Ds8 is taking a standardized test tomorrow

[Meriwether]

And I don't think he is going to do very well.

 

I got a letter from the school last Tuesday informing me that testing would be this week and I had to call the school by Wednesday if I wanted to test the kids at the school. I called the school on Wednesday and talked to the school counselor. She was very nice and helpful. She even offered to send me a practice test so that the kids could practice filling out bubbles.

 

I gave the test to Ds8 and Dd9 today (same test, it was the practice test for levels 9-11). Dd9 zipped right through. Ds8 had a big, fat crying fit. He was nervous. He didn't know the first answer and he completely flipped out about the test. The first three sections were tears and more tears. He stared at this problem:

 

Trees will be planted along a fence that is 84 feet long. The trees will be spaced 6 feet apart. What is the greatest number of trees that can be planted?

 

for at least 15 minutes. He can do this kind of problem, but he is slow and if he feels pressure, he shuts down. If there are even two problems like this on the test, he will waste all his time on them.

 

How will I get him to calm down for the test? I told him over and over again that the test didn't matter, but he still freaked out. I am not going to show him his test scores since I'm sure Dd9 will do well on hers, but he will know if he didn't finish one section before he goes onto the next.

[Chris in VA]

Well, if testing is required in your state, it is usually ok to delay it until the end of the year. I'd do that, practicing a bit between now and then, and then see if you can administer the CAT or the ITBS at home.

 

Perhaps you have another reason for testing, however.

[eternalknot]

Hmm. I have test anxiety, so I can empathize with him.

 

Does the test matter, really and truly? Or is it just a checklist requirement for your state? (Does he believe you that the test really doesn't matter?)

 

What helped me was to learn how to 'read' a test. To view it more as a game of sorts than it was a TEST. I had six weeks of training for work, during which we had twice weekly tests. Failing one at any point meant we were sent home. Talk about pressure, these tests were on computers (I was new to them) and not in my native language. I gave myself hives stressing about it.

 

I discovered that I read too much into questions. I always felt it was a trick question so I wasted time and built anxiety looking for the trick. Eventually I realized some questions were just really poorly written (rather than trick qustions). So I read the question, put my finger on my gut-instinct answer, then re-read the question with my answer to see if it checked out. If it did, I committed to the answer. Then I left the question alone, no going back and changing it later. (That was key!)

 

I also tried too hard to find the RIGHT answer versus the BEST or just OKAY answer. That relates to thinking most questions were trick questions.

 

I needed to know that it was okay to skip some questions.I learned that most tests of this nature are graded by the number one completes, not the number of questions asked. I'm not sure if this is true of your son's test, but if so it might give him permission to skip a question - whether for now, or completely.

 

I'm not good with words, so I taught myself to draw out word problems. In the example you gave, I'd have drawn it out before I ever tried to solve it. (Heck, my kids tease me because I still have to do this for THEIR math problems!) So he draws a number line to 84 and starts making hashmarks at every sixth number, penciling the 84-6 number above the hashmark and going until he's reached a number six can't be subtracted from. Then he translates that answer into a form the test recognizes. I've always been allowed to have paper in with me on tests, I'm sure they'd allow him to also?

 

He can even draw out all three of those type of questions, then go back to solve -- taking steps for the problem set rather than doing each step for each problem before moving on. Might that feel less pressure?

 

It's such a mind game, and we can totally be our own worst enemies :glare: what helped me was my older sister reminding me of that. Often LOL. She said I had to learn how not to sabotage myself. And until I could, I had to realize that my test scores reflected my anxiety and that the only one who could control that ... was me. Hard stuff for an already test-anxious kid, but also a face-saver if he knows that you know that, and don't think his score is a reflection ... of him.

 

Poor kid! See if you can help him learn some of the test-taking skills usually taught to older kids doing SAT/ACT prep. It's a short time to learn it, but these tests aren't going away so any help starting now will be good moving forward.

[Dmmetler]

I don't feel a need to prep for test content, but for my easily frustrated child who believes she needs to get everything right, I have to prep for test format and test structure.

 

What I always tell DD is that you're not EXPECTED to know everything on a standardized test-and I show her sample test results pages that list the possible grade equivalents, so she sees it's possible to get a GLE of 12.9 on a 3rd grade test (or whatever it is). Obviously, you're not going to know as much in 3rd grade as a 12th grader, right? Since most of the time when you take any form of test, you're taking it only after a lot of practice on the content where you're expected to know everything, the idea of that there's a test where you're NOT expected to know everything really makes it a stressful situation if you hit a question that you have no idea how to start on.

 

So, when you get one of those 12th grade questions, just mark down the question number, bubble B (so you don't get off a line on the answer sheet), and go on. Answer all the 3rd grade questions that are easy, and maybe even the 4th and 5th grade questions you can figure out fairly fast, but don't let those hard questions slow you down and keep you from answering the easy ones. Then, at the end, go back and try to attack those 12th grade questions. If you get them, great! If not, no big deal.

 

 

I also have been known to give her a WAY above grade level test in a content area where I know she has a lot of knowledge (history is good-Story of the World is often enough by itself to let a child get at least some questions right on, say, a New York Regents high school released test, as are some science tests or vocabulary if your child has studied Latin or Greek). She gets confidence when she KNOWS an answer on a HIGH SCHOOL test, while practicing the "skip and go on" procedure without worrying about it because, after all, this is a high school test and I'm not supposed to know it yet.

[Meriwether]

Hmm. I have test anxiety, so I can empathize with him.

 

Does the test matter, really and truly? Or is it just a checklist requirement for your state? (Does he believe you that the test really doesn't matter?) It is a checklist requirement up to a point. If he scores below 30%, I will be have to submit a remediation plan. He shouldn't, but might, score below 30%. He is pretty average. If he wasn't stressed about it, I would think he'd be average. Maybe even a bit above average. It doesn't matter how much he knows, though, if he sits there crying.

What helped me was to learn how to 'read' a test. To view it more as a game of sorts than it was a TEST. I had six weeks of training for work, during which we had twice weekly tests. Failing one at any point meant we were sent home. Talk about pressure, these tests were on computers (I was new to them) and not in my native language. I gave myself hives stressing about it. I've tried talking to the kids about testing strategies. Dd9 ate it right up. Ds8 wailed, "I'm going to get an F-."

 

I discovered that I read too much into questions. I always felt it was a trick question so I wasted time and built anxiety looking for the trick. Eventually I realized some questions were just really poorly written (rather than trick qustions). So I read the question, put my finger on my gut-instinct answer, then re-read the question with my answer to see if it checked out. If it did, I committed to the answer. Then I left the question alone, no going back and changing it later. (That was key!)

 

I also tried too hard to find the RIGHT answer versus the BEST or just OKAY answer. That relates to thinking most questions were trick questions. I did this, too, in school.

 

I needed to know that it was okay to skip some questions.I learned that most tests of this nature are graded by the number one completes, not the number of questions asked. I'm not sure if this is true of your son's test, but if so it might give him permission to skip a question - whether for now, or completely. I think I'm going to have to tell him to skip the hard ones.

 

I'm not good with words, so I taught myself to draw out word problems. In the example you gave, I'd have drawn it out before I ever tried to solve it. (Heck, my kids tease me because I still have to do this for THEIR math problems!) So he draws a number line to 84 and starts making hashmarks at every sixth number, penciling the 84-6 number above the hashmark and going until he's reached a number six can't be subtracted from. Then he translates that answer into a form the test recognizes. I've always been allowed to have paper in with me on tests, I'm sure they'd allow him to also?

 

He can even draw out all three of those type of questions, then go back to solve -- taking steps for the problem set rather than doing each step for each problem before moving on. Might that feel less pressure? He will sometimes draw things out, but his usual problem solving strategy is to stare at a problem until he knows the answer. He will absolutely not talk it out with me so that I can follow his thoughts. He usually gets the right answer, but I don't know how to help him go faster, because I don't know what he is thinking. He has been taught a number of different strategies, but I don't know if he is using them.

 

It's such a mind game, and we can totally be our own worst enemies :glare: what helped me was my older sister reminding me of that. Often LOL. She said I had to learn how not to sabotage myself. And until I could, I had to realize that my test scores reflected my anxiety and that the only one who could control that ... was me. Hard stuff for an already test-anxious kid, but also a face-saver if he knows that you know that, and don't think his score is a reflection ... of him.

 

Poor kid! See if you can help him learn some of the test-taking skills usually taught to older kids doing SAT/ACT prep. It's a short time to learn it, but these tests aren't going away so any help starting now will be good moving forward.

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I always got nervous taking tests, but it was just enough to heighten my senses, so to speak. Dh doesn't get nervous about anything. I'll work on testing skills before next time, but I didn't realize how much Ds would stress about it this time.

[Meriwether]

Well, if testing is required in your state, it is usually ok to delay it until the end of the year. I'd do that, practicing a bit between now and then, and then see if you can administer the CAT or the ITBS at home.

 

Perhaps you have another reason for testing, however.

 

 

We are just meeting our state requirement. I think he would do better in the spring. He is getting (slightly) faster and more focused as he gets older. When I got the letter, I had less than 24 hrs. to decide whether or not to take the test at the school. I decided to just get it out of the way. I didn't realize at the time that Ds would freak out. I expected him to be nervous because he gets that way. I didn't expect him to blank on things that should be easy or moderately difficult.

[Chris in VA]

Then is there the possibility of delaying the test? I'd go that route, personally. Plus, a test in the spring will give you a better idea of where he is academically anyway--unless he still has nerves, in which case it's moot.

[Meriwether]

Then is there the possibility of delaying the test? I'd go that route, personally. Plus, a test in the spring will give you a better idea of where he is academically anyway--unless he still has nerves, in which case it's moot.

 

I asked the counselor if the test is normed for the fall, and she said it was so the academic picture should be the more or less the same. I think he would be just as nervous in the spring. We would have more time to practice between now and then, and he would have a few more months to mature. I could probably tell her I've decided against testing him, but I'm on fairly good relations with the school and I don't want to undermine that. They had to reserve a test for him and may have had to deny someone esle a chance to test.

 

ETA: I think I could retest him in the spring if his score is really low. If it isn't below 30%, it doesn't really matter and we'll just work on it for next year. I do wish I could put him at ease.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Meriwether

[Arcadia]

Ds8 had a big, fat crying fit. He was nervous. He didn't know the first answer and he completely flipped out about the test. The first three sections were tears and more tears. .

 

Ask the school counselor what happen if any child were to panic and cry. For my boy's state testing, the invigilator/proctor is allowed to let the child go out and walk around before continuing. There are other teachers there to accompany the child. This is especially helpful in an untimed test.

Even in a timed test, its better to spend 5mins calming down than not be able to do the rest of the test.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Arcadia
typing mistake

[Catwoman]

Isn't there any way for you to test him at home?

 

If he has to take the test tomorrow, does it help to remind him to skip any questions he can't answer quickly?

 

I feel so sorry for the poor little guy... and for you, too, because I know it will be a long night of worry for you. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[Meriwether]

I have an update for those who were kind enough to give advice.

 

Ds8 took the bulk of his test today. He will finish up tomorrow. We talked several times about 1. the test doesn't matter 2. you aren't supposed to know everything 3. skip the hard ones. He was still a bit nervous when we talked this morning. He was also nervous on our way to the school. After we got to the school, the counselor came up to the kids and escorted them to the library. Ds went right with her - he didn't even look at me. He seemed calm. It might, just might, have had something to do with the young, attractive, friendly counselor.;) That was a very positive sign, but I still worried about how he would react when he opened the test booklet.

 

I kept the phone close by in case the school tried to call, but they didn't. I spent two hours wondering how he was faring. Finally, it was time to pick him up. They finished about two minutes after I got to the school. When Ds came through the office door, he was smiling broadly and talking about how fun the test was.:blink: :confused: All that angst for nothing.:svengo: I am happy he enjoyed the test. Really, I am. But what in the world was that fit about yesterday!?! Another positive is that he finished all of the sections before time ran out. The negative? I asked him what some of the questions were. I know that he answered at least one of the reading questions with the funniest answer instead of the best answer. I can only hope that many other 3rd grade boys did, too.:tongue_smilie:

 

I am going to file standardized tests under things to practice for but not panic over.

[Arcadia]

:hurray:

 

:lol: the young, attractive, friendly counselor. My younger gets all flirtatious with those.