HARLINGEN — The numbers stare up at the young student, menacing, frightening, fighting to send fear down his spine.
However, the test taker firmly grips a pencil, the student’s most lethal weapon against math problems. He quickly defeats the numbers as his pencil banishes the question with an answer.
The student will do well on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR), the end-of-course exams or any other test because he’s come prepared.
Preparation is key, said Jose Luis Cavazos, director of the district’s Parental Involvement/Dropout Prevention Office. Parents can learn how to prepare their children for tests tomorrow by attending a workshop called, “Test Taking Tips for Parents.”
“It’s for parents from middle school to high school,” Cavazos said. “We will be going over exams. We’ll talk about tips and how to prepare for these tests.”
The workshop will take place at the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District Administration Office at 407 N. 77 Sunshine Strip. It will begin at 9 a.m. and should last between 1 1/2 to 2 hours, Cavazos said. The workshop is free.
At the workshop, parents will learn how to prepare their children by showing them clever test-taking tips, Cavazos said.
“We’ll teach them what to do to prepare for multiple choice questions through the process of elimination,” he said.
Parents also will learn strategies for answering questions about passages their children are reading in the test.
“When they read passages, they want to make sure they look for key words,” Cavazos said.
Test takers solving math problem must pay close attention to place values such as 1000s, 100s, and 10s. These place values can sometimes end up in the wrong place while solving problems. Therefore, students must remain vigilant about their proper placement.
Another thing Cavazos will tell parents is the importance of copying a problem onto scratch paper exactly as it’s written in the test.
The evening before the test, students should make sure they get plenty of sleep followed by a good breakfast the next morning.
“Think positive,” he said.
For more information, call the Parental Involvement/Dropout Prevention Office at 427-3515.
If you go
What: Test Taking Tips for Parents
Workshop to show parents of middle school and high school students how to prepare their children for
tests.
When: Feb. 6, 2016
Time: 9 a.m.
Where: Harlingen school district Administration Office
407 N. 77 Sunshine Strip.
Harlingen, Texas
For more information: 427-3515
