Look over previous exams, and determine which concepts are the most difficult. Mathematics is a cumulative subject, so it’s important that your child understands all of the concepts from the previous exam if they are to succeed in their next exam. Every time your child comes home with a corrected exam that demonstrates gaps in their understanding, so it’s important that you take the time to help them correct the incorrect problems. This will ensure that they don’t fall too far behind throughout the year.
Look over the chapters covered in the exam together, and help your child study. Usually there is a test at the end of each chapter or two that is covered in class. Whenever your child has a test coming up, you want to be sure to go over the different kinds of problems that will be covered in the test. Oftentimes, there are practice tests given at the end of each chapter. These are great for children to do when they are studying for the test, as they tend to cover all the concepts that the child will be tested on.
Help your child find a great tutor. If you don’t have the time or the knowledge to be your child’s tutor, or if your child just simply isn’t open to letting you help them, then you may want to look into finding a tutor. It’s important that your child trusts their tutor and that they develop a good rapport. If you are having trouble finding a good tutor for your child within your community, you should definitely look intoonline tutoring. You’ll find a much wider selection of tutors, and the distance can make it easier for your child to feel comfortable.
Offer rewards for good scores, but don’t punish the bad scores. If you really want to take the pressure off of your child, then it’s important that they don’t feel like they will be punished if they don’t do well. If you know that your child studied and tried their best, then it’s important that you don’t punish them for their struggles. Instead, offer incentives for doing well. These incentives should be rewards that they don’t normally have access to, so that way they don’t feel like normal privileges are being taken away.
Determine whether or not your child would benefit from an individualized education plan. Some kids have a lot of anxiety when taking tests, simply because the environmental conditions are not conducive to a high level of concentration for them. You can hold a meeting and work with the child’s teacher and the school therapist to determine if there are certain conditions that would reduce their anxiety, such as extended time, preferential seating, or the ability to be alone in the room. You would be surprised by how much a very slight change in atmosphere can improve your child’s performance when testing.
