Private-independent school students are blessed in many ways. One of their advantages is the lack of state-mandated standardized tests that plague the public school sphere. Still, your students will serve their time filling in bubble sheets with #2 pencils when they take the SSAT or the ISEE for future private schooling, or even the SAT I & II and ACT tests for their college applications. (Side note: More students have taken the ACT than the SAT since 2012!)
Tests like these can weigh down students with imagined (and very real!) pressures to do well, affecting them both physically and psychologically. For example, students in New York spent part of their Common Core exam week sobbing and staging boycotts over the new testing standards due to the increased pressure of the new exams and the unexpectedly short testing period for which they had not trained. To avoid breakdowns like these, schools and teachers must create a positive, uplifting atmosphere in the classroom for this spring’s exam season.
But how to accomplish this? “Scholarteacher” asked a similar question in the online forum A to Z Teacher Stuff, looking for ways to motivate his third grade class during their testing period. Some of the suggestions included:
- passing out newly sharpened-pencils for each student as his or her own special test pencil;
- spraying calming scents to calm test jitters;
- relaxing the “no eating in class” rule to let them suck mints;
- dimming the lights in the room to help students relax when studying (or taking the exam!); and
- leading students through breathing exercises to help manage stressful situations.
Other teachers and schools have worked to accommodate the increased workload for students during this time of year. During its mandatory state testing time, White Station Middle School administrators schedule breaks to allow students to release some steam. They also encourage teachers to avoid giving large homework assignments or projects to ensure test-takers have enough sleep. While state testing isn’t an issue for most private-independent schools, perhaps these suggestions would work well during the AP or IB test weeks this May.
Ultimately, the point of any test is to evaluate what a student understands about a specific subject, so a standardized test is more an opportunity to “show off their smarts” than a thing to dread, says second-grade teacher Bob Krech. It’s an excellent reminder that tests should be something to anticipate with pleasure rather than avoid at all costs.
While each student’s test-taking experience will vary widely, keeping the atmosphere light and friendly while they work to score well will serve them—and your school—in the long run.
Additional ISM resources:
Private School News Vol. 9 No. 9 Teacher Anxiety Is Contagious
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol. 8 No. 4 A Dreary Classroom Is Cause for a Lawsuit
ISM Monthly Update for Admission Officers Vol. 9 No. 5 Reduce Stress and Increase Memory
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 36 No. 1 Advanced Placement: A Critical Study
I&P Vol. 25 No. 5 Linking Faculty Compensation to Performance
