Primary school students in Standards 1 and 3 throughout Trinidad & Tobago took the National Test yesterday. The National Test is a standardized exam administered in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. According to the Ministry of Education, National Test has these purposes:
Gather information for decision-making at the school, district and national levels.
Identify areas of the system that require further investigation.
Identify national norms.
Compare students’ performance by school and educational districts.
Track students’ progress through school.
While the purposes of National Test seem logical and necessary, there remains some danger in their administration. Standardized testing can encourage teachers to "teach to test" while failing to develop their students' critical thinking skills. National Test, much like other standardized such as the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), can also put harmful pressure on students. Teachers and principals want students to do well because the scores reflect on their work. Parents want students to do well because they view the test as a marker of progress.
However, this pressure can be detreimental to some students. The day before this year's SEA examniations, a 13-year-old student who was supposed to take the test committed suicide. His medical record and other factors leading up to the suicide are, of course, sealed, but it's not hard to imagine.
The child was 13 and therefore should've been in Form 1 and not Standard 5. He might've been a repeater or kept back due to poor marks at an earlier stage. He might've been recieving pressure at home to do well. He might've been suffering from depression which was exasperated by all these factors. It's not an unlikely or unheard of story.
One of our students, Ivory, is in Standard 1 and she took the National Test yesterday as well. We began working with Ivory in April and her parents were concerned about the upcoming National Test; they, of course, wanted her to do well. Ivory's mother happily purchased a pack of National Test past papers, which she handed over to me. Ivory and I used these papers, but they weren't our sole focus.
That is not to say that Ivory and I didn't do any revision of schoolwork; I helped her with her homework daily and came up with exercises for her to get practice in the areas where her skill was level was low. We also read lots of books, spoke critically about what we read, played games, like Scrabble, and worked on arts and crafts projects. The idea is that Ivory needed to be exposed to as much as possible in our small workroom - the space created for her success. These scores don't reflect mastery of test taking, but a genuine improvement. According to Ivory's mother, "She's speaking better!"
Now, for the practical: head over to Reading Rockets for some tips on how to help you child prepare for a test. Hint: The first thing they tell you to do as a parent is take a deep breath and step away from the flashcards. :)
Best,
Zahra