Anyone with test anxiety experience?

[Baliezer]

My daughter failed a test that she was well prepared for, twice. She took many practice tests at home, that she did really well on and had a tutor helping her. We are baffled as to what went wrong. I asked her if she got nervous and she said no. I also asked her how she thought she did and she said really good. The only thing I can think of is that she suffers from test anxiety. Anyone else experience this?

 

[SandrA9810]

Was it a multiple choice test? Or did she hand write her answers?

If she's using a scantron, it's easy to get it messed up. Sometimes it could be missing a question at the beginning of the test, and all the answers are shifted up one. Some students also have a problem with "which one of these is NOT..." or "all these are true EXCEPT".

If she's handwriting the tests, it's easy to go back and check her work. My bf gets excited when he thinks he's done well on a math test and then it comes back lower. We can go back over the answers to check his work to see where he messed up. Often times the numbers get switched around or he doesn't carry the negative sign all the way through.

 

[Baliezer]

Was it a multiple choice test? Or did she hand write her answers?

If she's using a scantron, it's easy to get it messed up. Sometimes it could be missing a question at the beginning of the test, and all the answers are shifted up one. Some students also have a problem with "which one of these is NOT..." or "all these are true EXCEPT".

If she's handwriting the tests, it's easy to go back and check her work. My bf gets excited when he thinks he's done well on a math test and then it comes back lower. We can go back over the answers to check his work to see where he messed up. Often times the numbers get switched around or he doesn't carry the negative sign all the way through.

The first time she used a scantron and the test is multiple choice. The second time it was on a computer. We cannot see what the questions and answers are. Only the number of wrong answers and what order they were in.

The weird thing is that she was consistent on the math score on both tests, and on the first test, she did ok on the reading comprehension and she failed it on the next.

I do not know how to help her if I don't know what went wrong.

 

[abdmom]

What grade and subject are the tests in? How is she doing in other subjects?

 

[Baliezer]

What grade and subject are the tests in? How is she doing in other subjects?

It is a national private school entrance exam. Her current school does not believe in tests, homework, grades...We are trying to get her out of that environment. She had months of preparation and practice tests.

 

[Baby Pluto]

I hope this doesn't sound rude of me, but is it possible she's failing them on purpose to avoid being accepted into the new school?
If I was her age again, her current school sounds like a gem (no homework?!) and the change would make me nervous. Have you spoken to her much at changing schools?

 

[Baliezer]

I hope this doesn't sound rude of me, but is it possible she's failing them on purpose to avoid being accepted into the new school?
If I was her age again, her current school sounds like a gem (no homework?!) and the change would make me nervous. Have you spoken to her much at changing schools?

Yes, I had a heart to heart with her before we even started. I asked her if she was really serious about going to the other school, I would do everything to help her.

When the first test came back with low scores, I asked her again if she was ok with going to the new school. To which she replied yes. I let her know that it was ok if she did not want to go, just let me know. She said she wanted to go. I continued on with the tutoring.

The only other choice in our area is public school. I looked into at the start of this year, and was sad to see a student teacher ratio of 32 to 1. Other parents in our area have expressed their concern about the public school as well. Saying that often students are lost in the mix and cannot get the help that they need.

 

[padams]

My daughter failed a test that she was well prepared for, twice. She took many practice tests at home, that she did really well on and had a tutor helping her. We are baffled as to what went wrong. I asked her if she got nervous and she said no. I also asked her how she thought she did and she said really good. The only thing I can think of is that she suffers from test anxiety. Anyone else experience this?

In taking the SSAT or the other private school placement test (can't think of the acronym), she is competing against the brightest kids in the world who are trying to gain admission to the most selective schools in the US, not just your local private school. Because the test is essentially curved like the SAT, her percentiles are going to be much lower than what she would receive on a standardized national test like the Iowas or a state public school standardized test. I know plenty of kids who score in the 90s on the Iowas, and struggle to break the 50s on the SSAT. The nature of the test is to differentiate those kids who score in the top 10 percent of the regular tests.

What materials are being used by the tutor to coach her? Often, the practice tests that can be purchased commercially are easier than the actual test questions. If she's nailing the practice materials and not the actual test, then I think the issue is your tutor and test prep materials, not test anxiety. Really, most kids that age don't have test anxiety. This generation is so tested in schools, that the process is routine.

If you don't know the score she needs for admission to the school in question, then I highly suggest you meet with the admissions person at the private school to find out the range of test scores normally accepted. You may be surprised that the scores will be lower than you think (unless of course, you're trying to get her into Exeter, Andover, etc).

I normally think the college confidential website is overwhelming but you can get some very helpful advice on its board for prep school admissions.

Good luck!

 

[laughinplace199]

OP, how old is your DD?

My DS11 took the ISEE exam this fall. He did well in most categories, but his reading comprehension wasn't as good as I expected it to be. When I showed it to his English teacher, she noticed that the "inference" category is where he struggled the most. Then she looked at his birthdate (late June)and said, "Well, that makes perfect sense. Inference is abstract thinking, which isn't fully developed until the age of 12. Your DS was only 11 for a few months when he took this test." I'm hoping that the schools he's applying to take this into account.

If your DD is young for her grade, as my DS is, that could be part of the problem. From the way you described your DD, it doesn't sound like she has any test anxiety.

What does the tutor say?

 

[Baliezer]

In taking the SSAT or the other private school placement test (can't think of the acronym), she is competing against the brightest kids in the world who are trying to gain admission to the most selective schools in the US, not just your local private school. Because the test is essentially curved like the SAT, her percentiles are going to be much lower than what she would receive on a standardized national test like the Iowas or a state public school standardized test. I know plenty of kids who score in the 90s on the Iowas, and struggle to break the 50s on the SSAT. The nature of the test is to differentiate those kids who score in the top 10 percent of the regular tests.

What materials are being used by the tutor to coach her? Often, the practice tests that can be purchased commercially are easier than the actual test questions. If she's nailing the practice materials and not the actual test, then I think the issue is your tutor and test prep materials, not test anxiety. Really, most kids that age don't have test anxiety. This generation is so tested in schools, that the process is routine.

If you don't know the score she needs for admission to the school in question, then I highly suggest you meet with the admissions person at the private school to find out the range of test scores normally accepted. You may be surprised that the scores will be lower than you think (unless of course, you're trying to get her into Exeter, Andover, etc).

I normally think the college confidential website is overwhelming but you can get some very helpful advice on its board for prep school admissions.

Good luck!

Thank you! I think this may very well be the case. I was told by someone outside of the school that specializes in admissions that her scores are only a part of the admission process. She has seen schools reject students with high scores and accept students with low scores. The school evaluates many other aspects before making their decision. I can only keep my fingers crossed. I did everything I could.

My younger two will be joining my oldest at this same school next year. I seriously hope I am not faced with her not being able to get in and watching all of her sisters attend. Not only would it break my heart, but I cannot imagine what it would do to her self esteem.

 

[Baliezer]

OP, how old is your DD?

My DS11 took the ISEE exam this fall. He did well in most categories, but his reading comprehension wasn't as good as I expected it to be. When I showed it to his English teacher, she noticed that the "inference" category is where he struggled the most. Then she looked at his birthdate (late June)and said, "Well, that makes perfect sense. Inference is abstract thinking, which isn't fully developed until the age of 12. Your DS was only 11 for a few months when he took this test." I'm hoping that the schools he's applying to take this into account.

If your DD is young for her grade, as my DS is, that could be part of the problem. From the way you described your DD, it doesn't sound like she has any test anxiety.

What does the tutor say?

She is completely baffled. When my dd 10, took the test the first time, we were able to figure out that she kept running out of time. So we worked with her on speed. I started quizing her daily on her multiplication facts, and getting her to answer faster and faster. This time she answered all of the questions with her answers without having to use the "c" method two minutes before test close.
She also worked a lot on Quizlet. She learned 400 possible words that could be on the test and played games with them daily. We had 6 different workbooks filled with practice tests.

 

[padams]

ISEE is the other test I was trying to name.

My DSs took the SSAT 3 and 5 years ago so my memory may be faulty. Isn't the SSAT scored like the regular SAT where you lose points when you get the questions wrong? In other words, it's better to leave the question blank than to guess incorrectly. If your dd was using the C method to complete the test, then I think she's needlessly lowering her score. Better to leave what she can't finish blank.

Is the ISEE scored like the SAT too?

 

[Baliezer]

ISEE is the other test I was trying to name.

My DSs took the SSAT 3 and 5 years ago so my memory may be faulty. Isn't the SSAT scored like the regular SAT where you lose points when you get the questions wrong? In other words, it's better to leave the question blank than to guess incorrectly. If your dd was using the C method to complete the test, then I think she's needlessly lowering her score. Better to leave what she can't finish blank.

Is the ISEE scored like the SAT too?

No with the ISEE you lose points for the questions not answered. So it is important to answer every question as to not lose points.

 

[kacaju]

My daughter failed a test that she was well prepared for, twice. She took many practice tests at home, that she did really well on and had a tutor helping her. We are baffled as to what went wrong. I asked her if she got nervous and she said no. I also asked her how she thought she did and she said really good. The only thing I can think of is that she suffers from test anxiety. Anyone else experience this?

My daughter can get anxiety over a test...but in her case (and I am sure it can all be different) she cannot take the test she goes into a panic attack...

She is a college freshman and she had it happen once...she could not leave her dorm to take the exam. It didn't help that the teacher told them if they didn't show up for class there is no make up you will fail.

Before the test would have been over she emailed the teacher and told them she had a panic attack and couldn't make it to class. The teacher (with an email from dd's therapist saying she really did suffer from this) did allow her to retake the test and she got a B+ on it

 

[Aliceacc]

It is a national private school entrance exam. Her current school does not believe in tests, homework, grades...We are trying to get her out of that environment. She had months of preparation and practice tests.

I would imagine that's probably a big part of the problem. If you don't typically take any sort of test, then any test-- much less one that she sees as determining her whole future-- is going to take on monumental proportions in your mind.