Parents - what you can do to help!
- Read aloud with your child. Reading aloud helps develop vocabulary and fosters a positive attitude toward
reading. Reading together is one of the most effective ways you can help your
child succeed in school.
- Share experiences. Baking cookies together, planting a garden, or making
a map of your neighborhood are examples of activities that help build skills
that are measured on the tests, such as sequencing and following directions.
- Become informed about your state's testing procedures. Ask about or watch for announcements of meetings
that explain about standardized tests and statewide assessments in your school
district. Talk to your child's teacher about your child's individual performance
on these state tests during a parent-teacher conference.
- Help your child know what to expect. Read
and discuss with your child the test-taking tips in this book. Your child
can prepare by working through a couple of strategies a day so that no practice
session takes too long.
- Help your child with his or her regular school assignments. Set up a quiet study area for homework. Supply this
area with pencils, paper, markers, a calculator, a ruler, a dictionary, scissors,
glue, and so on. Check your child's homework and offer to help if he or she
gets stuck. But remembers, it's your child's homework, not yours. If you help
too much, your child will not benefit from the activity.
- Keep in regular contact with your child's teacher. Attend parent-teacher conferences, school functions, PTA or PTO meetings,
and school board meetings. This will help you get to know the educators in
your district and the families of your child's classmates.
- Learn to use computers as an educational resource. If you do not have a computer and Internet access
at home, try your local library.
- Remember-simply getting your child comfortable
with testing procedures and helping him or her know what to expect can improve
test scores!
(back to top)
Students - what you can do to prepare!
- Do your schoolwork. Study in school. Do your
homework all the time. Learn new things a little at a time, then you will
remember them better when you see them on a test.
- Feel your best. One way you can do your best
on tests and in school is to make sure your body is ready. Get a good night's
sleep. Eat a healthy breakfast. Wear comfortable clothes. You can also wear
your lucky shirt or your favorite color on test day. It may make you feel
better about the test.
- Be ready for the test. Do practice questions.
Learn about the different kinds of questions.
- Follow the test directions. Listen carefully
to the directions your teacher gives. Read all instructions carefully. Watch
out for words such as not, none, never, all, and always. These
words can change the meaning of the directions. You may want to circle words
like these. This will help you keep them in mind as you answer the questions.
- Look carefully at each page before you start. Do reading tests in a special order. First, read the directions. Read the
questions next. This way you will know what to look for as you read. Then
read the story. Last, read the story again quickly. Skim it to find the best
answer.
- On math tests, look at the labels on graphs and charts. Think about what the graph or chart shows. You will often need to draw conclusions
about the information to answer some questions.
- Use your time wisely. Many tests have time
limits. Look at the clock when the test starts. Figure out when you need to
stop. When you begin, look over the whole thing. Do the easy parts first.
Go back and do the hard parts last. Make sure you do not spend too much time
on any one part. This way, if you run out of time, you still have completed
much of the test.
- Fill in the answer circles the right way. Fill
in the whole circle. Make your pencil mark dark, but not so dark that it goes
through the paper! Be sure you pick just one answer for each question. If
you pick two answers, both will be marked as wrong.
- Use context clues to figure out hard questions. You may come across a word or an idea you don't understand. First, try to
say it in your own words. Then use context clues, the words in the sentences
nearby, to help you figure out its meaning.
- Sometimes it's good to guess. Here's what to
do. Each question may have four or five answer choices. You may know that
two answers are wrong, but you are not sure about the rest. Then make your
best guess. If you are not sure about any of the answers, skip it. Do not
guess. Tests like these take away extra points for wrong answers, so it is
better to leave them blank.
- Check your work. You may finish the test before
the time is up. You can go back and check your answers. Make sure you answered
each question you could. Also, make sure that you filled in only one answer
circle for each question. Erase any extra marks on the page.
- Finally---STAY CALM! Take time to relax before the test. One good way to relax is to get some exercise.
Stretch, shake out your fingers, and wiggle your toes. Take a few slow, deep
breaths. Then picture yourself doing a great job!
(back to top)
Kinds of tests - the differences and what
to expect!
- MULTIPLE CHOICE
- Always read or listen to the directions.
- Look at each answer first. Then mark which one you think
is right.
- Answer easy questions first.
- Skip hard questions. Come back to them later. Circle
the Question to remember which ones you still need to do.
- FILL-IN-THE-BLANK
- Try to think of the answer before you look at the choices.
- See if one of the choices matches your answer.
- Always check the other choices. There may be a better
answer.
- ORAL
- Listen to the directions.
- Say each answer to yourself. Listen to the sounds.
- Look at all the words. Then mark the one you think is
correct.
- SHORT ANSWER
- Read each question. Make sure you answer the question.
Do not write other things about the words or pictures.
- Your answer should be short. But, make sure you answer
the whole question.
- Write complete sentences.
- CHOOSING A PICTURE TO ANSWER A QUESTION
- Listen to the story carefully.
- Try to imagine what is happening. Choose the picture
that is closest to what you imagine.
- Mark your answer as soon as you know which one is right.
Then get ready for the next question.
- Change your answer only if you are sure it is wrong and
another one is right.
- MATH
- Look at the picture. Read all the choices. Mark your
answer.
- Look for important words and numbers.
- Draw pictures or write numbers on scratch paper.
- Look for clue words like in all, more, less, left, and equal.
- USING A GRAPH
- Read the question carefully.
- Look for clue words such as most, least, same, more, and less.
- You don't always need to count. Try to see how much of
each column or row is filled in.
- WRITING
- Write about something you know.
- Read the prompt carefully. Answer every part of the question.
- Plan your time. Leave enough time to check for spelling,
punctuation, and grammar mistakes when you are finished.
(back to top)
|
