TIPS:
1. Get plenty of rest, sleep by 9 pm is a very smart idea.
2. Eat a good breakfast, avoid sugary cereal. If you just HATE breakfast,
toast or a muffin will help.
3. Bring a 'healthy snack.' I've go over this with the students:
A. Unsweetened cereal, cheese, crackers, cooked meat/fish on crackers,
nuts, cold pasta, etc.
B. The students may have water throughout the test, it must be kept on the
floor.
Drink for snack should be unsweetened juice or water.
C. No sushi, no refrigeration available!
4. Most surprisingly, the teacher will make available gum chewing during test
for those students that want it. STUDENTS MAY NOT BRING GUM! Why? See here:
http://www.komotv.com/news/archive/4086151.html
5. Aside from the food/sleep questions, here are the things that
parents/students should prepare for the test, you can't 'study' for these:
PARENTS:
· Set your own standards. Make sure your child knows it’s important to take
the test seriously, follow the rules, and do his or her best.
· Are you ready? Check to make sure your child has the correct kind of
pencils. (2-3 #2 sharpened pencils)
· Early to bed. A good night’s sleep is very important the night before a
big test. Most of the children need at least 10 hours of sleep to perform
their best.
· Prepare a good breakfast. Test morning is not the time for a high-sugar
snack – or no breakfast at all. A nutritious and filling breakfast is a
must.
· Keep things in focus. Standardized tests are just one of the ways that
schools evaluate children’s abilities. Don’t believe or let your child
believe that poor test results mark him or her as a failure.
STUDENTS:
· Take it seriously. Schools use standardized tests as a way to identify
students’ strengths and weaknesses, so do your best.
· Relax. Try not to be nervous before the test. Take a few deep breaths.
Close your eyes for a moment and tell yourself to just stay calm and
focused.
· Listen up. Pay lose attention to the teacher’s instructions and carefully
read the test instructions to make sure you understand exactly what
you’re supposed to do.
· On your mark, get set – whoa. There’s no need to rush, so take your time
before answering each question.
· Watch out for tricks. On multiple choice tests, consider all the choices
before selecting the one best answer. Beware of choices that are close to
the right answer – but aren’t.
· Keep track. Make sure that you match the number of your answer to the
question number on your answer sheet. When answering question #3, fill in
the #3 circle on the answer sheet.
· Doodle bugs. Completely erase incorrect or accidental pencil marks so the
sensor doesn’t record them as answers.
· Double jeopardy. Make sure you haven’t accidentally filled in two answers
for the same question.
· Move on. If you’re having a hard time with one question, leave it and go
on to the other questions. Come back later to the hard one – if there is
time.
· Change it. As a rule, you should stick with your first answer. But if
you’ve thought about it afterward, and now think that another answer is
better, go ahead and change it.