It’s possible to make test taking a positive experience for your child. First you must help your child to understand why they take tests in school. Tests are used to measure how well a child is doing in school and also how well the curriculum is being taught. Tests also determine your child’s progress is school, helping the teacher to identify if your child needs extra help or is more advanced than the other students in his/her class.
Standardized tests such as SAT, ACT, PSAT are standards that are used to measure your child’s performance as a student against students across the country.
In order for you to be prepared as a parent to help your child with taking tests, it is important that you don the following:
Help your child overcome test anxiety by teaching him/her to prepare before hand and to take practice test to become familiar with the subject(s). Cramming before a test builds anxiety and causes carelessness. If you have the opportunity, speak to your child’s teacher to find out about any upcoming test, so you can help him/her prepare for it.
Have your child review the material and explain it in his/her own words to make sure your child fully comprehends the information. When your child can interpret the subject with ease, he/she will be more comfortable when taking the test.
Praise and encourage your child often. Don’t focus on a single test score, but look at your child’s progress over time. If you feel that your child needs extra help, speak to his/her teacher about tutoring or what you can do at home with your child.
Talk to your child about the importance of great test taking habits. Help alleviate your child’s fear of failing by reassuring him/her that you are there to support. Children’s fear of failing leads to test anxiety and often results in careless errors.
Get your child excited about test taking.
Make studying fun by playing Jeopardy with your child’s homework assignments. Involve the whole family and build the enthusiasm. Tell your child that taking the test shows the teacher what he/she knows. Avoid making the games competitive.
Be consistent with your rules about homework and studying. In order for your child to develop great studying habits, you must provide your child with an established routine for studying and doing homework. It is also imperative that your child has a quiet, well-lit room to study.
Relax about test scores. If you put too much emphasis on the importance of the tests scores, your child will start to worry about passing instead of focusing on being prepared for the test.
Silence your child’s inner critic. Ask your child questions about their favorite subjects and also listen to your child’s concerns about where they are struggling. If your child finds a subject challenging, listen for clues to determine how to remedy the situation. Ask your child if he/she wants help and together develop a strategy that will help your child feel confident.
Review your child’s test together. After the test, go over any wrong answers and ask your child what he/she thinks about the test.
If you’re concerned about standardized tests, find out from the school what the policies and practices are regarding standardized tests. Be sure to get a schedule of the test dates at the beginning of the year to be well prepared.
