Test Taking Tips for Kids

Confidence is the key to learning and test taking. Test taking is a stressful experience for most children, especially those who don't feel confident about the material they are being tested on. If your child wants to stay up all night and cram for a test, discourage this behavior and encourage a good night's sleep instead. Explain to your child that test preparedness occurs in the weeks and days before the test and not the night before.

Test Taking Tips

• Be prepared. If your child is prepared and has thoroughly gone over the material he/she will experience far less stress while taking the test.
• Get a good night sleep, and don't cram. Brains don't function properly when they are sleep deprived.
• Take them time to carefully read all directions. Many kids lose valuable test score points because they simply do not follow directions. Take the time and follow the test directions.
• Skip over questions you don't know. Kids should do the questions they know first, and then tackle the harder ones later. Getting a few early questions right helps to build confidence, which lessens stress. Also, in the event your child might run out of time, he / she will have at least gotten credit for all of the easier questions.
• Bring an extra pencil or pen and an extra calculator to answer math problems if appropriate. Also, bring scratch paper to write down notes and brainstorming ideas during the test.
• Relax and take a deep breath. A bad grade on the test is not the end of the world. Encourage your child to their best and not worry about the grades.
• Arrive early for school. There is nothing more stressful than arriving late for a test. We recommend showing up at least 15 minutes earlier than usual to avoid worrying about being late.
• If there isn't assigned seating in the classroom, choose a seat that is on the far left or right of the class. If your child is sitting next to a fidgety, bothersome student, your child can turn to one side and block that student out of their vision.