May 29, 2023

May 29, 2023

7 Tips To Help Your Child Prepare For Exams

When parents see their children struggling, all they want to do is help – and for many children, exams create a lot of turmoil and anxiety. While most parents are not professional educators, that doesn’t mean they’re powerless to help. In fact, there are several ways to help your child prepare for exams – no experience is required!

The task of preparing for tests and exams can strike fear in the hearts of students everywhere, but you can use these tips to help your child prepare for exams in school. Read on to find out all you need to know!

Why Exams Are Important
You may wonder if it’s truly worth it to put children through the stress of exams, but the truth is that it’s a necessary step for many children in their education. Students are assessed in a variety of ways through exams that allow the teacher to check their understanding of the material they’ve been learning. Some exams also help teachers to determine if their teaching goals are being met.

Some parents may believe that exams aren’t necessary, but the truth is exams are less an assessment of what your children knows as they are a test of how they are being taught – and whether that method is successful or not. If there’s something else children need to be taught before they can move on in their learning, an exam is the opportunity to find that out. Additionally, exams are a way for older students to demonstrate to higher learning institutions and even potential employers how competent they are. Tests can be stressful, but they are useful – it’s all about perspective!

How To Prepare Students For Exams
There are several simple tips for exam preparation that can guide parents to calm children down and help them perform better. Many children have issues with anxiety before big tests, but this is something a parent can help them to quash or at least reduce before the test takes place.

To help your children prepare for exams and reduce their test anxiety, try the following:

  • Encourage them – Tell your child that they should try their best, but also that this test isn’t going to make or break their lives (especially for younger students).
  • Explain – Let them know why the test is helpful and what information will be learned by the teacher and school after it is taken.
  • Teach calmness – You may want to help your child with calming strategies such as deep breathing techniques that they can use if they start to feel overwhelmed during the test.
  • Give them reminders – Make sure your child understands they may not know every answer on the test, and that is OK. Help them make a plan for what they should do if that happens.

What To Say To Your Child Before A Test
If you’re wondering what to say to your child before a test, it’s very simple: tell them that you love them and you’re proud of them. All kids really want to know is that no matter how they score, you will love them and value them. Easy!

Test-Taking Tips For Elementary Students
Most parents have taken a test or two during their lifetimes, so it’s easy to put yourself in your child’s shoes when they’re preparing for an exam. You can help make exam preparation more manageable in a few ways:

  • Providing tips – Help your child strategize. For example, they probably want to answer the easy questions first and come back to the more difficult questions later. They can also use the process of elimination to get rid of answers they know aren’t right and make educated guesses based on what they do know.
  • Get practice tests – If possible, get your hands on a practice test that you can complete together. This will allow you to discuss any questions that come up and help them feel more at ease.
  • Creating a schedule – Map out a study schedule with your child if needed. Leading up to test day, set aside 30 or 60 minutes per day to help cement their understanding and knowledge of the topic at hand.
  • Take breaks – Everyone needs brain breaks, and your child is no exception. Without a study break, kids can start to feel overwhelmed and their revision will be less effective. Make sure physical movement and fun are a part of these breaks – for example, consider dancing to a favorite song or doing some stretches.
  • Get organized – Creating a plan can help reduce stress, so use the date of the exam as the end point and then break up what needs to be done before then into small, more digestible chunks.
  • Think about health – Make sure you are feeding your child a healthy diet to feed their brain and keep their mental skills sharp. When kids are healthy, they are able to get motivated and concentrate. Exercise is important too. Remember, every child should be getting at least 60 minutes of movement in their day.
  • Make sure they’re sleeping enough – A good night’s sleep is vital to many areas of life, including taking tests. Lack of sleep can have an impact on a child’s brain and its ability to function optimally. Do what you can to help your child get a good night’s rest, especially the night before an exam.

Working with your child now to establish good test-taking skills and reduce their anxiety around exams will help them throughout their whole lives.

Featured image by Chris Liverani on Unsplash