Kentucky students in elementary, middle and high school must take several standardized tests, including the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress. These exams, also known as K-PREP, help schools assess student abilities and readiness to graduate to the next grade level.
What to expect
Students in grades 3 through 11 must take K-PREP testing on reading, mathematics, science and social studies. Those in 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 11th grades also take a writing portion of the exam. A student's regular grades may indicate what their scores will be on the K-PREP. For example, if your son is having difficulty in science, he is likely to show that by earning lower scores on the standardized testing. Have him seek tutoring or extra help from the teacher long before the K-PREP to improve his understanding, and better his grades and scores.
The importance of the K-PREP
Districts use K-PREP scores to measure school accountability, keep track of student learning and ensure educators succeed in their teaching methods. The K-PREP also prepares students to move from one grade level to the next and eventually on to postsecondary education. Teachers whose classes frequently earn low scores in particular areas can adjust their methods to dig deeper into the subject at hand and better ready students for the K-PREP testing.
Students prepare all year
As Kentucky teachers ready their curricula for the upcoming year, they base what topics to cover on the information necessary to succeed on the K-PREP. This means all the daily homework, projects, quizzes and tests your children work so hard on all have a unifying goal: readying them for standardized testing. You will find, though, that some students become so anxious about the K-PREP that they forget what they've learned or take far too much time to complete the exam. To mitigate that risk, your kids can try practice tests. The practice exams offer example questions similar to those students will encounter on the test. Getting familiar with the format and answer sheets may reduce your children's anxiety.
Make sure you know the dates of your children's tests and that you don't schedule any appointments or vacations during that time. Provide your children with healthy snacks and an ample breakfast on the day of the K-PREP testing, as this will give them the energy necessary to make it through the exams.
