My teen daughter gets anxious about tests. Standardized tests are no exception. But I confess that I was still taken aback when I was driving her to a practice SAT test at Academic Approach a few Saturdays ago.\u00a0 As we wound our way through the tree-lined neighborhood near the office, I offhandedly asked, \u201cHow are you feeling about this?\u201d and expected to get a shrug or comment about the early hour in return. That didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
Instead, she replied, \u201cI\u2019m nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
And she said it in her small voice, the one that breaks my heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s a practice test. Not low stakes, this is no stakes. No biggie. What\u2019s going on?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Turns out that, whether it counts or not, she\u2019s pretty intimidated by long hours of testing on 12th<\/sup>-grade level reading passages and complicated math in pretty regulated conditions. \u00a0Fair enough. Academic Approach does a good job of making it feel like the real thing.<\/p>\n As I watched her walk in, I sent her all my positive en Turns out that she did pretty well on that practice test, as her Academic Approach tutor Hannah was happy to report the next day. My daughter was even happier to hear that she has improved considerably from her first practice test.<\/p>\n When we sat down the three of us, we were able to talk a bit about my girl\u2019s confidence, or lack thereof, and make a game plan for getting her to a better place before both the next practice test and the real test.<\/p>\n That plan involved \u2013 surprise, surprise – more practice. Coming from Hannah, that sounded reasonable, because she explained why.<\/p>\n Practice proves to her that she knows what she\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n Practice builds confidence. And it also leads to better reading technique and familiarity with the math problems, which I expected would come from tutoring.<\/p>\n The skills that I did not expect but that have also come from tutoring and practice include experience regulating emotions when encountering a challenge, appreciation of the importance of positive self-talk, and the knowledge that you don’t have to be perfect all the time to have self-confidence.<\/p>\n I love that all these skills that will serve her well not just on standardized testing but in the classroom and in life. What she\u2019s learning has both short-term and long-term benefits.<\/p>\n This week, my girl took the PSAT.<\/p>\n When I asked her how she was feeling about it the day before the test, she said, \u201cI got this.\u201d<\/p>\n She said it in her confident voice, the one that makes my heart soar.<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d I said, surprised and in a moment of total parental fail.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d she said, seemingly unphased by my surprise. I\u2019d be worried if I hadn\u2019t seen my scores go up. But I know that I\u2019m getting better and I know that with two practices tests I\u2019ve taken and the mini-practice tests Hannah has had me do for my homework, I know that it\u2019s not a fluke.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that she knows what each section is, how much time she has on each, and how to pace herself. \u201cLast year, I had no game plan. I do know, but it\u2019s all from Hannah. She gave me strategies, and we\u2019ve adjusted them to work with my quirks. So I know I got this.\u201d<\/p>\n This makes me so glad. Glad that she\u2019s not nervous. Glad that her confidence is growing, Glad that we have Hannah and Academic Approach. Glad that we have a few more practice tests ahead before the SAT and glad that her confidence and mastery will both continue to grow.<\/p>\n Prior Post:<\/strong> How parents can handle teen eye rolls<\/a><\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss a post!<\/span> Please subscribe to Between Us Parents\u2019 completely safe, spam-free email list in the box in the top right corner of the page!<\/span><\/p>\n Please like Between Us Parents on<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Facebook<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n You can also find us on<\/span>\u00a0Pinterest<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0Twitter<\/span><\/a>, and<\/span>\u00a0Instagram<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Pin for later:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/fullsizeoutput_32b7-640x488.jpeg\")
<\/a>ergy and I couldn\u2019t help but wonder what if this had been the actual SAT test. I know that nerves are normal, but this felt like a bit more than just a few little butterflies bouncing around in her stomach. She wasn\u2019t in a great mindset to blow it out of the water.<\/p>\n
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