Testing has always been integral to education. Assessments help teachers know if educational goals are being met. They’re an indicator of what’s working in the classroom and what can be done differently. Testing also gives parents an independent measure of their child’s learning, helping to answer the question: How is my child doing in school? In Utah, year-end exams are administered each spring. Students in grades 3-8 take the RISE exam, and students in grades 9-10 take the ASPIRE Utah Plus test. How should students prepare? Practice for the tests students take is the instruction they receive throughout the school year — the skills and knowledge they acquire each day. There are a few things, however, families can do to make the best day out of test day:
- Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and eats a healthy breakfast.
- Make the morning of testing as relaxing as possible by arriving to school on time.
- Encourage children to focus and pace themselves without rushing. It’s important to take your time, and read each question carefully.
- Remind children that if the test questions seem hard, that means they’re doing well. The RISE test is computer adaptive, which means it adapts to the examinee’s abilities by proposing harder questions when a student gets something correct, and easier questions when the student gives a wrong answer.
- Familiarize yourself with the tests. The Utah State Board of Education makes information about RISE, including training and practice tests, available online. Information about Utah Aspire Plus can be found at this portal.
