5 year old worried about tests

[FennyBridges]

Hello. My 5 year old boy has been having tummy aches and today he's off school with it. I have a doctor's app later. Generally he loves school. He's a strong reader, well liked and very well behaved. I asked him if anything was worrying him (as he got to the school gates when he began crying about a sudden tummy pain) and he said he's worried about tests and how you have to guess, and if you guess wrong you don't get any marks. He said it's not about reading it's about guessing. He mentioned on Sunday he didn't like tests but he said it was because you have to be quiet.

His school is lovely as is his teacher. But I was hoping some of you might have advice for me in dealing with this. I have phoned the school and his teacher is ringing me back today. Hopefully.

Thanks :-)

Think the school is approaching this badly and obviously your son is now worried by this. . When DD was in year 1 she didn't even know she had done her phonics test and it was the same in yr 2 - sats were underplayed - she just filled in a booklet. No stress, no fuss.

I just spoke to the teacher and he says he doesn't call them tests he calls them 'challenges'. There's obviously no flies on my son. The school is fantastic so it's not that I wanted to berate the school (Gove and Morgan maybe) it was more looking for advice for children predisposed to anxiety.

Why does he think they are tests? What kind of "tests" are they doing in Y1 that requires him to guess? It sounds very odd!

I think it's quite worrying that he can get so worried about test/challenges at 5 he has physical symptom.. Either he is really competitive that he doesn't like any mistakes, or school is putting too much pressure on children to get answer right. Anyways, I think you need to find out why and sort it out for your ds. There is something clearly wrong.

Well apparently there are multiple choice tests in Year 1. They are assessed every half term. He was not aware that the phonics test was a test because he took a 'mock' one in January, passed it, and was unaware of both of those facts.

I wonder if a tummy ache was coincidental. He sometimes gets constipated and, after two weeks off, probably isn't going for a poo in the toilets at school. He isn't competitive but he doesn't like making mistakes. I was hoping a primary teacher might shed more light about how they speak to such young children and conduct tests. Clearly it isn't in an exam hall - but someone like me cannot imagine how you get 30 children to stay silent for a test, don't help them (because clearly it's a test) and get them to actually focus.

It's an assessment to see where if any the gaps are in their knowledge -

It's not pass or fail - but tells the teachers where to target/work on the next stage

You need to tell him that it's for his teachers

There aren't any statutory tests in Y1 (Phonics screening check should be under five minutes in June and is there to identify those children who need some extra input not to test).
Obviously the school has chosen to introduce "challenges" and it's good you've made the teacher aware how they are worrying your child.

My DD hates the idea of failing. I didn't realise how bad it was until she was given a reading eggs subscription from school and we sat down for her to do the placement test. She didn't want to do it because she might get something wrong.

It took explaining to her that it wasn't something you could fail, but rather it was about the computer working out what you already knew so that it could decide what you needed to be taught. This worked so I have been doing something similar to explain all other tests she might come across. it's all about finding out what you already know so you don't need to be taught it again...

Thank you. Some really good phrases for me to use here. Tests are for teachers to see what the next steps for you are. And finding out what you know so you don't have to be taught again.

I don't know where he picked up hating the idea of failing. Except from my genes, lol.

I teach year 2 and we have plenty of tests that we have to do. I tell my children that the tests tell me what they know and what we need more practice on. I also have the motto of 'do your best' and we have plenty of chats about it all.I also do some funny role play at the start of the year where I pretend to panic and get upset and they give me advice. Unfortunately year 2 now involves lots of tests and assessments so we spend time getting them prepared for that.

You sound like a lovely teacher. The role play is such a good idea! I hope his year 2 teacher is like you!

I think all this testing in year 2 is just nonsense. Children shouldn't have to be coached in dealing with anxiety about tests at that age.