My oldest DS is in first grade. All through kindergarten and the first half of first grade they really pushed the kids to do journal wiriting. They didn't care about exact spelling as long as phonetically the teacher could figure out what they were writing. Well now, all of a sudden, they have completely switched to correct spelling. My DS is having a terrible time with it. He is so used to spelling phonetically (since he's been doing it for 1 1/2 years) that it is a really hard transition for him to spell correctly. Of course I think he should be spelling words correctly and we are working on it but he gets really frustrated. I just don't understand why they push the kids so hard to write in kindergarten and why they push phonics so hard and then say 'sorry, now you have to spell correctly'. Is that extra year of writing really going to make a difference -- I don't think so.

They have also started doing timed math facts -- they have ONE MINUTE to complete a sheet of 20 adding or subtraction problems. They have to finish the whole sheet and not have any errors before they can move on to the next sheet. They keep doing the same sheet over and over until they can finish and have all of them correct. My DS is good at math, but the time factor seems to upset him. He usually gets all the answers correct, but doesn't finish in time (like 3 or 4 short). I guess he's going to know his 2's very well because he's done that sheet about 6 or 8 times now.

I've talked to his teacher and she says DS is doing fine and not to worry. I questioned why they do these things and her answer was, 'Because the county curriculum requires it'. I was expecting a more educated answer about how it was going to help my child learn better, but I guess that is not the case.

I know I'm not going to change the world here, but I just can't understand why kids are being pressured so much at a young age to learn things. DH & I never did any of these things in first grade and I we turned out ok. Oh and don't even get me started on the homework. I NEVER had any homework until maybe middle school and then it was whatever I didn't finish in class. Why does a 6 year old need an hour of homework each night. He should be outside playing and running off steam, not stuck at the table doing mindless worksheets. Half the time DS comes home from school saying they watched videos or played games -- I wish they would do the work sheets at school and then he could play games and watch videos at HOME!!!

Thanks for letting me vent!!!

I hear ya! I have a kindergartener and a 2nd grader. I am a "no homework" mom. My kids are in school from 8:40 til 3:40 and that's PLENTY of school time. They've already cut a lot of PE and music so they should teach our children better in the time alloted. I tell teachers at the beginning of the year that I don't make my kids do homework. School is for school and home is for family. Just like I don't want DH doing work at home. Keep it separate. As it is, we only have 4 hours once we get home to cook dinner, eat, read, bathe, after school activities and then homework before bed. No thanks. I mean, colleges aren't going to go "billy didn't do his homework in the 2nd grade...". I know I didn't get homework til 4th grade and I was burnt out on it before high school (when it counts). At least my kids do well in school so the mark down on homework isn't too bad. Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't. It's up to them. We work at home on school related stuff too because my kids enjoy it (I know....weird). So we get extra practice time in lieu of homework.

My son is doing the timed facts now in 2nd grade and he HATES being timed for anything. He wigs out. He gives up halfway thru because of the pressure. That's okay with me. He's 7....he's gotta enough to worry about other than getting his math facts in 1 minute. He KNOWS them and that's the important thing. If he can do them untimed than I am happy. They do the timing thing because of tests, etc. Tests don't mean squat to me and frankly I think most of the school budget is wasted on getting kids "ready" for the almighty tests that determine the school level. It's a joke.

Sorry for the hijack!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Sexysmurf I wish I had your attitude. I think it's great. Sounds like you know what you want and you get it. I admire that.

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I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

Life! is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.

lets just hope my kids don't lose out on anything because of my attitude. My MIL is a teacher and agrees with me as well.

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Sexysmurf- How do your kids do with the punishments for not having their homework? At our children's school there are definite punishments for not having their homework - No recess - having to stay after school- being excluded from special lunches and so on. At their school is is an issue if homework is not completed to be reviewed in class.

I'm surprised they haven't been doing the timed math facts all year. My DS is a 1st grader also. They have been practicing their timed math facts since the beginning of the year. My kid is stuck on one page. I think he's tried 7 times now.

Spelling is part of the whole package too. DS has words each week for a spelling test plus he has the quick as a snap words he has to know and gets tested on each quarter. I think there are about 200 words on his list that he by the end of the year he has to be able read, write and spell.


At th beginning of the year DS's teacher gave us the standards for California schools so that we would have a heads up for what the kids "have" to know by the end of the year. I'm sure each state is different.

For Math they have to know all sums add/subtract to 20 by memory.

I actually like the homework( I say that now knowing I'll hate it in jr high and HS). It helps me know what they are learning and if my kid is keeping up with the school work. That way I can spend extra time with him on something if he's having trouble. His homework is an overview of what they learned that day. We get a packet on Monday and has pages for each day to turn in on friday.

I would talk to your kid's teacher and find out what the standards are for the year. I think the way they are soing the journal is crazy. It should have been a gradual change from phonetics to actual spelling. The math facts should have been gradual as well.

Hope things get better and less frustrating for your kiddo!

so far, not punishment...just a lower grade in the "homework" section of the report card. If there was punishment...I would fight it

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

OP, if teacher says that your child is doing fine; why worry!? I think that sometimes first graders can translate things in their own way and bring on a lot of pressure to themselves that really isn't there. It is important for him to be more aware of his spelling and teachers each have their own ways of lowering the stress on timed tests... I imagine that given time, it will work out and he'll relax! My DS is now in 3rd grade and no longer stresses about timed tests... they want them to memorize the facts and not use fingers, etc.

In regards to the other subject (!), unfortunately, in our school, homework grades count toward report card grades so if they don't turn in a homework assignment, they get a 0% in the gradebook. Homework is NOT graded separately.

I agree with you so much smurf. I am a wanna-be-no-homework mom as well and I'm a stay-at-home mom -- can't even imagine how families with both parents working do it!

BUT, we have had to do it because of the grades. *sigh* It ALL stems back to standardized testing and that our schools/teacher get more money if they do well on the tests. Google for 'No Child Left Behind'... FUN, FUN, FUN!!! So back-a$$-ward!!!

In our area, they keep on adding a half-hour a day of school each year (last two years; I think they are done doing that!) and cutting the arts but they do NOT cut the homework.

Hopefully, it will get better as the kids get older... in our town 6th grade has a Study Hall last period so most *homework* gets done there. Thankfully.

I'm not willing to homeschool so we play by NCLB rules... The teacher's hands are tied -- federal legislation (GWBush signed).

I will NEVER go back into teaching unless NCLB goes away but that is probably not going to happen... (PS I taught First Grade and Kindergarten for 9 years before NCLB).

Sadly school in my opinion has become a struggle for many students becuase of what someone sat down and decided they have to know.

My elementary school is now offering over school tutoring in preparation for the tests they need to take. (PSSA's etc)It ridciulious, my son's class has not had all their recess time becuase one 20 minute recess is now being devoted to "pre test skill". ( tests will be taken late in March....and this started right after Christmas...oh wait can't call it that, Winter Break!)

Students who they fear will perform poorly were offered after school tutoring ...twice a week from 3:30 to 5:30 so now their school day is 8:50 until 5:30 with one 20 minute break to run around.... Our school always performs well on these test and it means more money for the school, but in my opinion it really is not a true evaluation of how the school is teaching.... if you spend weeks preparing and teaching what will be on the test, how can the students do badly? No wonder todays children are under so much stress.... but don't be sick becuase attendance also determines the amount of money the school will get......

I have a 4th and 5th grader had the only first grade teacher that did timed math tests. I have helped every year in their classes and you can really tell the children that had that teacher. They are usually at the top in math. It helps so much for the children to have their math facts memorized.

I also hate homework and would vote to get rid of it.

Wow, this is interesting, I have twins in first grade (separate classes), and neither of them are doing ANY timed math worksheets! They do writers workshop, every day I believe, for maybe.... 10-15 minutes each day. As far as homework is concerned, each month, they bring home their "homework notebokk," which has a sheet of 16 activities in it. They have about 3 weeks or so to get their homework done, and then must return their notebook at the end of the month. It's then checked, and returned to the student w/ their NEW month homework assignments stapled in the front. Also, each day, they have daily reading to do, about 20-30 minutes worth, and that must be recorded in their daily reading log, then returned to school each day.

As far as spelling goes, each week they are given a list of 10 spelling words they must know for their weekly (Friday) tests. My kids also do phoenetic spelling, which surprised me as I never did that when I was in school. So far, I haven't heard anything about them having to switch over to regular spelling, or whatever it's called.

Our district sounds less demanding than all of yours.... Maybe this is a very bad thing, for my kids!

Suzanne

P.S. I would NEVER be in favor of school days from 7:30 - 5:30, that is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long!! But that said, I don't think I would do well AT ALL for homeschooling.

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

The reading standards in my daughter's first grade class went up this year. My daughter went from knowing 3 words at the end of kindergarten, (I, a, and) to us being told she HAS TO KNOW the 31 memory words ASAP in 1st grade. We were a little overwhelmed. They are introducing new word combinations weekly. My daughter doesn't like school, the teacher is wonderful but says by 1:00 the children don't want to learn anymore. The required reading material for the children to me seems more like end of 2nd grade year material. We do word flashcards at night when we can, we work on spelling words. and we are working on reading fluently. The teacher told me the district wanted to raise the standards on math, too, but felt this would be overwhelming to the teachers and children. Yes! it sure would have. I believe in homework for the children early on. It is done by both of us and is considered family time and is enjoyable actually. Learning is very important for children and I am not going to leave it up to the school district to do it. If my child doesn't understand something the teacher has to move on and my child will be left behind. This happened to my son in fourth grade.

Here's link to government website info on No Child Left Behind:

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml

Especially follow the "Stronger Accountability" link.

This is all federally mandated. No fun to read but it is what your children and teachers are up against.

Sorry for hijacking your hijack, but I just had to respond to this.

If you don't want your child to do the homework the teacher is assigning why don't you pull him out and homeschool him? So you have one child that does not do the work that ALL the other kids do; and he faces no consequences, what does that say? Oh...Johnny your mom says you don't have to follow the rules so that's ok???? These kids learn that they don't have to follow the rules because mom made a stink about it at school??? Sorry that's wrong. If you want family time, take his butt out of public school.

You also say he gets upset when he has to do timed assessments. What are you going to do next year when he has to take the 3rd grade state TIMED test? They have to pass these to move on to the next grade in my state. You can't just say...oh Johnny doesn't test well, he wigs out and gee, I don't want him to freak out. You can't just say that tests aren't important to you, they are important to his promotion to the next grade.

Its ok to feel this way about testing and homework, but then school him yourself. You are doing him and the rest of his class a disservice by pulling this stuff, not to mention that you make his teacher's job that much more difficult.

I don't expect my kids to get special treatment, and they don't....trust me. They take the hit on their report card just like everyone else who doesn't do it.

Actually, I AM a rule follower. More so than any other parent I know. Just because I don't support homework or timed testing doesn't mean I don't follow the rules. Don't make that assumption. If it's mandatory, they do it. Homework isn't mandatory.It's given and if you don't do it, you don't get a good grade on it. Period.

My child isn't the only one and I'm not the only parent who feels the way I do. In fact, many of the teachers I've talked with feel the same way. Why don't I homeschool? I shouldn't HAVE to homeschool. Are you saying that any family that values family time should homeschool? That doesn't make sense to me. If that works for you, that's fine. But that's not my take on it. I don't say "don't test my kid". He tests...doesn't like it and doesn't do well on them because of it. But he does them because the ARE required. The fact they ARE required is what bothers me. If the school mandated homework, I would tell my kids to do it or pull them out. It is an option at this point with a grade attached to it. He'll pass 2nd grade if he doesn't do his homework. Funny thing is, he usually does his homework.

I do not do any disservice to his class or teacher. He is one of the top children in his class (not that it matters). He does quite well. The children that can't write their names or read are a bit worse off and put the class at a greater disservice in my eyes.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Okay I am werid but I liked the timed math tests, my children had to know 50 in 5 min in 1st grade. I thought the teacher was a little hard, but really good. This was on the report card as mental math, the math grade was broken down into 2 parts! It makes a big different when they move on in school. You do have to know they like you know you name. It really helps to have the basic math facts down, they never change, 2+2 is always the same answer. If you ever heard of Kuman math they do they same math until the child masters it. I put my dd in it because of the timed test in school!


My children had 5 spelling words in kinder, and had 20 spelling words in 1st grade. One time in 1st grade, there was the word rookery, I told my dd that she wrote it down wrong on her list. But I learned a lesson that day that it is a real word!

Anybody else out there have to do things they don't want to to? SUCK IT UP! We are raising a bunch of kids who don't believe that rules apply to them because neither do their parents...

Incidentally, I am a first grade teacher, so I know what I speak of. I do not give hours of homework, 10 minutes per night (our district's policy is 10 minutes per night per grade level). It teaches kids responsibility and is intended as practice for what was previously learned. It helps parents know what kids are doing in school. I am a parent also--homework keeps me in the loop.

Unfortunately for all of us, our kids are required to know way more than we ever had to know. That's the way it goes; I don't agree, but unless you want to make your child's school years a living hell, I would suggest we all work together.

There is a direct correlation between academic success and support from home; they go hand in hand. Yes, it makes our jobs as parents more difficult, but the sooner you get on board with this, the easier things will be.


BTW, the use of videos, movies, etc. is out of control. I couldn't agree with you more. Teach...that is what you signed up for. I haven't shown a movie yet!

I also teach--high school math and science....if only ALL the kids knew their basic math facts!! This is really much more important then people realize. They should know them like they know the back of their hands--and know them quickly. In one of the HS math courses I taught last year, I had most of the students make flash cards to practice--even 2-3 min. a night--makes a HUGE difference. Many kids continue to not do as well in algebra and beyond as they could because they don't know very basci math skills. Some things just have to be memorized.

Wow....how totally well put. I am so there with you! I work for the school system here and that is exactly what goes on.

Sexysmurf......if the only hit your children are receiving is on the report card homework grade, then no, they're really not taking a hit. I've never seen a report card with a homework grade. In our school district, homework can be an accuracy grade or it may be an effort grade that's recorded along with all the other test grades and classwork grades. If my DD didn't do her homework in 8th grade, she'd be failing.

SexySmurf--I do not believe you are teaching your children anything about the real world by letting them "decide" if they want to do their homework or not.
Have you been to a college where there is no homework? Have you had a job where there is not a time you take something home to finish ?
You are also teaching them that not listening to the instructions of an adult is okay. I feel bad for your kids teachers. Maybe you don't realize the position that puts them in.
There may be a lot of pressure on kids these days, but gone are the days when a high school diploma got you the career of your choice.
You should home school.

I am a first grade teacher. My students are expected to write daily in their journals. I do not correct them for making spelling errors in their journals at all. If they continue to make the same errors over and over though I teach them how to spell the word(s) correctly in an indirect way. Journals are used to get them to write, think and read. They increase their reading ability believe it or not. My students love writing in them and are writing full pages or more in a college ruled spiral. I am very proud of their effort and let them know this so they write more and more to impress me. lol Spelling is very important as they learn more and more words in first grade. I expect them to be able to use and spell correctly all the words we have covered on spelling tests. There is a list of high frequency words they should know how to spell and read quickly. You can't sound out every word. Phonics instruction helps students begin to read and sound out words, however it is proven that children can read even though they don't know all their letter sounds by just memorizing sight words or highly seen words. Don't panic about the spelling. He will get it if he understands that in the English language you just can't spell all words by sounding them out. There are rules to help with this, but you didn't state what type of phonics program is being used. Just continue to work with him on spelling and make a game out of it. First grade is the hardest grade for kids. They learn so much and a lot is expected of them. They can handle it and probably more! You would be amazed at what they can do if taught. I am in Texas and we expect the same things from our first graders as your child. It isn't just the teacher he has. ha Hang in there and just practice, practice. Please make it fun for him instead of a struggle. Math facts can be written on cards (with answers on back)and you can play "battle" with him. This also works for words. They love it. No stress for mom or dad. The child will think that mom and dad are spending "game" time with them. Timed tests are to help them so they won't just try to figure out problems by adding dots, fingers etc. They need to know these basic facts quickly. They won't pass TAKS without learning the basics well! Yes, I hate the TAKS test and my own children find it stressful, but they do well. Children who are quick (60wpm by the end of first grade) at reading tend to comprehend what they are reading better. Children who do basic math facts quickly and by memory can solve harder problems as they move up grades without stopping and having to use crutches. This slows them down, they get frustrated or make silly errors. You should see the TAKS and what is expected of them in 3rd grade. Wow, it is hard and very tricky. Children must have higher thinking skills and use their brains. Knowing the basics is just a step toward success. I can tell you that most children who have support and educated help at home do 80-90% better than those who don't! Keep working with him and make it fun, fun, fun, if you can! By the way, my students don't watch videos or movies except on rainy days when we can't go out for recess (15 minutes) and they probably talk about it at home because it is such a treat for them. As a teacher I know there is not enough time in the day to teach the children everything they need to know so help from parents is essential. We are under paid and do much MORE work than people think all year long. (This applies to most teachers) Just ask my own 3 kids. That is another thing though. I don't want to bore you. lol Just keep up the good work that you are doing for your son. Your concern and wish to help him is a wonderful thing. It will help him in the long run. Good luck.

Like I said, I know I'm not going to change the world. My DS doesn't think the rules don't apply to him, He is learning the math facts and correct spelling. It is just so frustrating because he gets so upset about it. I just don't understand why they pushed phonetic spelling so hard and then suddenly took it away. They do daily dictation and are graded on spelling -- these are not simple two & three letter words that they know. Don't even get me started on the standardized testing. They started before Christmas working on practice tests. DS got a low, but passing grade on the pre-test, so we have to do extra homework for that too. What they sent home was a joke -- DS breezed through it very quickly without my help. It's clear to me that he just doesn't test well and there's not much I can do about it. He is smart, but the timed thing makes him freak out, it always has. It's not an excuse, it's a fact. As far as homework goes, if the homework he got was really for him, then I would be ok with it, but it's usually some HUGE project that involves searching the internet for information (which he can't do himself) and then making a book or video about it (which he also can't do himself and believe me, I make him do as much of it as possible). It's more homework for me than it is for him. Half the time, the teacher never gets around to letting the children share their work at school. It's never graded and rarely comes home after we send it in. On top of that, DS has sight words, 12 spelling words, math facts and 20 minutes of reading EVERY NIGHT. C'mon, he's 6 -- that is way too much. He needs to run and play with his friends. DH & I do support him in every way, we just hate to see him so upset.

Amen! I agree with you 100%. I am such a mean mom compared to most here, it seems. And such a "push-over" too, I guess....we just do the the things expected of us.

Timed math facts are very important...and will be going forward. How else do you do long math (multiplication or division) or any other complicated math problems if basic math is not there and fast? Take a look at the very successful Kumon math program....that's what it's all about. Speed + accuracy = mastery

Homework is well, homework. It's just part of the day. It's our time to connect on their school day,/work, for me to check progress, give them positive reinforcement/direction, for them to develop individual study habits.

Sorry if that sounds all Pollyanna, but it just seems like life to me....and we need to get with it.

cj/

As an educator for At Risk Math I can tell you one of the biggest problems amongst my students is that they don't know their basic math facts....and don't care to learn them. They also get no support from home in helping them memorize these facts. Are kids are held to much higher standards these days, than what we were held to. But...thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act...we have to suck it up and do our best to teach these kids what they need to know to progress on. It has to be a joint effort between the parents and the schools. I can tell you first hand.....all of my students who do not complete their math homework the majority of the time...are the students that are struggling the most in the upper grades. We as teachers don't like it...but we too have to suck it up and make the best of it and the parents are going to have to do the same.

One more thing...on thing that really irks me is when a kid comes to school and says "my mom says I don't have to do that" or "my moms says I have to do such and such this way". I always tell them "your mom can make the rules at home, but when you are at school you have to follow the school rules".

Sczb1 ~ Thanks for the excellent tips and information from a teacher's perspective - aka "The Other Side!" It is helpful to me to hear how we can be supportive at home, and make it fun, too.

I agree - we HAVE to support what goes on at school! The one true way to do that is through overseeing homework completion. Is it inconvenient for our family who would prefer "family time" above all else after the school day is done?? Absolutely. Unfortunately, kids whose parents don't support regular completion of homework are not teaching their kids accountability or respect.

For parents to demonstrate to children that the teacher's homework requirements actually don't apply to them seems like a dangerous cop-out. A teacher's job is difficult enough under the BEST of circumstances. But when a parent blatantly overrides a teacher's regular instructions to complete homework, that's just plain undermining to the teacher-student relationship, and likely very damaging to the child in the long run.

What other rules/regulations will the child assume don't apply to them?

Kindergarten teacher here, taking issue with the term "phonetic spelling" Why do they call it that? I've heard it called "imaginative spelling" which is a lot more accurate. Why do schools even encourage that in the first place? Eighty-five percent of English words are spelled with reliable spellings, the rest are sight words that need to be memorized. Children should not be encouraged to write unless they know how to spell more or less accurately or are guided by their teacher. Or told to look it up in the dictionary (depending on the age!) Personally, I think it's the fault of the curriculum that your child was previously allowed to spell however he wanted and now all of a sudden has to spell correctly. To me that just does not make sense. Why set kids up for failure like that?

A sheet of 20 math facts is not a big deal. My kindergarteners did a sheet of 26 in 3 min. today - the majority finished them all correctly. Having said that, some children do struggle with the pressure of the time limit - one girl just writes random numbers so she has some kind of answer, even though she really does know the answers if she would take the time to think about it. I'm hoping that over time, if I keep reminding her, she will realize that it's better to take her time to find the right answer rather than just randomly writing numbers just to finish the page on time. But the bottom line is, no matter the child, they are not going to learn the math facts without repetition repetition repetition! THat is the purpose of the timed math sheets.

The reason they push kids today is because they realized how much educational time was previously wasted in the last century. Children between the ages of 3 and 6 absorb knowledge readily without a great deal of effort. In the middle ages, which we sometimes think of as a time of ignorance, it was not unusual for privileged children to have by the age of 10 an advanced education that none of us here have as graduates from high school. Obviously we have a lot more to learn today about science and history than they did at the time, but they learned what was available to them in those subjects as well as math, Latin, philosophy, and the arts. I specifically remember reading a biography about Queen Elizabeth I who was fluent in Latin (even translating and writing in Latin) by the age of 10. This was not unusual for her day. I'm not saying we should go back to the middle ages, just saying that our standard of excellence is pretty low in today's society. Children are capable of far more than we imagine.

I'm not a parent, but I'd still like to weigh in the timed math facts thing.

I remember doing timed math facts in elementary school, starting in either 3rd or 4th grade. And I never did very well on them. I'm lousy at memorizing numbers. I still occasionally count on my fingers when I'm doing addition and subtraction (less so now, but that's only been in the last three or four years.) Here's the thing, I'm an aerospace engineer. I graduated high school as valedictorian. I made it through three years of college math and all my engineering courses, graduating with highest honors. And, as I said, it took me until I was about 30 to really start being able to do the basic addition and subtraction math facts in my head. Strangely, I can multiply and divide and, with some practice, can figure square roots of numbers to the third or fourth decimal point in my head with no problem. I've been able to do that since at lesat junior high.

Has not being able to do addition and subtraction quickly hurt me? It has slowed me down at times. And I have had to endure some ridicule for counting on my fingers (mostly from non-math and science people. The other geeks realize that everyone's got something they're not good at. Mine is addition and subtraction.) I suppose if I was someone who got frustrated easily, I might have had more problem with my math and science, especially in high school. But, apparently that's not an issue for me.

Yeah, it's probably better if kids learn their math facts, and how to spell correctly (my spelling was horrible until high school). But, I don't think it's the end of the world for kids who aren't great at either. But, again, I'm not a parent. Just a basic math facts challenged aerospace engineer.

I actually enjoy homework time. It is an opportunity for me to have a "window" into their day when they were away from me. I get the chance to see what they are learning and how they are doing with it. We all sit at the dining room table together. It is just a nice time of the day for us.

Some aspects of homework are VERY important. Math facts just cannot be learned without repetition. Realistically, that can't be done well at school. Same for spelling words, they just need to be practiced over and over, some kids need more practice than others.

When they are done, the kids go their separate ways in the house for their time to just be a kid.

It does help that my kids get home at 2:15...by 3:30 homework is done and they have two hours to play until dinner, bath and bed.

My ds is also a 2nd grader. He has such a hard time with the math speed tests. He knows the answers but it's the stress of having to complete everything within a short amount of time that really gets to him. We've practiced at home and he wastes a lot of time looking at the clock to see how much time he has left. I agree with you, he knows them and that's what is important.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ----Edmund Burke