason. The Form of the Good is also recognized as the highest form of knowledge. You must use your rational thought to pursue knowledge, through which search you will pursue the Good, which is what drives all that is good and valued in life.

This may be confusing, but it simplifies to the fact that Plato believed each person must perform their own search for the Good, i.e. the meaning of life. Knowledge and rational thought were the keys, as a good student of the Socratic Method should know. There is little certainty in the philosophy of Plato, which makes it excellent reading for any student of the meaning of life.

Are you the type of person who has to see something in order to fully understand it?  For example, a diagram with a concise pictorial representation makes much more sense than a chart with a bunch of words and numbers.  If this describes you, then you are most likely a visual learner and not an auditory learner.

There is nothing wrong with either type of person, but how you study and understand the world might be very different.  Since ideal methods of learning need to differentiate, why not methods of testing?  That is a main reason why we created our Spatial IQ Test.  It provides a visually-based alternative to the standard IQ Test for those of us like myself who best learn visually.

The Spatial IQ Test is a free quiz, so why not give it a try and test out your intelligence, spatially!