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Help With Test-Taking

Teachers, parents, and schools have a common goal and shared responsibility to have children perform well on tests. Tests are, after all, the primary means on which students and schools are measured.

There's been plenty of advice on preparing for tests: Eat a good breakfast, sleep well the night before, avoid careless mistakes, and answer easy questions first.

Rather than focusing on these physical and strategic aspects of test-taking, parents and students are better off knowing that success in test-taking depends on good instruction, parent support, and hard work by students.

Besides, the ability to do well on tests can help throughout life in such things as getting a driver's license, trying out for sports, or getting a job. Without this ability, a person can be severely handicapped.

Your child can develop this ability. And you can help the child do it. It's also helpful for a child to understand why schools give tests. And to know the different kinds of tests.

It could be useful for you to know the school's policies and practices on giving standardized tests and the use of test scores. Ask your child's teacher or guidance counselor about the kinds of tests your child will take during the year - and the schedule for testing.

Helping Your Child

Here are some suggestions on what parents can do to help their children perform well on tests:

• Instill the value of learning in your child at an early age.

• Make sure your children are good readers.

• Communicate frequently with your child's teacher or teachers.

• Know your child's learning progress and needs by monitoring assignments, homework, and test performance.

• Establish a regular time for homework and studying.

• Don't make your child nervous about tests, even big ones.

• Encourage your child to develop a positive attitude toward school and testing.

• Review tests with your child after they are returned home for what your child did and didn't understand.

• Remember, tests and grading systems are not perfect.

More tips for parents:

1. Do talk to your child about testing. It's helpful for children to understand why schools
give tests and to know the different kinds of tests they will take. Explain that tests are yardsticks that teachers, schools, school districts and even states use to measure what and how they teach and how well students are learning what is taught. Most tests are designed and given by teachers to measure students' progress in a course. These tests are associated with the grades on report cards. The results tell the teacher and students whether they are keeping up with the class, need extra help or are ahead of other students.

2. Tell your child that occasionally, he will take "standardized" tests. Explain that these tests use the same standards to measure student performance across the state or even across the country. Every student takes the same test according to the same rules. This makes it possible to measure each student's performance against that of others.

3. Do encourage your child. Praise her for the things that she does well. If your child feels good about herself, she will do her best on a test. Children who are afraid of failing are more likely to become anxious when taking tests and more likely to make mistakes.

4. Do meet with your child's teacher as often as possible to discuss his progress. Ask the teacher to suggest activities for you and your child to do at home to help prepare for tests and to improve your child's understanding of schoolwork.

5. Do make sure that your child attends school regularly. Remember, tests reflect children's overall achievement. The more effort and energy your child puts into learning, the more likely it is that he will do well on tests.

6. Do provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home and make sure that your child is well rested on school days and especially on the day of a test. Children who are tired are less able to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of a test.

7. Do provide books and magazines for your child to read at home. By reading new materials, a child will learn new words that might appear on a test. Ask your child's teacher for lists of books for outside reading or get suggestions from your local library.

8. Don't get upset because of a single test score. Many things can influence how your child does on a test. She might not have felt well on test day or she might have been too nervous to concentrate. She might have had an argument with a friend before the test or she might have been late to school because the school bus got caught in traffic. Remember, one test is simply one test.

9. Don't place so much emphasis on your child's test scores that you lose sight of her well being. Too much pressure can affect her test performance. In addition, she may come to think that you will only love her if she does well on tests.

10. Do help your child avoid test anxiety. It's good for your child to be concerned about taking a test. It's not good to develop "test anxiety." Test anxiety is worrying too much about doing well on a test. It can mean disaster for your child. Students with test anxiety can worry about success in school and about their future success. They can become very self-critical and lose confidence in their abilities. Instead of feeling challenged by the prospect of success, they become afraid of failure. If your child worries too much about taking tests, you can help to reduce the anxiety by encouraging the child to do the following things.

- Plan ahead. Start studying for the test well in advance. Make sure that you
understand what material the test will cover. Try to make connections about what
will be on the test and what you already know. Review the material more than
once.

- Don't "cram" the night before. This will likely increase your anxiety, which will
interfere with clear thinking. Get a good night's sleep.

- When you get the test, read the directions carefully before you begin work. If you
don't understand how to do something, ask the teacher to explain.

- Look quickly at the entire text to see what types of questions are on it (multiple
choice, matching, true/false, essay). See if different questions are worth different
numbers of points. This will help you to determine how much time to spend on
each part of the test.

- If you don't know the answer to a question, skip it and go on. Don't waste time
worrying about one question. Mark it and, if you have time at the end of the test,
return to it and try again.

Do's and Don't's

Don't be too anxious about a child's test scores. If you put too much emphasis on test scores, this can upset a child.

Do encourage children. Praise them for the things they do well. If they feel good about themselves, they will do their best. Children who are afraid of failing are more likely to become anxious when taking tests and more likely to make mistakes.

Don't judge a child on the basis of a single test score. Test scores are not perfect measures of what a child can do. There are many other things that might influence a test score. For example, a child can be affected by the way he or she is feeling, the setting in the classroom, and the attitude of the teacher. Remember, also, that one test is simply one test.

Meet with your child's teacher as often as possible to discuss his/her progress. Ask the teacher to suggest activities for you and your child to do at home to help prepare for tests and improve your child's understanding of school work. Parents and teachers should work together to benefit students.

Make sure your child attends school regularly. Remember, tests do reflect children's overall achievement. The more effort and energy a child puts into learning, the more likely he/she will do well on tests.

Provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home.

Make sure that your child is well rested on school days and especially the day of a test. Children who are tired are less able to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of a test.

Give your child a well rounded diet. A healthy body leads to a healthy, active mind. Most schools provide free breakfast and lunch for economically disadvantaged students. If you believe your child qualifies, talk to the school principal.

Provide books and magazines for your youngster to read at home. By reading new materials, a child will learn new words that might appear on a test. Ask your child's school about a suggested outside reading list or get suggestions from the public library.

After the Test

It's important for children to review test results. Reviewing will show where child had difficulty and, perhaps, why. This is especially true when they take teacher-made tests. They can learn from a graded exam paper. It will show where they had difficulty and, perhaps, why. This is especially important for classes where the material builds from one section to the next, as in math. Students who have not mastered the basics of math will be unable to work with fractions, square roots, beginning algebra, and so on.

Discuss the wrong answers with your children and find out why they answered as they did. Sometimes a child misunderstands the way a question is worded or misinterprets what was asked. The child may have known the correct answer but failed to express it effectively.

It's important, too, for children to see how well they used their time on the test and whether guessing was a good idea. This helps them to change what they do on the next test, if necessary.

You and the child should read and discuss all comments written by the teacher. If there are any comments that aren't clear, the child should ask the teacher to explain.