Terra Nova or other Standardized Test....do you Prep your Child for it?

[Longsx3]

Last year from January until March, when the test was given, DD (9) and I worked on a test prep book for the Terra Nova. DD did very well but I am not sure how much I attribute to the workbook. This year I have found an online program I am thinking about using for practice, it is not about learning the material it is about getting use to the format again.

I am just curious if anyone else does anything similar?

 

[mrsmom]

Our schools have a special class for that It's called flopo but i don't remember what it stands for right this minute but my kids do. They have alot of fun learning in this class .
Kim

 

[buddy&wooz]

Our schools spend at least 2 months teaching to these tests and doing little else - I don't see a need to do more.

 

[NMAmy]

No, I never did. DD always did very well on them when she was younger. I didn't see any reason to spend more time teaching to the test than was already being done at school. For home learning, we focused on things that interested dd that weren't necessarily taught in school.

 

[Nancy]

Our schools spend at least 2 months teaching to these tests and doing little else - I don't see a need to do more.

Yep! My 7th grader has state standardized testing this week. All they do is prep the kids in school, they only teach what will be on the tests and then they take practice tests from previous years for weeks before the test. We get letters sent home about how important it is for the kids to get a good nights sleep this week and how they need to have a good breakfast. Isn't it important to get a good nights sleep and good breakfast the rest of the year?

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

I did nothing to prepare my DD (7) to take her Terra Nova's although they did a review in class to prepare.

My DD got a 100 on her Terra Nova and that was partly responsible for her invitation this year to participate in our schools Gifted and Talented Program. So, at least in our district, the Terra Nova scores count alot.

 

[SC Minnie]

No we don't do extra prep work at home. The school does plenty in my opinion-- they spend weeks preparing for these things. DD has always done well on these test. I always hated them.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

when my kids were in Public School, the school used an online service called Study Island that published past test questions and they were to supposed to do so many sections a week of practicing. Also, in the Middle School the teacher would give 3 to 5 Math questions a day from old tests and usually covering topics that they weren't covering in class.

I can't tell you if it improved their scores or not. I guess it didn't hurt. I think the kids thought it was stupid and they would have rather been outside having fun rather than doing even more homework.

http://www.studyisland.com/

 

[Longsx3]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. One of the reasons we do the Prep work is at DD's school the do not teach to the test and they do not do practice tests at school. DD doesn't mind doing the prep so until she complains we will continue to do it.

As someone pointed out these test are used for indicators for many different programs, one being TAG, which DD is in. There are also some academic summer camps that require certain scores as well as some private schools if we happen to move back to the states.

 

[taximomfor4]

Never saw the need to prep for standardized tests...I would rather the kids do how they are going to do, so the school knows more honestly where to focus more.

I actually think the tests are a huge waste of time. My genius brother used to just make patterns on the answer sheets (did ROTTEN on the tests, obviously). An IQ test done independently got him into all the programs he wanted. I did the same with oldest dd. I dont' even mention the standardized tests to her, she does what she does. Some grades, the teachers assigned "prep" packets. The kids worked on them if they were bored or something, but I never made them do it. (Yep, I am a rebel. Dh is a public school teacher, but he isn't big on pushing our kids on those tests).

 

[BWVDenise]

Sorry but I see the Terra Nova test as a bunch of BUNK. My dd took it last year and scored in the 99th percentile for math. She currently has two tutors for math, goes to a "morning math" tutoring program at school, and is barely holding it together. Math is her most difficult subject. How could that test have possibly been right? Not.

 

[ElizaB39]

States also use these for the No Child Left Behind evaluations. Teachers are evaluated on how their students do and etc. We don't do any extra work at home they get enough in school. There is *some* importance to them.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I agree there is importance to the test, but a good deal of this "extra" work is just memorizing answers to past test questions -- not learning material. I question #1 how much better does that actually help a child to perform on a test and #2 What exactly is the point?

If a child is really interested in raising scores, or I guess raising their level of learning which is really more important --- wouldn't the time be better spent enriching their lives culturally or educationally rather than at a workbook filling in multiple choice answer sheets?

I just think an extra two hours a week at a local library or museum will do far more for a kid's brain than test prep of this sort.

 

[taximomfor4]

I agree there is importance to the test, but a good deal of this "extra" work is just memorizing answers to past test questions -- not learning material. I question #1 how much better does that actually help a child to perform on a test and #2 What exactly is the point?

If a child is really interested in raising scores, or I guess raising their level of learning which is really more important --- wouldn't the time be better spent enriching their lives culturally or educationally rather than at a workbook filling in multiple choice answer sheets?

I just think an extra two hours a week at a local library or museum will do far more for a kid's brain than test prep of this sort.

AMEN! That is the point that I went round and round instead of stating so clearly! DH (teacher) and I DO things, and talk about things, and show things, with our kids. Anyway, how smart a child is in a particular area is NOT always directly correlated to their scores on standardized tests. The tests are known to be culturally biased, some kids just don't test well, etc. In all the running I did several years ago dealing with my ADHD profoundly gifted dd, I learned some important facts. Often (VERY often), the smartest kids are NOT the straight A, top of the class students. And studies have shown that the most successful (drs, lawyers, etc) Americans tend to have above normal but NOT highly gifted test scores (125-135 IQ range). Just a little tidbit...thought it was interesting. We NEVER base our academic decisions and choices on grades alone.