OP here: It sounds like it's largely the schools putting on this test pressure. I question for whose benefit it really is. I doubt it's for the kids. What a shame. I hope my kid can still learn for the love of learning and not to ace a test to help prep for a standardized state test to make the school look good....

My dd has math fact test once a week, she's in first grade, theyre timed tests, then he word sorts are also timed. She told me that she feels stressed. Breaks my heart, we hate to see her so pressured, and it's not coming from us. We're I'm n. Arlington.

My 1st grader has spelling, math, and social studies tests every week. Spelling we study for each night Mon-Th, the math we don't study for (it is based on what they do that week), and the social studies we just review on the night before the test.

Thankfully, my son doesn't get too worked up re: the test (thank goodness) but it they drive DH and me nuts.

6:56 PP - I agree w 7:18 that freaking out is extreme. In most schools, the curriculum is geared for an 'average' kid at that age. It is one size fits all. if you are struggling, you need to consider that your kid is not at the average level. This may be ok as kids learn at different rates and eventually most converge to the average. I would absolutely not freak out. I would just consider it as information tied to a broader picture related to an LD.

I mentioned my two kids, one with ADHD. This child would have received 0 correct without study. It was important for to this kid to get most of the words right like the other kids, so we studied way harder than suggested. Also, I have no doubt that our child would have missed all the words a week of two later. Gradually, by repetition, DCs reading improved and I now think it was worth the effort. Reading is very key to learning in later grades. These sites words are key to establishing reading fluency.

OP,

It's nice that you want the child to find their own motivation for it, but generally speaking that doesn't happen, especially with a 6 or a 7 year-old.

The "freaking out" is a little extreme, but I think most parents understand they have to teach homework and study habits at home. That's really what this is about -- preparing these kids for later grades, not the actual work and grades themselves.

It's an investment of time and effort that can pay dividends in 4th Grade when homework can top an hour a night and procrastination is more deadly.

Sure. They are trying to get the kids to read and one of the tactics is to have them learn 100 site words. For some kids, like my older child, this came easily with very little effort. For other kids, like my younger child, this was huge study effort resulting in always getting 2-3 wrong. Every kid is different. For some kids it is about maturity. In our case, this and other concerns led us to testing and an eventual diagnosis of ADHD that resulted in an IEP. The point is that every kid is different. I would suggest studying for the test in a reasonable way, not putting emphasis on results, and just doing your best. If you think there is a problem relative to the other kids, then think about evaluating for a learning disability.

Our first graded has a weekly spelling test. Not a big deal at all. We maybe go over words once at home but mostly they just use them in class alot during the week. Only thing I don't like is the treat given to those who do we'll. now that is where I've seen tears - so unnecessary!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What level of spelling words are they learning anyway in 1st grade?

We have a "first hundred sight words" list. Under each word there is a check list for read and spell. At some point my child will be tested on those.

My daughter had these in K in private school in VA. She had to learn them by the end of the year. She's in 3rd now and has at least 2 tests/quizzes a week - one usually being a reading assessment. She has an hour of homework a night, too.

She's not stressed, as we don't make a big deal out of it, but there are so many emails on the listserv that it makes me wonder how these parents make it through each day.

Good luck with having her find her own motivation. You might luck out. Probably not.

Ds is in 1st grade in MoCo-words this week are down, little, where, are-and he will have an assessment on Friday to see how many of these he can spell. It's no big deal and we just go over them a few nights this week to see if he can spell/read them. I know a lot of parents in his grade and none of them are freaking out about-but mots parents at our school are fairly laid back and reasonable