For many of us it has been a long time since our last standardized exam. Therefore we decided to list some of the most common and helpful test taking skills so that you can practice them with your child.
BEFORE THE TEST
Simulate the testing situation.
For first time test takers, the unknown creates nervousness. By eliminating that mystery, your child can be calmer. Also, practicing with practice tests based on the standardized test to be taken will get kids in the rhythm of how long s/he has to be seated, what types of questions are asked, and how to best tackle the various situations. Practicing with a time limit is also important to learn how to budget one’s time during an exam.
If your child has a learning disability or ADD/ADHD and has and IEP, find out what the modifications will look like for exam week and who will be administering the exam.
Here’s the link where you can get some practice questions:
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp
STRATEGIES TO PRACTICE
Read the question and try to answer it without looking at the options.
Then try to match your answer with one of the choices provided. If there is no match, then read all of the given answers to see if the correct one jumps out at you. If not, try “skip the hard ones” or “how to attack the hard ones”.
Practice All of the Above and None of the Above Questions
These types of questions can be particularly difficult for younger kids or kids who struggle. It is a good idea to create some of these questions or use practice questions from the exam, so your child knows how to tackle them.
Skip the Hard Ones.
Sometimes kids get stuck on one hard question and lose their confidence, waste time and ultimately don’t finish the exam. By answering all the easy questions first, the child succeeds in showing off the information s/he knows well and has time to go back and tackle the hard ones later.
How to Attack the Hard Ones
After reading the question and all the answer options, eliminate the absurd. Don’t just discard them in your head because it is easy to waste time continuing to read them. Cross them out.
Your first choice is often the correct choice, unless you didn’t read all the answers or misread the question/answers.
Sometimes you have no idea what the answer is. If there is no penalty for guessing, make sure to make your best guess.
What to Do When You Are Finished
Many kids are so relieved to have finished the exam that they race up to the desk and turn it in. With the few remaining minutes, kids should make sure every question has a bubble filled in.
It is not necessary to practice these skills daily for hours on end. Paying too much attention to exam week can add nervousness where little was present before. Find out from the teacher what is being done in class to prepare the students and then create a plan for your child from there.
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