Dear Parents,
When we come back from spring vacation, we will be taking our annual SAT tests. We take these tests to get an outside evaluation of student performance and academic development. These kinds of tests can point out student strengths and weaknesses, but they are not an end all. In other words, there is more to adjudicating a child’s development than a single standardized measurement. Some students do well at answering questions when they come in a certain format; others can adapt to a different format more easily. As a result, with some students there can be a disparity between report card grades and SAT results.
Standardized tests evaluate a wide range of subjects and analyze the components of those subjects. For instance, math is broken down into math problem solving and math procedures. Math problem solving is then broken down into it components, some of which are number sense, patterns, statistics, geometry, estimation, and reasoning. Each student is assessed in these subcategories. So, the particulars of standardized tests are many, thus pointing out where students are academically strong and where they need to improve.
One test that is often overlooked is listening. All students through the 8th grade take a listening test. In the early years of life, listening ties into reading comprehension. From birth to about 4 or 5, children learn to comprehend words solely by what they hear. Then as they learn to read, they begin to comprehend words based on what they hear and based on what they read. Listening skills in the formative years builds the foundation for reading comprehension.
But listening skills can also display a student’s level of attentiveness. Some students are very capable of succeeding in their academics, but they do not pay attention well. Their lack of attentiveness causes them to hear only part of the information the teacher presents. They do not follow instructions, do their work incorrectly, or both. Typically, they do not perform well. But then their lack of attentiveness turns into a pattern, which often shows up on the SAT test. In almost every situation, lack of attention is due to choice (I am not a believer in ADD.), which ties into submissiveness and humility—what the student thinks about his role and who is in charge: the parent, the teacher, or himself. Listening is also an exercise in self-control, choosing to focus the mind and choosing to value what is presented despite tendencies in the opposite direction. There are other factors that influence listening skills, but the ones I have mentioned are primary.
Teaching listening skills starts at home. Teach your child to heed your words, to take your words seriously. Teach your children to obey your words right away, with the right attitude, and completely. Always require attentiveness and follow through, both in academics and in the routines of life.
All in all, I see the SAT tests as valuable. But they are only a tool, a tool that can be used as one means of evaluating student performance and development. When we come back from spring vacation, we will take our SATs.
Sincerely,
Pastor Sutton