Are you readying for the weeks of preparation prior to the Standardized Tests?

If so, here are some simple and effective ways to help your kids do their very best.

20 Tips (and a bonus) for Raising the Achievement Scores of Your Students

“Tis the season”, so to speak…The time when standardized achievement testing looms large.  Its approaching shadow brings a sense of foreboding for our kids and us, as we both will be judged, to a large extent, by the scores obtained.

Perhaps it’s the dry and repetitious nature of the preparation that is most burdensome…Day after day of question analysis and the administration of practice exams. It can reduce our learners’ motivation, and increase emotional and behavioral issues with which we need to deal.  It can also be hard on us, psychologically and professionally speaking… We educators know that “teaching to the test” is not “good teaching”.  For most of the year, we strive to forge thoughtful, reflective, deep-knowledge learners.  During test prep times, we must redirect our focus to the polar opposite: Creating shallow-depth trivia experts.

Carolyn McGown sums it up succinctly: “There is an element of ‘grin and bear it’ about the testing season.  Many teachers view test preparation as something to be survived: It cannot be changed, so why fight it?  While this may be true, it is also rather defeatist.” (Classroom Survival & Success for New & Developing Teachers: p. 48)  I am also of the ilk that works to defeat that which tries to defeat us... thus this tips article.

 In the past few days, while creating an online exam for one of my courses, I’ve been re-reading Carolyn McGown’s guidebook for new, developing and struggling teachers. Unlike the pupils of my special education graduate students, my present & future teachers will be able to take this exam as many times as they wish before the end of the semester; an example of using a test as an instructional tool, not just an evaluative one.  This approach correlates well with my main concern as a teacher educator: Sending out knowledgeable and skilled teachers to inspire the eager minds of our children and youth.  Allowing my teachers and teacher candidates to work toward mastery of the valuable content in this text better assures use the material in their present and future classrooms.

The many of you who have purchased this fine guide know of the detailed and sage advice that Ms. McGown packs into the pages.  She goes beyond the general recommendations found in other books for new, developing, and struggling educators, to describe how one addresses the minutia and fine points that are crucial to professional success.  I recommend it highly, and am presently developing a “Rosetta Stone” to translate American educational terms like “Principal” into the more universally known titles and words of systems in other English speaking countries. (Soon to be provided on the McGown Information & Excerpt page.)

Some districts undertake intensive preparation for the exams two or three months in advance of the test dates.  That’s more than a quarter of the school-year!  Being aware of the stress levels and driving preparation that is taking place in the schools right now, I thought that I (with the permission of Ms. McGown) would offer some tips for test prep from her book, and add a few of my own.

TEST PREP TIPS

How our learners respond to testing, and ultimately, how they score, can be greatly influenced by how well we prepare them.  Here are some ways in which you can help your kids perform to their personal pinnacles of potential:

1. Find out (from supervisors or senior teachers) which test prep procedures and policies are required in your school.
2. If you are an ‘out-of-classroom’/resource/”push in”/coverage teacher, determine their role previous to and during the testing weeks.
3. Don’t wait until the administration decides that it is time to begin the preparation.  Early in the year, locate some old exams (originals or practice copies).  Review parts of them periodically to familiarize your students with the format of the tests.
4. During the first week of school (or tomorrow if the conversation hasn’t yet taken place) engage in a give-and-take brainstorming session with your students.  Ask: “Why is testing important?” “What makes you feel better when you take a test?” “What can we do to help each other do better on tests and quizzes?”
5. At the end of the discussion (see #4 above) , reassure them that you know ways to help them perform at their best. (By the time you finish reading this list, that statement will be true.)
6. Conduct a low-stress, informative test-taking practice session each week.  Focus on “doing your best” and “trying your hardest” and “never giving up”.  Give no attention to whether answers are correct or not.  You want to build persistence.
7. Teach, promote, and enforce the test-taking rules and regulations that are necessary when taking the exam… silence; eyes on one’s own paper; bathroom and water fountain at designated times only, etc.
8. Teach and promote formal test-taking procedures (Having reading material on the floor next to the desk in case one finishes early, two sharpened pencils on desk previous to the start of the subtest, following directions to open to a certain page, waiting for the direction to begin, stopping at the “pencils down” command, etc.) during the practice sessions.
9. For some of the practice tests, use the optical scanning “bubble sheets” that the students will complete when taking the end-of-year exams. There is a good chance that your school, or a kindly professor at the university, will be able to supply some blank forms.  You only need one; you can photocopy it.
10. If test scores are based on the number of correct answers, with no penalties for wrong answers, teach the students to fill in a bubble for each of the remaining questions when there is one minute left.  There is a chance that some will be correct.
11. Outside of the test prep sessions, phrase instruction and questioning in the language of the exams, either before or after your usual form of phrasing when presenting material.  The phrasing of the exam will become meaningful when translated to your classroom instructional language.
12. During your instruction of content, adopt a style of questioning that mirrors the format of the various sub-tests.
13. Apply the material to the lives of your learners using short discussions.  Making the test prep seem relevant to their world enhances motivation and promotes deeper understanding of the material.
14.  Use cooperative learning practices to vary the presentation and involve the students in their own learning.  Groups are responsible for assuring that all of their members understand the material. Are you thinking that your kids could never engage productively in groups?  Think again.  Click here to go to the page at BehaviorAdvisor.com that contains the step-by-step, everything-you-need-to-know information for making effective use of cooperative learning practices, AND click on Rob Plevin’s Team Maker ad (above) for ideas for building unity and esprit de corp in the classroom.
15. Find out about testing modifications that are recommended/allowed for learners with special needs.
16. DO NOT complain about tests or test preparation.  Your pupils will likely adopt this attitude, thus reducing their motivation and success.  Avoid telling the students that you dislike testing, or that some people “just don’t do very well on these tests.”
17. Promote in your students the necessity of putting forth one’s best effort, even when “the going gets tough”.  Create a checklist, and have students rate themselves on a scale from “It was too hard and I gave up.” to “I felt good about my performance and kept focused on the exam.”  Soon, you’ll delete the first option.  We don’t want to ingrain it as an acceptable option.  Have kids elaborate on their answers so that you better understand their performance and how to improve it.
18. Present your test preparation and practice tests in a manner that is positive and optimistic.  Watch your phrasing.  Focus on encouraging effort (“I know that all of my young scholars give it their absolute best.”) instead of labeling (“You’re smart.  You’ll do fine.”).  For more on encouragement and praise, view the previous newsletter on this topic.
19. Throughout your test preparation sessions, focus on the progress that has been made by the students.  State your belief in their ability to do even better. Students rise to meet the expectations of their teacher.  Keep yours high.
20. During the days leading up to the testing (and during the testing weeks), emphasize the need for a good night’s sleep, a nutritious breakfast, an early arrival to school, and an optimistic attitude.
21. During the examination period, use short stretching and movement activities between subtests.
22. Distribute a small, sweet snack (cookie, gummy candy) when taking a break during a long test period.

While many of us view standardized testing as being over-emphasized, and the results often misused, we don’t have a great deal of free choice in the situation.  We don’t make the decisions in this case, although the decision may change for those of you teaching in the United States; President Obama said this week that he believes that high-stakes testing is over-emphasized, and should be done less often.

Good fortune to you in your efforts to help your students achieve to their potential.

   Are you ready to take your skills to the peak of the classroom management mountain? (Ooh... The view is exquisite!) Click here to view the Table of Contents and read excerpts from Carolyn McGown's essential book for new and developing teachers.

 Ohh… by the way… Do you have a concern or question about testing, student behavior, classroom management, collegial interactions, home-based behavior, parenting, or other topics?  Post your concerns on the www.BehaviorAdvisor.com “Help Board”.  You can do so anonymously.

Author: Tom McIntyre

DoctorMac@BehaviorAdvisor.com