Grade School Counselor's Corner

Computerized Kansas State Assessments to Begin

 

Kansas state computerized assessments are coming once again to the grade school.  Only the sixth grade reading assessment will be taken before Spring Break. The rest of the assessments will be taken after the break.  We add two new assessments this year, 4^th grade science and 5^th grade social studies.  Your child may be telling you about the formative testing that is going on right now.  These tests are good practice for the actual state assessments.

Third grade students will be taking state assessments in math and reading.  Fourth grade students will be taking assessments in math, reading, and science.  Fifth grade students will take assessments in math, reading, writing, and social studies.  Sixth graders will take assessments in math and reading.

Alexa  Posny, Kansas Commissioner of Education, offers the following tips to help students reduce anxiety as they prepare for the Kansas State Assessments:

•       Encourage children to take these tests seriously.  However, don’t become too anxious about a child’s test score; too much emphasis on a test score can be upsetting.  Additionally, test scores are not perfect measures of what a child can do.

•       Space studying over days or weeks.  There is no need for children to “cram” the night before testing, as it may only increase their anxiety which interferes with clear thinking.

•        Have the child get a good night’s sleep.

•       Have the child look quickly at the entire assessment to see what types of questions are included.  This also helps children understand how to pace themselves.

•       Stress the importance of reading the directions carefully and reading each question carefully.  Additionally, if the child doesn’t understand the directions, he or she should ask the teacher to explain.

•       Ask the child to give their best guess instead of leaving questions unanswered. 

The commissioner goes on to remind us that encouragement and praise are important in helping the children feel good about themselves and this leads to children doing their very best on the test.

We look forward to another successful year in testing.  The children and teachers have been working hard in preparation.  We appreciate your help as your child enters this challenging, yet rewarding, time of testing.