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4 Key Tips to Help Your Child Prepare for Tests

By Sylvan Stafford April 6, 2017

In a perfect world, every day at school would be filled with interesting, hands-on learning experiences. But even the most progressive schools must determine whether or not their students have successfully mastered the academic material on the lesson plan. For better or for worse, that means that inevitably your student will have to endure classroom exams. Here are some tips to help your child prepare for tests, hopefully changing what can sometimes be a daunting experience for students to an anticipated opportunity to show what they’ve learned.


Start studying early.
Planning ahead with your child is one of the best strategies for acing classroom tests. Spacing study sessions apart has proven to be a significantly more effective tactic than cramming during one long study period. Students following this approach can group review topics into different sessions, take on small chunks of material at a time, and cover test topics more than once. Studying the test material two weeks before the actual assessment builds a foundation for later review, cementing the major themes in your child’s brain.

Practice the test format.
Be sure that your child is ready for the kinds of questions that they will encounter on the test. Even if students know the subject matter they are being tested on, they can often be thrown off by the format of the assessment. If the test is multiple choice, make sure your child understands techniques for eliminating answers. If they anticipate essay questions, create possible test questions and walk them through the steps of analyzing the question and taking notes or drawing a diagram. Test-taking also involves a limited timeframe, so make sure your student is prepared to move onto the next question if one seems too difficult at first, rather than spending the whole test period trying to solve a single problem. Perfectionists may need practice writing down an acceptable answer, rather than laboring to determine the perfect answer. Replicating test settings through practice tests is a high-utility study technique when it comes to preparing students for a big exam.


Go in with the right attitude.
Help your child understand that one test won’t make or break their educational career, and remind that their preparation has set them up for success. Studying improves confidence, which in turn has been proven to be one of the primary non-cognitive predictors of positive school performance. At the same time, kids who are overconfident are more likely to rush through the test without checking their work carefully. So encourage your child to reach the middle ground, studying enough that they feel prepared, but not so much that they lose focus during the test.

Stay healthy.
While we all want our kids to be well rested and eat a good breakfast every school day, it is especially important to engage in these healthy habits on test days. If there is a choice between an extra half hour of studying and an extra half hour of sleep, insist that your student opts for the Z’s; studies show that our brains operate best when we are well rested. Similarly, a healthy diet can make a real difference in your child’s test scores. Yogurt, eggs, and blueberries are great brain foods for the morning before a test, while nuts and cottage cheese are some of the best snacks to eat immediately beforehand.



Sylvan Stafford can help your child succeed by teaching them tips like the ones above and the fundamental Study Skills they need to pass their tests. They offer ACT Prep and SAT Prep to help set the right foundation for your student's success. Call to schedule your appointment today 540-602-2360 or CLICK HERE to find the right class for you and schedule online!