Test Prep Reminders

Next week is a key week of tests and, as you have heard, Monday and Tuesday, March 20^th and 21^st will function on a late start bell schedule with 9^th and 10^th graders taking the English End of Course assessments and 11^th graders taking the ACT.  (Monday the 20^th will be the ACT registration steps and Tuesday will be the actual ACT test.)  I wanted to give you a few friendly reminders as you prepare to think about the tests.

Don’t stress yourself out over the tests.  Yes, there is a lot of focus on testing, but your test results are simply one snapshot of your abilities and do not define you.  Try to remember that it is not the end of the world if your results aren’t where you would want them to be and so simply go into the testing experience with a positive outlook and do the best that you can without stressing yourself out over it.

Get a good night’s sleep in the days leading up to the test.  So many of you function in an exhausted state of being and that can be particularly challenging when you are trying to focus so intently and move through material quickly as you will need to do on the ACT (and probably also the End of Course assessments).  This will not be news to you, but being tired makes it difficult to concentrate, it makes it easy to be distracted by other things (including the thought of how tired you are), and it leads many to feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.  Please, try to sleep – you need and deserve it.

Eat something on the morning of the tests.  I always feel like this is such a stupid, cliché thing to say to people prior to tests, but do you know how often I am meeting with students and can hear their stomachs growling?  This cannot be an ideal situation for testing.  So, even if you don’t want to focus on the fact that the food will help your brain and body have the nutrition it needs to perform at it’s optimal level, then at least look at it from the perspective that you won’t have to listen to your stomach growling for the hours of testing.

Academically, you are prepared for the tests and so I sincerely hope they will go well for you!