As we all know, preparing your child for standardized tests is an arduous journey. In my experience as an educational consultant, I’ve found that starting preparation early and gradually (so your child can connect the concepts to life and school) will significantly reduce stress.
Steps 1-5, which cover how to do this, can be read here.
However, as test day draws nearer, there are several more factors to take into consideration. Hopefully, by now your child is familiar with all the concepts represented on the exam. But while previous practice was in small doses, your child now needs to ensure they have the stamina to sit through an entire exam.
Steps 6-10: Later Stage Test Preparation
6. Make sure they have taken at least one full-length, formal practice test in advance of their actual exam
Sometimes students may be very confident with the test material, but panic when faced with a formal environment and a timed exam. It’s important to know how your child responds to those factors well in advance so you can address those areas if necessary.
At least a month or two before their exam, I would highly recommend having somebody they aren’t very familiar with (like a friend of yours, a teacher they haven’t met, or a new tutor) administer a timed practice test in a new place (such as a library they haven’t been to yet).
Analyze how they score- did they run out of time? Did they work too quickly and make careless errors? Did having a stranger administer the test make them nervous, causing new mistakes? The sooner you address these issues, the better their test outcome will be. And for longer exams, such as the SHSAT and the SAT/ACT, it’s important that your child understands the stamina and pacing required for success.
7. Don’t neglect to review subjects they are already confident with
Let’s say your child is preparing for an exam, and they take a practice test. They end up scoring very well on the English section, but have a rough time with the math.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of spending all the study time on the more difficult subjects. But don’t fall into that trap! When a student spends a lot of memory and mental energy learning to tackle a difficult subject, they may forget the material and methods for the other subjects they were previously confident in.
That’s not to say they should study the easy areas just as much as the hard areas. But the student in the example above should probably do at least a few review questions of the easy English material for each study session of the tougher math.
8. Don’t study too much right before the test, and have something positive to look forward to after it’s over
Due to the “Recency Effect,” students will remember the last thing they studied at the cost of earlier material. Since there’s no way to effectively review all the material in the day before the exam, it’s much better to let your child take a day or two off to absorb and crystalize everything they have learned.
Plus, if you’ve been preparing well in advance, they aren’t going to learn anything new and useful in the last days anyways. So at best, you’ll have them focused on remembering something new that they don’t understand very well while they forget older information.
Even if you do try to review all the information with a practice test, cramming before an exam is stressful. This will impact performance and limit their ability to gain anything useful out of it.
In addition to taking off the day or two before the exam, you should have something positive scheduled for after the test. Don’t have it be something so exciting that it will distract your child (no first trips to Disneyland), but something moderate like going to a friend’s house or going for a favorite meal. This will help your child associate pushing through a difficult test with positive feelings, and reinforce to them that hard work = rewards.
9. Have your child get used to functioning at the same time the exam is scheduled for, and make sure they have a balanced snack prepared for break time
Optimal mental performance requires specific factors. You may notice that you can’t function well until you’ve had your morning coffee, or that you are in a better, more productive mood after you’ve had a balanced lunch. The same factors will affect your children when they take exams.
If the exam is scheduled for early in the morning, make sure they are used to waking up at that time and are able to perform. If they are older and used to drinking coffee, that may help them focus. But don’t give coffee to a child for the first time right before an exam!
Some children are especially sensitive to meals—it’s a good idea to pack a balanced snack with proteins and carbs so your child has the necessary energy during the exam. A hydrating drink like Gatorade is often recommended as well. But make sure your child can pace their drinking so they don’t need to use the bathroom at the wrong time—not all tests will allow students to use the bathroom.
It also helps if they are somewhat familiar with the exam environment. If the test will be proctored at a school they have never seen before, it may be worth driving by, wandering the campus, or even asking for a tour. If they can visualize themselves taking the exam in the right environment, it may help reduce anxiety. And at the very least, if they know roughly where things on the campus are, it reduces the chance of them getting lost and stressed out.
10. Be able to recognize if your child isn’t a good fit for the exam
As much as we all want the best future for our children, sometimes life happens. Your kids may be going through a difficult life situation, which hinders their ability to score well on the test. They may just not be ready to understand the material yet. They may have decided they don’t want to take this test, and refuse to study. You have to know your child, and what a reasonable expectation for them is.
Some of the reasons for a student’s poor performance can be remedied- if a teenager has dreams of going to an elite college, but refuses to study for the SAT, you may be able to motivate them by having them visit the schools and talk with a guidance counselor about the expected SAT scores of their admitted classes. By letting them take the reins and ownership over their future, you can motivate them to act like an adult and study as necessary.
But for a student who doesn’t particularly care about the outcome of the exam, there may be no easy solution to get them to score well. Turning up the pressure and forcing them to do something they have decided against may cast a negative shadow on future exams. Depending on the urgency of the situation, more complex methods of motivation may be in order, but whether or not that will work is very situational.
For a student who isn’t emotionally or developmentally ready for the exam, it’s often best to accept it. That’s not to say that they shouldn’t take the test! Facing challenges can be an important life lesson.
But if they do take it, it needs to be a positive experience. If they are stressed out by their emotional situation or their failure to perform, it can set a precedence for tests being a stressful experience that they have a chance of failing. So you have to recognize what will be best for your child and their current circumstances.
A large part of my work is training preschoolers to take the Gifted and Talented entrance exam. While many students can be trained to sit through the 78 questions of the test, I occasionally run across a student who just isn’t ready for it. They might not have hit the right developmental milestones yet, and aren’t able to understand the material. They might not be ready to sit still for that long.
And the important thing to recognize is that for a child of that age, these factors are really out of their control. While a 4-year old may have a limited understanding that they are being silly or not listening, they aren’t always capable of fixing that behavior or understanding the consequences of it.
If you have a good teacher or tutor, they will be honest about what you can expect from your child’s performance. While sometimes an educator may misjudge a child’s ability, it’s always worth considering educator feedback and adjusting your expectations accordingly.
In my experience watching these children learn and grow over the years, the children who were allowed to either skip an exam they weren’t ready for (or fail without being punished or pressured for their lack of ability) had a much more positive relationship with learning later on. Many were able to test into Gifted and Talented classes in later years, as they became more mature and caught up academically.
But the students who were pressured and punished by their parents for not achieving what they weren’t capable of ended up with a much more negative academic experience. The thought of a future test would cause a lot of stress, their parents continued to hold unreasonable expectations for them, and the students had a hard time taking ownership of their education.
While not getting into a desired school/class can certainly change the course of your child’s future, it’s far easier to do damage control when your child isn’t traumatized by their earlier failure. You can always re-take exams and transfer schools, but only if the thought of going through that process again won’t turn your child into an anxious, non-functioning puddle.
So as difficult as it can be to put aside your hopes and expectations for your child, it’s important to look at them honestly. Accept their limitations, and adjust your expectations. Decide whether it’s worth it to have them take the exam, or if the experience will hinder future efforts. And whatever effort your child is able to put into the test, make sure they know you appreciate it and are proud of them for trying.
Overall, the ability to perform on standardized tests is an unfortunate but necessary skill. By starting preparation casually and well in advance, you can expose your children to the necessary skills without stressing them out. Know your child’s curriculum, and synergize as much prep material as you can with their schoolwork.
Make sure they are familiar with the exam conditions by taking a full practice test, practicing being awake at the right time, and visiting the testing environment. And be comfortable with the fact that despite your best efforts, sometimes your child just isn’t going to be able to meet your expectations. And that’s OK. By helping them build a positive relationship with success and failure, you can help them overcome future challenges.
Read the First Part of the Test Prep Survival Guide:
A Guide to Surviving Standardized Test Prep— Part 1 Early Prep
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Shay Skobeleva is an educational consultant, and the founder of Altiora Tutoring. She is the author of several educational guides, including Getting Into Medical School: The Ultimate Guide for the Anxious Premed and Altiora’s Free Guide to the Gifted and Talented Exam.