Help Your Kids With Test Taking

Have a more hate-than-love relationship with test-taking? How about your kid? Go ahead, ask—and don’t be surprised if negatives like forgetting and failure outweigh such positives as easy and success. For most, tests are akin to tooth drilling without Novocain, so what’s a parent to do?

Let’s start with a demonstration. Draw a 4-3/8” line WITHOUT a ruler-- rather frustrating, right? Now repeat with ruler in hand. See the difference? Now let your child do it, explaining that tests, like rulers, measure accuracy. Next step? Improving the odds.

Before resorting to bribery or grounding to improve grades—neither of which holds much promise—go on a fact-finding mission to uncover what test-taking strategies, if any, are already in place. For instance, is test preparation left to the last minute? Are objective and essay tests studied for identically? And, when taking tests, does your child usually skip over the directions and plunge in without first also scanning the whole exam? Meanwhile, does s/he ever complain of forgetting studied material and/or running out of time? Is panicking ever mentioned? If “yes” is answered to even a couple of these scenarios, it’s time for some revamping.

First, remind your child of author Ron Fry’s advice: “You don’t start preparing for a test a couple of days before . . . Everything you do in a course—attending class, listening carefully, taking good notes, doing homework, and assigned readings—helps you study for tests.” Keeping that in mind, tell your child to find out test dates in advance and schedule review sessions, instead of cramming the night before. Studying at the last minute invites forgetting. It should also become a habit to inquire about the testing format (multiple choice, true/false, essay, etc.), and, then, based on test type, to make up questions for self-quizzing. Afterward, your child can ask teachers to check self-made tests to insure the questions are on target. Also remind your child to take both lecture and textbook notes, as well as make flash cards—all well in advance. And remember that studying should always be done alone and out loud. Recitation is the most effective study technique around. Then, once your child feels confident with the material, you can do some quizzing. Asking questions in class should also become routine. As the Chinese proverb suggests, “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who fails to ask is a fool forever.” Finally, eating well and getting plenty of rest are essential for learning; memory is impaired by lack of sleep.

By being thus well-prepared and rested, your child should feel more confident on test day—and that’s half the battle. And for added measure, many experts suggest using a “lucky” pen/pencil or wearing an article of clothing that’s brought success in the past. Then add these tried and true test-taking strategies, so your child knows to . . .

1. Get to class quickly for a moment’s unwinding.
2. Avoid last minute test-talk with friends, as it can cause confusion.
3. Initially, read and listen carefully to all directions, underlining key words and following them exactly.
4. Scan all directions and questions first, planning time according to the type, number, and difficulty of the questions.
5. Respond to easier questions first to insure these will be answered before time runs out--but read all of them. Along the way, it’s actually possible to find answers to more difficult items elsewhere in the test.
6. Place a faint mark beside any skipped questions, tackling these later if time permits.
7. Answer all items, making educated guesses on difficult items instead of leaving them unanswered.
8. Be careful about changing answers. Research suggests that first responses are usually, though not always, correct.
9. Make sure handwriting is legible—and use capital letters on matching tests.
10. Ignore other test-takers. Those who finish first can be very unsettling. Instead, use all the time allotted and double check answers.

But don’t stop there. Tests are both measures and great learning tools, so after tests have your child answer these questions: 1) I think I did well/just okay/blew it because . . .; 2) The easiest thing about this test was . . .; 3) The hardest thing was . . .; 4) I was well-prepared/fairly prepared/unprepared, and so from now on I . . .

Finally, the last step is to see that returned tests are corrected and mistakes understood. And that’s it—except, of course, for all the hard work successful test-taking demands. It’s certainly worth it, though. As William James once said, “If you care enough about the result, you will certainly attain it.”

About the Author: