April 26, 2012
Dear Parents,
The Terra Nova tests will be administered to students starting on Monday, April 30 and will continues throughout the week during morning sessions.
The Complete Battery measures skills in Reading, Language, Math, Science, Vocabulary, Language Mechanics, Spelling and Bible. The InView component adds Sequences, Analogies, Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reason – Words and Verbal Reasoning – Content.
The schedule for next week is as follows:
Monday
9 – 10 am Reading
Snack 10.00 – 10.20
10:25 – 11-00 – Language Skills
Tuesday
8.30 – 9.40am Math Test
Snack 9.40 – 10.00
10.00 – 10.45 – Science test
Wednesday
8.30 – 8.50am – Vocab
9.00 – 9.15am – Language Mechanics
Snack 9.15 – 9.40
9.45 – 10.00am – Spelling
Thursday
8.30 – 8.50am – Math Computation
9.15 – 9.40am – Bible
Snack 9.45 – 10.10
10:15 – 10:35 – Sequencing
10:45 – 11:05 – Analogies
Friday
8:30 – 8:55 – Quantitative Reasoning
9:15- 9:35 – Verbal Reasoning Words
Snack 9.45 – 10.05
10.10 – 10.35 – Verbal Reasoning Context
You are probably wondering how you can help your child prepare for the upcoming tests.
1. Be sure your child comes to school each day well rested and on time.
2. Make sure they have a healthy breakfast before coming to school.
3. Reinforce the idea that testing is just another part of their school experience and reduce any anxiety they may have. Share with him/her that the purpose of the test is to find out which skills have been mastered and which skills need further development. There is no material to study, although you may review the practice tests done previously with your child.
4. If your child is a very nervous test-taker, have her do deep breathing exercises before the test. She can take a deep breath and count to ten. Then have her take shorter deep breaths in between passages or sections of the test — counting to three only. This exercise is fast and simple, but it really works!
5. Pack him a light nutritious snack, but avoid salty foods that may make him thirsty later in the testing session. You can send water with your child however, if they get thirsty during the test. They will not be allowed to get water from the water fountain during test times.
6. Finally, tell your child that the test will have some difficult questions on it. All of the questions are not supposed to be easy. Explain that he may not be able to answer all of the questions, and that’s expected. All he can do is try his best, and that’s okay!
The only materials needed are two sharpened # 2 pencils with good erasers, a ruler, and a handheld sharpener and a good book to read for the in between times. You can also send a bottle of water and a jacket/sweater with your child in case he/she becomes cold during test times.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Ms. Suckoo