Fifth Grade Math Assessment Tests: How to Prepare

How to Help Your Child Prepare for Math Tests

Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Begin by contacting your child's teacher. He or she will be able to tell you what your child struggles with and what content the class is currently studying. After identifying what your child needs help with and what he or she excels at, you can plan your at-home study sessions accordingly. If you are creating practice worksheets, for instance, you might include problems that you know your child can solve easily, as well as a few more challenging problems.

Review

Reviewing over a long period of time is often more helpful than cramming the night before a test. Set aside 5-10 minutes each day for math review. You can ask your child to explain something that he or she learned in class that day or demonstrate how to solve a problem.

In fifth grade math, students are introduced to many new and unfamiliar vocabulary terms, like coordinate, origin and axis. Since these terms can be difficult to remember, use flashcards to help your child memorize them.

Boredom may cause your child to lose motivation, but you can engage him or her in the learning process by playing review games. For instance, you can write math problems on index cards and place the cards on the ground. Then, have your child toss a ball. Whatever card the ball lands near is the problem that he or she must solve. For extra fun, assign points to each card. The player who has the most points at the end wins!

Practice Tests

Your state's department of education will likely offer free tests or sample questions on its website. If your child is preparing for a standardized math test, this should be your first stop for information and study materials. Try to administer the practice tests in an environment that's free from distractions.

Many standardized tests contain multiple-choice questions. Although your fifth grader has likely encountered multiple-choice questions before, it can be helpful to review test-taking strategies like process of elimination. Additionally, remind your student to consider all the answers before selecting one.