HOW TO HELP YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER PREPARE FOR THE TEST
Help your child identify his or her priorities.
There are two reasons to do this. First, it’s a good to idea to verify that your child actually wants to attend one of the specialized
high schools and is prepared to make the accompanying commitment. Second, if your child identifies what she or he wants from this
process, his or her motivation is likely to be clearer. Consequently, she or he may feel more control over the application and test-
taking process.
Help your child design and maintain a study schedule.
This is a self-study book. Self-study requires a lot of self-discipline—not a quality for which eighth graders are generally known.
Creating a schedule will increase your child’s chance of working through and deriving the benefit from the entire book. You know
your child and consequently know how much supervision she or he needs to stick to the schedule. A little supervision and prodding
can help keep a lot of students on track. Of course, too much oversight can become oppressive for all parties.
Let your child know that you understand that this process is stressful.
The bottom line is that this is a difficult, high-stakes test. Preparing to take it can be extraordinarily stressful. While the high stakes
can provide motivation, they can also induce fear—which can be paralyzing. Encourage your child to read Section 4: Ready, Set,
Go! Make sure that your child realizes that it will be disappointing, but not the end of the world, if he or she does not gain admission
to one of the specialized high schools.