End the cycle of Fluctuating practice test score
Fluctuating scores from practice papers can be frustrating for both you and your child but you can end the cycle now!
Any Exam season is a time that is quite stressful for both you and your child. There are many emotions that are experienced especially when the results of the practice papers are going on a rollercoaster. This creates a cycle when both you and your child take the results for face value without considering the many other factors affecting the scores.
The cycle can begin at any of the points in the image above but let's begin with the decrease in the test score. What happens? Looking at the results both you and your child get frustrated which is the bad mood of the result. Followed by a decrease in your child's motivation. Followed by the lack of desire to study and this perpetuates the cycle of your child's grades fluctuating.
What causes the cycle of fluctuating scores?
The Environment
While you may try to mimic an exam condition for your child to complete their practice papers, sometimes it's very difficult as there are many distractions in the environment that takes away from your child's focus. Therefore, the distractions in the environment such as the noise levels, movement in the surroundings and even the smell from cooking or baking can affect how your child performs in their practice papers.
Your Child's Mood
How your child feels directly affects how they perform. This is why it is essential for your child to engage in regular activities to boost their mood. Playing is your child's first and best language. Encourage your child to have playtime and explore their creativity. Music is also a great and quick way to boost your child's mood before they get into their studies or complete a practice paper.
The Time of Day
Your child's energy level is affected by the time of day. In the morning there is a boost of energy and it is cooler. As the day progresses, the heat increases and this makes it more challenging for your child to focus. In the night, this is the winding down period for your child as they would have exerted their energy in online classes and other activities they would have engaged in. The morning is the best time for your child to practice past papers as their energy levels will be high and there may be less noise and distractions in their environment.
Your Child's Stress Levels
The season is extremely stressful where in addition to their daily online classes, there is the addition of lessons, studying, reading and completing past paper questions. Therefore, it is essential for you to create a plan so that your child can de-stress as often as possible.
How to put an end to this stressful cycle?
Encourage creative self-expression
Creative self-expression is where your child engages in activities that help them to explore as well as express their ideas, feelings or personality through colors, craft, poetry, music, cloth and any other means of creative art forms in a healthy, positive and productive manner.
Schedule Regular De-stressors
A de-stressor is a means of reducing stress and scheduling your child to practice these activities will help improve their mood to better perform in their practice past papers. Some activities that can form part of your child's de-stressor activities include grounding exercises, mindful coloring, deep breathing exercises, creating puppets or stress balls.
Ensure your child understands the concepts behind each question
While the fluctuating grades are not a direct representation of your child's knowledge, it is important that you ascertain that your child understands the principles behind questions with a similar nature which can present itself differently at times.
Help your child develop a positive mindset towards exams
You'd hear the saying that everything begins in the mind and that's a fact! How your child perceives exams, a particular subject and the individual topics all determine how your child will approach each. A positive mindset is a foundation for having a growth mindset which helps your child to have a change in perspective towards a subject or topic. Instead of thinking that a particular subject or topic is hard, they would approach it in a different manner as they try to grasp the concepts to learn best. Additionally, one of the main underlying factors of stress and anxiety is negative thoughts. When your child learns to control their thoughts, this will help them to have control of how they feel (their mood) which affects their performance thus reducing the occurrence of fluctuating scores in practice past papers.
Develop a pre-exam coping strategy with your child
A pre-exam strategy is a set of activities that your child does in order to maintain their calm, composure and confidence before any exam. It can last 5 to 10 minutes. A strategy may consist of favorite music, breathing exercises and any activity that makes your child feel their best to perform well in their practice and the real test.
The season is stressful but you do not need to endure it alone. Do you want support for your child during this exam season? We have a digital product "Sailing Smoothly to SEA exams" for your child to benefit from.
The benefits include
✅Calm and confidence for exams
✅Positively cope with the stress of exam preparation
✅Motivation and focus to continue studies
✅Positive mindset and attitude towards their studies
✅Improved mood during their studies
✅Engage in creative self-expression
✅ Success in exams
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