Seven Test
Taking Tips for your Child with Special Needs
By Indartiningsih
Will your child be
taking standardized tests this spring? I don’t know about you, but I remember
test taking in school. It still makes my stomach hurt. Our children are exposed
to test taking from a very early age. Tests can induce a barrage of responses from
anxiety, to sleeplessness, to outbursts to lack of appetite. Having a few great
tips for test taking can minimize anxiety levels and really give your kids an
edge on being a great test taker. Ilena Danneman (2015) said, lets take a look:
1. Minimize test
talk
My biggest concern
with test taking is the impact from parents and teachers who are overly
concerned with testing. This filters down to children and can really send
across the wrong message.
We want great
learners. Testing has its place, but be sure that your conversations are
centered on learning more than test taking. Remind them that test taking is not
always an indication of how much they know but how well they express their
knowledge and follow directions (Kaplan, 1982).
It is also an
indicator as to how well their teacher and school prepared them, so it is a
test for the school too and they are helping their school be a better school by
doing their very best. With that said, testing is a part of school and an ounce
of preparation can go far.
2. Prepare
If your child has
regular tests or needs help with test preparations, help them set up a schedule
to spread out the preparation so they are doing a bit each day and not cramming
the night before. This is a great lesson for life in general and can not only
minimize stress but also really impact how well they perform. It also teaches
them organizational skills and responsibility (Lakhsita, 1992).
In addition,
preparing the day of a test, with a good breakfast and some swing, exercise or
heavy work can really improve their mood and ability to perform with focus and
attention. Make sure your child goes to the test prepared with pencils,
erasers, paper and a pencil topper as well! (Robert Jannis, 1982)
3. Comfort Zone
Is the testing
area conducive to test taking? Sit down and talk with your teachers if your
child has particular needs. Do they need a carrel, wiggle cushion, weighted vest or headphones to perform better? Maybe a timer would help them stay on task? All of
these can make a difference in comfort and thus in performance.
4. Take Your Time
Remind your child
to fill in bubbles properly, read direction carefully, read questions
carefully, thinking of the answer first, and to review all answer choices from
their own answer.
5. Get Up and Move
Find out if your
child will get a sensory or movement break. Encourage the school to allow these
for your children. Even a walk to the bathroom in-between sections can make a
difference as can a few jumping jacks or chair pushups.
6. Sleep Tight
Make sure your
children get a good night sleep the night before a test. Eliminate screen time,
video games, sweets and caffeine the night before. A warm bath can help as
well. If your child benefits from weight or pressure, a weighted blanket may just do the
trick.
7. Funny can be functional
Tell your child a
joke on the way to school. Watch a funny video the morning of the test. Remind
them of something funny you both experienced. Get their mood up! An elevated spirit can really make
a difference and put things into the proper perspective.
Anxiety often occurs to student with special
needs while socializing. Up to present, anxiety on student with special needs
is difficult to record properly due to the limited assessment instrument.
Incorrect measures to detect anxiety on Student with special needs may disrupt
their socialization process (Setiawan and Astuti, 2018).
So, the right test will be needed.
Preference
Ari Setiawan
and Widi Astuti. 2018. Development of Children's Anxiety Test Special Needs.
Proceeding International
Seminar on Education Innovation
Issues and Challenges in Education for Education Sustainability Universitas
Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa .
Ilea Danneman. 2015. Seven Test Taking
Tips for your Child with Special Needs. Parenting , Special Education.
www.friendshipcircle.org
Garnida, Dadang. 2017. Modul Pembinaan Karier Guru
Tunagrahita Kelompok Kompetensi A, Pedagogik: Karakteristik Anak Berkebutuhan
Khusus Profesional: Konsep Dasar Program Pengembangan Diri Anak Tunagrahita. Bandung:
PPPPTK TK dan PLB Bandung.
Kaplan, Robert M. & Saccuzo, Daniss P. (1982). Psychological
testing: principles, application and issues. Monterey: Brooks Cole
Publisihing Company.
Lakshita, Nattaya. 2012. Belajar Bahasa Isyarat
untuk Anak Tunarungu (Dasar). Yogyakarta: Javalitera
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar