How to Prepare Children for Tests

It is that time of year again, when children up and down the country are thinking ahead to their tests. I’m not going to harp on too much about how I believe that children should be out playing and having fun, rather than thinking about test conditions, test results and having too much pressure but on them. I am going to share some of the tips we find useful for this time though.

For the purpose of this post, I am going to presume that for school related SATs, that there has been the conversation about the test scores mattering more to the school and being an indication of the worth of the school and teachers, rather than the child. I feel very strongly that children should not be put under undue pressure to perform in a test that should have no bearing on their future.

These tips are also going to work differently for each individual student. There will be some children, whether younger children or whatever the child’s age, that really worry in advance of tests and some that will barely give them a second thought. You will know the best way to expect how will your child feel.

Keep busy the weekend before

Try not to focus too much on what is ahead. Your child may need something to distract them from what they are feeling. How well they are distracted could rely on the age of the child. Y2 SATs children tend have much lower stress levels than Y6 older children. We tend to stick to our usual weekend activities of football and rugby/swimming as it is really difficult to think of anything else when you are playing sport. The tiredness young children feel after physical activity will also make them have a much better sleep that night. Which leads me onto:

Early Night

I know every child’s teacher will also thank me for this one. Its the advice they hand out all the time and the only time all my 3 have ever agreed to have an early night and hopefully a good night’s sleep. No matter how I have tried though, I’ve never managed to get them asleep for that magic 7.30PM that is always suggested. We don’t stress about it, we just try to keep the house calm and quiet the evening before tests in the hope that sleep might arrive and the kids get enough sleep.

We encourage a relaxing bath and set aside special bathbombs so the child feels they are getting a bit of pampering.

The Day of the Test

There’s no denying that the very first morning of tests, your child will be feeling some butterflies especially if this is the first time, they’ve ever sat ‘proper tests’. But there are a number of ways you can try to ease test anxiety:

Keep Calm

The calmer you are as parents or carers, the calmer your child will be. I’d also add that if a child’s teacher is calm, then their class is likely to behave in a similar way but this is out of our control.

Good time keeping

The morning of the test is truly the only mornings during school life that we have ever been completely organised. We leave enough time for getting ready, having a chat about how the child feels and arrive at the child’s school in plenty of time.

Good Breakfast

Let the child choose a special breakfast – Test days for school-age children are all about making the child feel important and not putting too much emphasis on the actual testing process, but building their confidence.

The journey to school

We certainly don’t do many test papers or practice exam questions in the days leading up to the tests but experience has shown me that children want to feel they know everything. My girls have asked before now to go through their times tables or spellings. We definitely concentrate on the easier spellings or times tables that the child is confident in. The last thing you want to do is send a child into the testing room first thing, feeling unconfident.

The children might also want to talk through the actual test process and format of the test. Their teachers will have done this with them a million times but sometimes they just want to show you that they are comfortable with a particular subject and discuss the different methods that the test will place. Just let them talk!

What they can take into school

Primary schools used to let children take in teddies and sweets on testing days but at ours, Covid has put paid to that (plus I don’t think the teachers wanted the kids getting sugar crazy!) I will admit that Tara will be taking in a small teddy in her bag that she can just give a quick cuddle before the test.

Tara has also asked if she can have a squirt of my perfume every morning so she will be smelling lovely!

My friend Amanda has a theory that smelling half a lemon gets the brain working, so plenty of T’s class will be taking half a lemon in a food bag and having a quick sniff before their tests. Whatever it takes – there are no wrong answers with these tips if it makes the children feel more positive!

Reassurance

I thought long and hard about including this one as I would hate to come across as patronising – Its more a reminder for me to remind my kids often that we don’t worry about a good score and test results but want them to be proud of themselves for working hard and trying their best. If there is a particular subject that they are feeling nervous about, you may have focussed on this slightly more before the tests. Motherhood offers advice on building your child’s Foundation Maths Skills that you may find useful.

You will know your child. If you think they are showing signs of anxiety, you may find reading some of these books with them useful.

Organise Fun Things for afterwards

We already know that on the last test day, we are having a Nandos for tea as requested by Tara. We will also go for a kick about on our local field with her friends where they can run about, have fun and get back to being children. These children need something to look forward to – it doesn’t have to be expensive, simple fun is best!

Best of luck to everyone – Lets look forward to the rest of the school year and the School Residential Trip! If your children are older and looking forward to end of high school, you might find this post on saving money on prom useful after those dreaded GCSE’s.

If you are looking for exam advise for teens and older children, Helen at Actually Mummy has looked at How to Cope with Exam Stress including covering this on her Teenage Kicks Podcast and Sally from Who’s the Mummy looks at When is the best time to start revising for GCSEs.