Keep a positive, relaxed attitude in the classroom: Even if a school exam's stakes are higher for you, the teacher, than your students, expressing worry or frustration will transfer these emotions to them.
Ask the students to close their eyes and envision them taking the test. Tell them to imagine that they are confident, prepared and ready to solve the problems. Instruct them to envision success the night before and the morning of the exam.
Throw a small breakfast party with healthy treats before the exam to generate a feeling of excitement for an otherwise stressful event.
Provide test-taking tips to students. Teach them basic multiple choice skills, like crossing out answers they know to be incorrect, skipping the questions they do not know and double-checking math problems by plugging in the answer options.
For word problems, tell them to underline significant words or phrases like "greater than" or "least likely."
Remind them to create a quick outline for all essay questions which consist of an introduction, main points and conclusion. Tell them to jot ideas on scratch before committing it to the test booklet.
Hillsboro County Public Schools stresses practicing sustained reading for a period of time. Hand out reading passages and give sample questions which relate to critical thinking skills and understanding main points.
Get parents involved with the test preparation. Send a letter asking parents to put their children to bed early and give them a good breakfast. In the note, express your desire that they help their children develop effective study techniques, like studying in a well-lighted area with minimal distractions around them.
If a sample of the standardized test is unavailable, provide prior homework and exams. Because many students either lose or discard their homework, make a set available for them to review. Provide step-by-step instructions on how to solve math problems. Highlight any difficult vocabulary words in reading passages and provide the definition.
Instruct the students to circle any difficult problems to review in class.
Give review sessions the week before the test. Within the old homework sets and tests or practice standardized test, highlight difficult problems to review with the class. Go over these questions and ask the students if they do not understand how to do the problem.
If no student asks how to do a problem, call on students individually and ask which ones they wish to review. Instead of asking which ones "they do not know how to do," ask which ones they have "forgotten" how to do.