WIll this be on the test?

Sometimes my son's school will send home an announcement that indicates there is a round of standardized testing going on. More often than not, this message is brief, includes only an anagram of the name of the test (so that I get to look it up online later), and then asks that children get a good night's sleep before the test and that we parents encourage them to do their best.

It's not helpful, is what I am saying.

Besides the fact that I have to look up what the test is for, my son never wants to talk about the testing. It turns out that his reaction is completely fine, as this article on testing reminders lets me know.

The first tip on the list is one that I know we struggle with: Slowing down. My son wants to get the test over with, so he tends to plow through it and not check his work. This leads to mistakes (of course) and then he gets upset with himself when he makes mistakes on things that he knows. He knows the answer to this problem is for him to slow down and check his work, but I am not sure when he will actually be able to build that into a habit on his own.

For the most part, my son does fine on tests. And while that is all good and dandy now, I recognize that at some point he will need to learn how to prepare for them more as he gets older - whether that is studying more, relaxation techniques or just a healthy attitude.

I just hope that when we get to that point, the school will be better about explaining the tests to parents so we understand what our children are up against.

How many standardized tests does your child take in a year? Leave the number in the comments.