Preparing for Testing

The one question that I am asked more than any other is, "How can I help my child prepare for PASS (or ITBS or MAP)?"

My immediate response is to be calm! When parents are concerned or stressed about testing outcomes, student pick up on that stress, no matter how careful we are. Last minute studying or prepping generally backfires. So, in all honesty, the best thing to do is to be sure the child has had several nights of solid sleep, a good breakfast, and comes on testing day with #2 wooden pencils. It is also effective for students who have exhibited testing anxiety to come with a good luck charm in their pocket... something like a polished rock or a lucky quarter.

Now, having said all of that, there are some things that can be done over time that could make a difference.

First, help broaden your child's vocabulary. Encourage them to use "big" words to replace the simpler words in their current conversation. If they say, "Look at the car!", you could respond, "Do you mean that beige sedan?" It is a very natural way for students to extend learning without realizing they are learning.

Second, look for patterns in everything. Build that into conversation to see if your child can identify the pattern and extend it further. For example, draw attention to floor or ceiling tiles. How many are there? If the room was twice as big, how many more tiles would you need? If the tiles cost $.20 each, how much would it cost to redo this floor? Depending on the age, grade, and ability of the child, you could make it into a game to estimate area and perimeter.

Third, make connections between things. As children ourselves, we learned about analogies like ' Foot is to Toe as Hand is to _____ (finger)'; we even saw it written as Foot:Toe::Hand:___. Practicing these kinds of connections with children enhances their logic abilities.

Fourth, use any opportunity to encourage your child to follow directions. When they can consistently follow single step directions, try into multi-step directions. Again, this can be a game. "I want to see if you can go outside, find your baseball bat, take it into the garage and leave it next to the back door. Then bring me your mitt." It will be just as effective to let them give you the instructions. The test, in that case, is to see if they can remember what they asked you to do!

Finally, monitor your child's progress in Compass. All of our students have usernames and passwords. If your child does not know theirs, contact their classroom teacher for assistance. The link for Compass is on the Taylors homepage. Compass is designed to meet the needs of each individual child, no matter the grade or ability level. If you need assistance with monitoring your child's progress, please just let me know. My email is mbracket@greenville.k12.sc.us.