While final exams once seemed to be an unpleasant rite of passage for high school students, they are now common forms of assessment for almost every grade level! With the rise of standardized testing in the attempt to make all schools equal, most elementary, middle, and high school students are required to complete an array of final exams during their twelve years in public schools.
While many children and teens manage the stress of finals through their own strategies and tactics, some students need a bit more support. Finals can provoke stress and text anxiety and spike student mood and behavior issues. If problematic behaviors or signs of anxiety arise, parents can easily intervene to help provide their son or daughter with positive encouragement and test preparation support.
Elementary Final Exams
While many elementary schools often require students to take a final exam at the end of the semester or school year, many of these final exams do not actually impact a child鈥檚 grade; therefore, final exams at the elementary level should not be over-stressed or too greatly emphasized.
Final exams at the elementary level tend to be standardized tests that are developed by curriculum experts, and they are normally given in order to assess the teacher鈥檚 progress and the average student performance rate, in addition to providing test result information that can determine whether or not a specific student needs serious intervention strategies.
As The Elementary Standardized Test Preparation resource reveals,
鈥淪tandardized tests are important and with new policies regarding retention and summer school, the stakes for the students have increased considerably. We believe students should be taught both the content area skills measured by the tests and also appropriate test-taking strategies to enhance their performance on standardized tests.鈥
Normally, elementary school teachers clearly explain testing policies, guidelines, and procedures; therefore, the best support parents can offer to their young children is to be positive and encouraging.
As the Chicago Public Schools further assert,
鈥淲e believe that there is a need to improve student confidence and attitudes about testing and increase their motivation for doing well on the tests.鈥
Parents can simply engage in a dialogue about the child鈥檚 feelings before a test to encourage young kids. By asking a student if they鈥檙e nervous or have any concerns or questions, a child becomes more aware of the upcoming test, while parents can interact with their children to provide feedback and answer questions.
Ultimately, children should enter into their elementary class final exam feeling confident, and they should not exhibit feelings that appear to be overly anxious or nervous. If these behaviors occur, parents should speak with their child鈥檚 teacher as soon as possible to discuss intervention strategies.
This video offers a look at how 4th-grade teachers work.
High School and Middle School Final Exams
Most middle school subjects, in addition to nearly every high school course, require that students complete a final exam. In fact, most high schools today actually require that teachers provide students with a final exam and even designate that a certain percentage of the final course grade is influenced by the final exam score.
As a result of this trend, high school students today face intense pressures around the end of each term. Similarly, as final exams are gradually more common in middle school classes, these adolescents also face mounting pressures around exam time. Oftentimes, as the final exam strongly impacts a student鈥檚 overall course grade, the final exam can even determine whether or not a struggling student passes or fails the class!
While many teens like to demonstrate their independence and authority, parents can still intervene and offer support through various strategies.
This video offers suggestions on how to prepare for final exams.
Learn what your child鈥檚 weakest subjects are.
Keep track of your child鈥檚 progress reports and report cards, and if you find that they are consistently performing poorly in a specific class, then intervene to help them master the subject material. You may need to spend time each day helping them understand the concepts they learned in class, send them to a tutor, or work with their teacher in scheduling after-school help. Perhaps your child can join a 鈥渟tudy group鈥 with other students from the class.
Make studying rewarding.
While final exams are serious, you can make studying fun and rewarding for your children. After studying for a few hours, you can perhaps treat them to a 鈥渂reak鈥 at the local ice cream shop.
Be proactive in their studying.
Each child鈥檚 need for parental involvement may be different, but you can always be proactive in helping them study. For example, you can give them pop quizzes based on their study materials. You can also help them organize their studying process, which is certainly very beneficial for younger students. Show them how to highlight important parts of their notes, give them sticky notes to use as placeholders for important textbook material, and encourage them to create study sheets. This involvement will build study habits that will benefit them for years to come.
Keep in mind that many teens often reject various forms of parent involvement or support, as many teenagers often want to demonstrate various forms of rebellion and autonomy. Parents should be aware that meeting with the teen's teacher can overcome a teen鈥檚 refusal to cooperate. Teachers can often provide parents with studying tips and techniques and inform parents about extra-curricular tutoring or help sessions.
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