Teaching kids about accuracy.

vkm 2011-03-14 21:07:43

Hi all,

I have a 6 year old daughter who is in first grade this year. She is academically good, but I have seen that during a test, she always gets 2-3 wrong answers because she is either not reading the question properly or not paying attention to the question. The tests are just regular academic test for her level. She can give a correct answer right away if you ask her the same question some other time. She doesn’t seems to be motivated regarding accuracy. And doesn’t understand the importance of being correct all the time in a test. How I should react when I see this problem? If I praise her for getting 8 out of 10 correct, she will think whatever she did was great but if I tell her I’m not happy, she might be discouraged. What can I do to help her in this situation?

RoshMom 2011-03-15 06:48:03

Hi Vkm,

It's not possible to get all correct all the time, Sometimes we do make mistakes. If you say to her you are disappointed, then she might get scared of taking risks and may not explore further while learning. She might also be afraid of making mistakes. In my opinion she should understand that it's ok to make mistakes. You can always encourage her saying "I am proud of you that you got 8. I know very well that you could have got perfect 10. Shall we check why you got them wrong." then sit with her and check whether she is able to answer. as long as she knows how to solve the problem or answer the question, i think you don't have to worry as learning the concept is more important than scoring marks. after all she is only in 1st grade and let her not feel the pressure in scoring marks while learning.

Sanjusmom 2011-03-15 10:35:20

I agree with RoshMom, you should be giving importance to learning right now. Children learn as they grow up and will change accordingly.

vkm 2011-03-15 17:53:24

Thank you very much for your response. I appreciate your input.

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