CE-Learning

Last Updated on Friday, 15 July 2011 11:37 Wednesday, 22 June 2011 09:11

 
Helping your child with test-taking
by Katrina Del Rosario

Test-taking—it has ingrained itself in everyone’s subconscious as something that induces a magnificently terrifying combination of panic, dread, and the fight-or-flight response all in one place, all in one time.

“I’m not ready! No!”

“India Looking Shocked” by apdk

Tests are there to measure up things. At school, tests are yardsticks to see how much the students have learned and if what was learned is effectively applied. For children, it is a constant source of stress, pressure, and discomfort. Yet, performing well on tests is what defines success in the many areas of one's life. Beyond and outside school, there will always be tests: entrance exams for higher level education, tests for job applications, driver’s licenses, and so much more. The inability to do tests is a serious fallback, which has long-term adverse effects in a person's being and doing.

“Eeeeeeeh! Not another test.”

“-77-“ by Kevin N. Murphy

What To Do

Firstly, it is essential to know why tests are at all important.

Tests are neither given needlessly nor ever intended to cause torment and distress (although this is what what the test-takers usually feel their purose is); your child needs to know this first and foremost. The stigma of tests lasts generations and prints itself as an altogether dreadful venture in the minds of children. Hence, it is imperative for you to reverse this kind of thinking in your child. Make him understand that every test in school measures his progress and is a tool to ascertain if he is ready to move on to the next lesson or a new level of difficulty of material, i.e., a more challenging one. When your child begins to see the value of tests, you can expect that he will no longer be so averse to taking them.

Make tests more relatable to your child by encouraging him to look at them like they are quests—finding out if he has acquired the needed skills and learned the necessary information to advance to the next level of the game.

“...just without the mind-blowing graphics.”

“Math in High School 1” by tsk.

Next, do not hesitate to talk with your child’s teachers and ask them about how the tests they give. All teachers are different and so they give different kinds of tests. It is important that you ask, especially if your child is lagging behind his test scores. Knowing how your child’s teachers give tests will give you something to work on when helping your kid aptly prepare for test-taking. 

Dos and Don’ts

One thing to avoid is excessive test anxiety. Children tend to think of exams as something detrimental to their well-being, and in doing so they are pressured and worried beyond relief. An unhealthy test anxiety will not only ruin their calm but also fog up their heads, which should always remain clear before and during the test. Too much worrying could only lead them to be pessimistic, and thinking of a worst-case scenario (e.g., having a mental block, failing the test, etc.) would make them harshly self-critical. The answer to all of this, dear parent, is proper preparation: thoroughly studying the test coverage over a longer span of time, for example, reviewing a portion of the lesson everyday for weeks before the actual test. This will prevent your child from cramming, which causes more stress. Cramming is an absolute no-no, even if your child attests to its supposed effectiveness.

Homework is just another way of reviewing the lessons taken in class. Assist your child in following through his set homework schedule everyday. Also, teach him how to use reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and online resources. (With using the Web, however, be sure to use some child safe internet surfing software or the like.) Learning how and where to find on his own the information he needs for a writing homework or for a math problem will inculcate a sense of responsibility and accountability in his own education. Your child’s extended research into his lessons will make him remember and understand them better and consequently do well in his tests.

Instead of being strict with your child all the time, try to be an encouraging parent. It makes things so much better if you do not maintain too much of a high expectation from him. Cut your kid some slack, in layman’s terms. It is normal to be worried about his education, but being too anxious about the results of his tests puts more pressure on him. Thus, avoid putting too much emphasis on test scores. Remember that your child is likely to succeed and study harder if he feels good about himself and about school. Therefor, the best thing to do is to make your child feel secure in the knowledge that Mom and Dad are always there to help him with his schoolwork troubles and love him no matter what his test score is.

Works Cited/References:
apdk. “India Looking Shocked.” Photograph. flickr.com. Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd., 6 February 2010. Web. 17 June 2011.
“Help Your Child Improve in Test-Taking.” ed.gov. Office of the Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education, 1993. Web. 17 Jun 2011.
Murphy, Kevin N. “-77-.” Photograph. flickr.com. Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd., 19 May 2008. Web. 17 June 2011.
tsk. “Math in High School 1.” Photograph. sxc.hu. HAAP Media Ltd., 19 December 2005. Web. 17 June 2011.