As Testing Begins, Parents Can Help Students Be Ready

As school districts prepare for the start of state testing Monday, parents can help prepare students by encouraging good sleep and positivity.

Putnam County Schools Data and Testing Supervisor Jason Stickler said the most important thing a parent can do is encourage their child to get a good night’s rest the night before a test. He said parents can also help their child review material that will be covered on exams. He said testing can be stressful for some students, so it is important for parents to stay positive and instill confidence in students prior to testing.

“Taking their time on each assessment, reviewing the questions, knowing what the question is asking, remaining positive throughout each assessment, we believe are contributing factors to a student being successful on their test,” Stickler said.

Stickler said ensuring that a student eats a nutritious, balanced, breakfast the morning of a test can also make a world of difference. He said parents can view “Live Binders” on the Tennessee Department of Education website for in-depth information on how to prepare students.

“Sometimes what we see is students possibly rushing through the test and not taking their time,” Stickler said. “And so we encourage all of our students just to take their time, remain positive, look over the question, know what the question is asking before answering, going back and reviewing their work before submitting their test.”

He said Live Binders walk through test lengths and strategies. He said the website also contains past test questions so that parents and their children can get a feel for what each test looks like and work through practice questions before taking each assessment.

“Sometimes, that’s a difficult conversation,” Stickler said. “There is accountability built into these assessments. Not only for our district, but also our teachers and then, you know, if we get into third and fourth grade, definitely some accountability there. But again, this is just a great time for kids to demonstrate what they’ve learned.”

He said the majority of Putnam County Schools will begin with English testing next week. He said second through fifth grade will take tests on paper, while sixth through eighth-grade assessments will begin online.