PARENT TO PARENT

Q: I have two children in high school now. One of them is continuing to do well, but the other seems to have developed some problems. His teacher told me that he may have a disability called test anxiety, since he does well on his class work but is failing most of his tests. With the EOG, I'm afraid he won't be promoted to the next grade level. How can I help him?

A: Many children do suffer from test anxiety and it is a serious issue. I have not, however, seen it manifest itself suddenly, in the later years of school.

Your first concern should be to determine if your son is really suffering from a debilitating level of anxiety directly before and during testing (this is test anxiety). Many students in high school fall into a learning pattern that mimics the symptoms of test anxiety, but their real problem is often poor study habits. This I have seen show up in the junior and senior high years -- much too frequently as of late.

When children are in elementary school, homework is often checked by parents and graded by the teachers, so children learn from doing their class work. Teachers in junior high start to pull back, while trying to instill in the students their responsibility to themselves. Homework is assigned for the student's sake. It is, ultimately, the responsibility of the student to complete the assignment properly. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. Many students learn quite early that they will receive full credit for homework, just for trying -- and they are more than happy to put anything on the paper, just so it looks good, and get the easy A from the teacher. I have seen students come into the tutor center with homework assignments completely finished, and virtually every math problem wrong! What amazes me most is that they will argue with me when I suggest they start over and do it right, so they will learn something. Many -- and I mean a whole lot -- of students insist that they don't have to do that, they will get full credit for their attempts even if everything is wrong, and the teacher goes over it in class so they can correct it at that time. When I ask them what good it is, since they won't learn anything, they patiently explain to me that they are to do their homework for the grade, and they will get that, so that's it. Precious few of the students actually begin doing homework properly.

The end result of all this is simple -- A's on class work and home work assignments and F's on tests. This is exactly what one would expect from a child suffering from severe anxiety, but for a very different reason.

Of all the issues I deal with at the tutor center, doing homework properly is the most difficult.

I would like to suggest you start with a little research. Look through some of your son's old homework assignments, specifically ones with check marks on them. I have a feeling you (and many other parents) may be shocked to find pages of assignments that have more incorrect information than correct, but full credit has been given for the work.

The second important step is control your anger. I say this because the vast majority of parents who find out their children are getting A's for junk become furious -- either with the student, or the teacher, or both. First, it is unfair to get angry with a student who is ultimately doing what they were told to do -- make the grades. Second, it is even more unfair to be angry with a teacher who is actually doing a good job.

As much as we like to think of our high school students as children, as much as we want to help them and protect them, we are doing them no great service if we don't allow them time to adjust to the adult world. A teen aged high school student is more than old enough to take on some responsibility for his or her own actions. In the end, if a student refuses to take the time to do the home work properly, they will flunk. The tests are supposed to do just that -- test the student to see what they have learned. A student who puts any old thing down on homework assignments will get an honest and fair test grade -- an F -- since nothing was actually learned. Tests are not the learning experiences; class work, reading assignments, homework and notes are for learning. Tests are for checking to be sure the knowledge is being absorbed.

I know this sounds simple and should be quite obvious, but a quick check with today's students will reveal that a vast number of them just don't see it this way.

You may be able to help your son simply by helping him take more responsibility for doing assignments properly, and learning from them.

If your son does, indeed, do well on his assignments and does seem to learn but freezes in a test situation, then go ahead and make an appointment with his counselor. Any anxiety that is severe enough to be debilitating is a serious issue, and I would strongly recommend finding your son some help to overcome the problem. I do not recommend special testing procedures, as this just avoids the issue. Look for ways to help him define his fears, face them and work through them. This is a set of skills that will help him the rest of his life.

I hope this helps, and good luck,
Michele