Standardized tests are an excellent metric for whether one is skilled at taking standardized tests and whether one has test anxiety.
They’re much better for measuring those two traits than testing academic knowledge. In fact, students who know the material can still struggle with tests, and students who don’t know the material can still do quite well.
As parents, practicing test-taking strategies with our kids can benefit their grades, even if we’re sure they’ve learned the curriculum!
Manage Anxiety To Improve Test Scores
Managing test anxiety is the most important skill for performing well on standardized tests. If you can help your child feel comfortable taking these tests, their scores will show the difference.
Practice tests can help with this. The North Carolina Testing Program has online sample tests; for instance, you can find similar sample tests for your state or your curriculum program.
Simply becoming familiar with the process is a significant part of it, but you’ll also need to practice specific techniques with your child.
When faced with anxiety, you may tell your child to remember a phrase like, “This test does not determine my value as a person,” or “I will be okay no matter how this test comes out.”
Remind them to take deep breaths, and to remember that this test is not bigger than them!
Study The Material From Past Tests
With end-of-grade tests approaching, it may not be feasible to study the whole year’s curriculum ahead of the test again.
However, if you’ve kept copies of tests or study guides throughout the year, you can go over those. You can also check with your child’s teacher(s) to find out whether they are issuing any study guides ahead of the EOGs, or if there are specific topics they’d like students to focus on.
My child’s teacher sent home a link to a math study website ahead of one assessment so that the students could focus on specific procedures on the test.
Otherwise, you can look up the state standards for your child. Search “[state] [grade] [subject] [state standards].” For example, when I search for “North Carolina 3rd grade math standards,” I find an elaborate document from my state’s Department of Public Instruction explaining each standard and providing tons of sample questions.
Practice Reading Instructions Carefully!
When I was in high school, my science teacher spent a lot of time telling us about the importance of reading tests.
Once, he handed out a test specifically designed to help us practice following instructions. It wasn’t this one, but the general idea was the same—a list of interesting or unusual directions, like “loudly call out your first name,” ending with instructions to “only do sentences one and two,” which were instructions to read all the questions before doing anything else and to write your name on the paper!
It’s just one of the things he was right about. (You are missed, Mr. Ryder!) Reading instructions carefully will help ensure that your child is answering the questions correctly, and sometimes, the answer to one question is hidden in another question!
You can practice this with your child on tests such as the one linked above or in everyday activities like making a cake from a boxed mix or putting together a Lego kit.
Practice Eliminating Bad Answers
Most standardized tests are multiple choice.
I’ve noticed this year that my third-grader’s teacher has been consistently teaching this practice. Eliminating bad answers is a great step unless your child knows the answer for certain.
For instance, if the question asks your child to divide 100 by 6 and circle the answer that is the remainder, he may not be sure whether the answer is 4 or 3, but he can safely eliminate 17 and 42. Choosing between two answers is slightly less overwhelming than choosing between 4!
Note: On the old version of the SAT, points were deducted for wrong answers, meaning that if a test-taker had no idea, they were better off leaving a question blank than guessing. That’s no longer the case for SATs, and unlikely to be used in any EOG they take — so narrowing down the possibilities and guessing is better than leaving it blank.
Emphasize Time Management
If problem 17 is focused on the math concept that your child remembers learning but cannot remember at the moment, no matter how she tries, she should skip it and plan to return if she has time.
This has two advantages.
First, she’s not wasting time beating herself up and making herself more upset before moving on.
Second, sometimes another problem may help answer the question, or jar her memory!
If a question feels like it’s just taking too long, your child should always feel that she can move on and return after finishing the rest of the test or section.
(Time management also means that she should remember to save drawing on her scrap paper, studying to see whether the seconds on the classroom clock tick accurately, and daydreaming after the test is done!)
The Brain Dump
Harvard Summer School suggests doing a “brain dump” before the test starts.
That means immediately writing down all the formulas or rules you can remember — if you’re likely to need the Pythagorean Theorem, the area of a triangle and the difrenece between supplementary and corresponding angles, look them over in the morning or between classes, then when the test starts, immediately write them down on your scrap paper.
That doesn’t mean memorize them for the ten minutes between break and testing!
This means that once you start looking at right triangles, calculating hypotenuses, and subtracting angles, it’s easy to forget something you knew five minutes ago, so making yourself a note is helpful.
Harvard describes it as a way to “relieve stress and help you focus on the test questions without worrying about your ability to recall the facts.”
Practice Paying Attention To Key Words
Sometimes there are two answers that both seem ‘right.’
Peeking back at the instructions, your child may realize she’s been asked for “the best answer.” Both answers make sense, but one is a bit better than the other.
Your child should also look for words that mean absolutes, like “always,” “never,” or “exactly,” and words that are not absolute, like “often,” “usually,” and “most of the time.” These can be good hints about which answers to eliminate.
Also, look for words like “not,” “least,” or “except.” These completely reverse the question, making it easy to misread.
For example, a question might ask, “Which of the following criteria did the author not use for his decision?”
When reading the question quickly, your child might miss the word “not” and mark the wrong answer! Practice looking for these sneaky keywords, perhaps with a highlighter!
Prepare For Test Day
Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before the test. Try to keep the evening before as low-key and stress-free as possible. (It’s not the night for the big discussion on how messy her room is or what changes are coming in her screen time.)
Help make sure that any important materials are packed for test day. If he needs his textbook, pens or pencils, or a calculator, remind him to pack them the night before.
In the morning, offer a good breakfast, and keep things cheery and positive. Please remind your child that their worth does not stem from their success on this test, and that you believe in them.