In today's classrooms, every teacher is quite familiar with the challenge of how to prepare students for standardized testing. This week's tips focus on strategies you can practice with your students to help them master standardized tests.
This Week's Tips
Question Formats in High-Stakes Tests (Monday)
Familiarize students with many different question formats. Integrate multiple choice, analogy, charts and graphs, and essay questions into the tests and quizzes you administer to your students. When they are faced with these formats on standardized tests, they already will be more comfortable with them.
Practice for High Stakes Tests (Tuesday)
Help students learn from their mistakes. When practicing for standardized tests with your students, be sure to review not only the right answers to questions, but also the wrong answers. Explain or discuss why each incorrect answer is wrong.
Essays on High Stakes Tests (Wednesday)
Encourage students to use outlines for essay questions. Making a brief outline before attempting to respond to a question can help students organize their thoughts. To foster this habit, have them sketch very brief outlines in the margin of their test papers on all essay questions that they answer throughout the school year.
Vocabulary for High Stakes Tests (Thursday)
Write one new vocabulary word on the board each week to help build critical vocabulary skills. Explain the word's meaning and usage, and try to use it throughout the week. Motivate students to integrate the new vocabulary into their repertoire by giving a bonus point to any student who correctly uses the word throughout the week, or by turning the word into an extra credit question on tests or quizzes.
Pacing for High Stakes Tests (Friday)
Emphasize the importance of pacing and time management during standardized tests. Students should first answer the questions that are easy for them, and afterward go back and spend more time on the questions that were more difficult. If they have extra time at the end, they should check to make sure they have answered every question, and reread/proofread essays.
