The matter a lot. It’s part of a larger picture of how your child is doing. A lot of getting “good grades” in elementary school is about their ability to follow directions, stay on task, complete classwork, be accurate and pay attention to what they are doing. Then there are tests which show mastery, and standardized tests which compares them with other kids of the same age/grade. It all matters. While these little things may seem insignificant now- a child that has problems staying on task and following the directions to assignments in elementary school will often move on to struggle later too. Now is the time when they are building the skills to be successful students.

Test scores are a proxy for how good my kid's school is.

Grades are an indication of how hard my kid is trying.

A lot of kids hate these long standardized tests and they just stop caring. Ask her to rate her effort after each one: don’t judge just ask.

I try not to stress about test scores as long as the trend is ok. My kids are 90+ % on everything so far. I do look at grades and assignments to make sure they are understanding what they are doing and building good study and work habits. That's the important part. Especially late ES and early middle is for learning to work through things they may find challenging. My one kid tends to lose focus on easier things so we work on that. The other is a perfectionist so takes a long time and doesn't always finish work in time.

They matter very much because they help identify any issues. In an American elementary school, any functional kid should have excellent grades, because the primary curriculum teaches to the lowest common denominator. Test scores will depend on intelligence and academic preparedness. If the grades are good but the test scores are low, the kid is diligent but perhaps not highly intelligent or not interested in reading or math. If the grades are low and the score is high, the kid has natural intelligence but is not paying attention in class. If everything is low, there's definitely a problem that needs to be addressed. If everything is high - kudos, your kid is doing well.
This is a bird's eye view, over the span of several years of grades and test scores, of course. Kids being young, one data point is meaningless because they could very well have completely spaced out for that one.

Veteran teacher here. Do not worry about test scores. They give so many standardized tests now that kids have trouble sustaining effort. Some of the test questions are poorly designed and I have trouble guessing what they want. Other kids can be distracting, your kid can be tired or hungry or rushing to get to recess. Sometimes kids hit answer online without meaning to and they can’t go back. It’s hard to sit at a computer desk and have room to use scratch paper, so kids just guess. I’ve seen it all.

Never stress kids about these scores. Teachers review them when they get them and don’t think about them again, unless the child is clearly struggling.

Worry instead about teaching your child to do their best and be a good human.

Anonymous wrote:Test scores matter more to me than grades. So much fluff goes into grades like a grade for attendance, for participation, for having your notebook, for homework completion, etc, but not so much on the actual skill or standard being taught. Therefore, it does not show mastery. Test scores, however, shows mastery, so those matter more to me.

I am a teacher and a parent

+1 I care more about standardized test scores than grades for the same reason. My kids had bad elementary teachers who gave top grades to any student who had a pulse, and other even worse elementary teachers who gave out grades based on favoritism. Even when some parents pushed back on standardized testing I'm glad the schools kept it.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t put much stock in variable performance on standardized tests in ES. An off day can look like a disaster rather than what it was - getting sick, distracted by a classmate, etc.

I trust the teacher - if you are worried, reach out and say “this test score seems lower than I would expect. Does it match what you see in class?” If she says your kid is doing fine, that’s as far as I would take it.

Except for times that matter - like spring 4/fall 5th for MS lotteries in MCPS. I admit to watching the previous test like a hawk to make sure my kid doesn’t miss out on a chance at a good thing.

During elementary (since grades don't "matter"!) I would never reach out to a teacher over 1 low test score , if the kid was otherwise doing fine. Ask the kid and test her yourself with a couple of example problems at home. If she is struggling, by all means reach out to the teacher for suggestions and support. Just IMO

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Test scores matter more to me than grades. So much fluff goes into grades like a grade for attendance, for participation, for having your notebook, for homework completion, etc, but not so much on the actual skill or standard being taught. Therefore, it does not show mastery. Test scores, however, shows mastery, so those matter more to me.

I am a teacher and a parent

OP here. Our grades are not that way (she's in 5th). There are tons of assignments, tests and quizzes. Literally nothing is for participation only. They are graded on attendance either.

DDs grades are the same. Just homework, tests, quizzes, project.
To me, it depends on why she got a low score. If she struggled with the material, fine, let's figure out why. If she knows the content, but did poorly on the test (usual MO), did she rush? Did she understand the question and answer all parts? Does she needs to be reminded to review and check her work? Did the teacher mark her down for illegible writing? Yes, I am sometimes upset that she gets 80% on a math test when she knows 100% of the material. I am not happy she struggles with reading tests, but she genuinely struggles with the subject and just needs a lot more practice and encouragement.

At that age, I just care if they have good "work habits" grades (they get marked on work habits, peer relations, and adult relations). Standarized testing is valuable to see if they are behind, on track, or ahead, but that's about the extent of it.

I don’t put much stock in variable performance on standardized tests in ES. An off day can look like a disaster rather than what it was - getting sick, distracted by a classmate, etc.

I trust the teacher - if you are worried, reach out and say “this test score seems lower than I would expect. Does it match what you see in class?” If she says your kid is doing fine, that’s as far as I would take it.

Except for times that matter - like spring 4/fall 5th for MS lotteries in MCPS. I admit to watching the previous test like a hawk to make sure my kid doesn’t miss out on a chance at a good thing.

Anonymous wrote:Test scores matter more to me than grades. So much fluff goes into grades like a grade for attendance, for participation, for having your notebook, for homework completion, etc, but not so much on the actual skill or standard being taught. Therefore, it does not show mastery. Test scores, however, shows mastery, so those matter more to me.

I am a teacher and a parent

OP here. Our grades are not that way (she's in 5th). There are tons of assignments, tests and quizzes. Literally nothing is for participation only. They are graded on attendance either.

not much

Test scores matter more to me than grades. So much fluff goes into grades like a grade for attendance, for participation, for having your notebook, for homework completion, etc, but not so much on the actual skill or standard being taught. Therefore, it does not show mastery. Test scores, however, shows mastery, so those matter more to me.

I am a teacher and a parent

In elementary school, how much do grades and test scores matter to you? My DD's grades are usually good, but her test scores are more volatile. I'm a recovering perfectionist, so trying really hard not to project on her.