"Preparing Your Child for End of Year Testing: Tips and Strategies for Success"

Its that time of the year again, when teachers began to cram as much material in as possible before those dreaded state tests arrive. There are so many debates on the validity, accuracy, and fairness of standardized tests. I have my own opinions, but I will save these arguments for a later post. Today's purpose is to help prepare your child to be as confident and relaxed as possible.

The first and most important point I'd like to share is that your child's test scores are Not a reflection of his or her worth as a student. I've seen too many students become so wrapped up and driven by anxiety that they doubt themselves and their capabilities. On the other hand, I've seen students have complete apathy towards these tests and put no thought into it because they 'know' they are going to bomb it. Neither extreme is healthy, or desired. So, it's important to affirm your child's worth by pointing out all the areas he or she excel in (whether academic or not), as well as encouraging that the best effort is put forward.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

It is strongly encouraged that you have your child practice the tests beforehand. Practice doesn't make Perfect, because no one is. But Practice makes Proficient. The more a child is exposed to something, and works at it, the higher the chances of growth in that area. You can conduct a search on your preferred search engine for the test name. Each state should have previous years tests in every grade level and subject available for practice to either download, or complete online. If you're able to download and print, I'd suggest doing that so that your child has the ability to annotate.

READ THROUGH EACH QUESTION CAREFULLY

It's important to note that the questions that will be on this test will not mirror the questions that your child sees on normal classroom tests. These tests are created by companies who don't have knowledge of how classroom teachers word their assignments and tests (I know you know this, but it's important to have these discussions with your child). Due to this fact, it's best practice to go through each question carefully making sure your child understands what each question is asking them to do and find. This is an activity that I suggest parents do alongside with child in case there's any confusion. Having a highlighter and pencil will be handy so key words can be highlighted, and notes can be taken.

SHOW YOUR WORK!!

I know many students do not like showing work, especially on computerized tests. But it's an important skill to utilize in order to ensure that they are solving problems correctly. Encourage your child to ask for scratch paper before beginning any tests. For math problems, have your child solve each problem on paper, and check his or her work, even if they 'feel' they already know the answer. Again, this is just to get in the habit of doing so. For ELA questions, children should go back in the text and find the details that support their answers and highlight or write the line numbers. This is a tedious task, but you won't guess how many times students have gone back and realized that their answer was incorrect because nothing in the text supported it. It goes without saying that for the writing sections, your child should write a thorough response following whatever reading response protocols that his or her school uses. Once each section is complete, review answers and see where any mistakes have been made, and correct.

RELAX!

Although I believe it's important to practice for what's to come, don't become super overwhelmed by it. This can backfire and lead to burnout and anxiety, which we are trying to prevent. If you begin early enough before the tests are administered, you have ample time to space out your practice sessions in a reasonable way. I'd suggest no more than an hour per practice session. Provide a quiet and relaxing atmosphere, and be patient with your child, and yourself. Also, try to make it rewarding. Maybe engage in a fun activity that your child likes after your practice tests are complete, and when the actual tests are complete. Continue to affirm that although the tests are not a sum total of who he or she is as a student, or person, they are more than capable of succeeding. This can be done by stating affirmations, or declarations (my personal favorite is Philippians 4:13) daily. Choosing the affirmation can be a family activity, or have your child choose whatever resonates most.

If you don't already know, my suggestion is to first find out what your child's school testing schedule is, and begin your plan of practice. While, your child can totally practice alone, you should at least go through all of the questions together to make sure he or she understands, and then the actual work should be completed alone. This is one of those opportunities to be more engaged. If you yourself are struggling with helping your child practice, we offer test prep help. Please feel free to contact us at info@bridginggapstutoring.com.