Standardized Testing

I just explain that it's to see how well the school and town are doing teaching what they're supposed to teach. That we can't know if a school is doing its job unless they see what all the kids know every year. My older kids have never cared about this but my 3rd grader was all worked up about it last week and the tests don't begin until March.

Okay, I can ALMOST guarantee I know why she's so freaked out.

I taught in the Lawton Public School system for 3 years.

This stress your daughter is showing is most likely TEACHER INDUCED. I have known MANY teachers who LITERALLY told their students that they could not move on to the next grade if they don't pass. This is completely untrue, of course, but these teachers think that the kids will "try harder" if they feel their progress is dependent on it. Never mind the fact that those kids then get so completely stressed out about it that they end up doing worse than they might have otherwise.

Make sure she knows that this test has nothing to do with her. This is how the state checks to see how well her TEACHER is doing. Try to explain to her that even though she is the one taking the test, it is actually checking to make sure that the teacher did his/her job right and taught what he/she was supposed to.

They do standardized testing in private schools too. I always tell my kids go through and answer every question that the answer is easy or pops in your head. Then when you get to the end go back and answer the rest. You would be amazed how well that works for taking the pressure off.

NO.. our daughter never freaked about tests..
We never got mad at her for her grades either.

We always had told her to just do her best. That the tests are not for grades, they are just there to help the teachers know what to teach.

It is a way to see what she does know, and what she is ready to learn next..

We made sure she was rested. that she was feeling well.

The only hint I ever gave her about the tests, was to read the questions and answers first and then read the passage. This way she would know what she is supposed to be looking for.

Even the math portion of these tests are word problems, so their reading skills are important.

Talk to her teacher. She/He may not realize that they may be putting undue pressure on the kids. I know teachers want (and NEED) for the kids to do well, and sometimes they DO put pressure on them.

She/He may not mean to. Or even realize that the kids (or your daughter specifically) are feeling much pressure.

I would gently inform them.

ETA: And yes, they do standardized testing in private schools as well. My kids took them beginning in kindergarten in private school. So they were well versed in "standardized testing" when they entered public school later. They did, however, seem to get more pressure from the teachers in the public schools than in private, regarding HOW they performed on the tests. Private schools the teachers seemed to pressure the PARENTS to feed them well, make sure they got to bed on time, etc etc.

LoveTeachingMath is right on. I would bet her teacher makes comments to the kids, or behaves in ways that betray his or her own stress, and the children pick up on that. It may even be that the teacher has hinted that his or her job depends on these tests (which it basically does, in many schools). Even hinting that kind of thing as a joke can upset kids this age, who do not always get the humor.

I would keep encouraging your child, keep any discussion of tests very low-key, and definitely talk to the teacher. Say you want the teacher to have a heads-up and wondered if your daughter might be worried that she won't advance, or that her teacher will be in trouble if she doesn't do well. Kids this age want to love their teachers and some of her stress may be a feeling that "I've let down teacher if I don't do well."

This is a case where it helps to be plugged in and talking with other parents of classmates. I'd want to know if their kids also are stressed or have indicated that the teacher has made any comments about the test affecting their ability to advance or the teacher's or school's own standing.

Is this your child's first year of having standardized tests? That would be part of the issue too, if she is not used to them.

they do standardized testing at private school as well, ours are all next week. 2nd through 8th grade.
this will be my sons first time but when my daughter took it they only told the kids eat breakfast, sleep good and try your best. we went over the results during conferences.
sounds like the teacher may have a lot to do with her getting so upset.
good luck to her

I think in the younger grades, you can tell her they are looking for an average, to see how all the kids do as a group and whether the lessons or books need to be changed. Tell her that's why there's a test of all of the 2nd graders in all of the state - they aren't looking at any one kid. In fact, they are looking at the schools and trying to learn if there's anything else the schools should be teaching. Make it clear it's not just her, her class, her teacher or even just her school. At a young age, it doesn't really matter how one particular kid does on one test. There's plenty of time when she's in high school to say (if it's true in your state) that she needs to pass in order to graduate! If she doesn't get test anxiety about other tests, it's probably because just her class is doing it or because the teacher has a better way of explaining it. The teacher may be over-emphasizing it and the state may dictate what can and should be said about it. If it's rigid in terms of "pencils down" and that sort of thing, it can build stress into it for kids. If it helps, tell her that no one who looks at the test results will see her name or her answers - they will just see if most kids got Question 7 wrong or right - tell her the computer counts up the right and wrong answers, and the computer does not care how she did.

Hate it. I'm not against the one standardized test they do each year. I am against all the pressure they put on the children to do well. I'm against the fact that they make the teachers teach to the test.

In the elementary and middleshcool levels they constantly give district tests. They're a joke. I told my child just answer a,b,c,d,a,b,c,d. However, it's graded and marked as part of their grade.

In CT the last standardized test is issued in 10th grade (unless you fail it). You must pass the test, or you will not be able to gradutate. If you fail any section, you can retake that section your junior year, and again your senior year. The administration was putting so much pressure on the students, this included the honor students, that they had my daughter convinced she was going to fail. Explain to me what makes the administration thinks a student in honors classes with a 4.15 GPA would fail a test?

My GD used to get upset until I explained to her that this test is really meant to gage how good a job your teacher is doing. It does not affect her grades or her ability to move to the next grade level. I also gave her the option of not taking the test. Once she realized that it wasn't all that, she was fine.

The teachers put a lot of pressure on the kids to do well because it is THEIR report card! Just explain to your child the purpose of the test and if she's really stressed, opt her out of taking it. There is no downside for her.