Issue 40: Mar 16, 2009 Connections Newsletter

Benchmark Assessments Connections

Carol Brewer
Mar 16, 2009

Benchmark Assessments are a powerful tool for instruction.  They are aligned to state standards, as well as state assessments.  The questions from these assessments should be used as connections to all subject areas.  For example, English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Music, Art, PE, Health, etc. teachers should include these questions in their everyday instruction.  They should have a copy of these assessments and use the "question stems" to create other questions.  Remember these questions from the Benchmark Assessments are aligned to the state tests; it is like the state has given a preview of the questions that will be used for the end of grade tests.  It is the schools' responsibility to take advantage of this preview.

The following chart is an example of how to make the connection from the Reading Comprehension Benchmark Assessment to a Social Studies lesson.  Notice the question stem that is used in the Reading Assessment can be used to create a Social Studies question.  The more the "stem" is used, the stronger the student understanding!


Question Examples


Refer to the Questioning Technique Chapter in the Connecting Learning to Assessments Book and Flipchart.



Structured Unit Review for State Standardized Tests and End-of Course Exams

Debbie Willingham
Mar 16, 2009

We have all done it.  We knew the big test was coming and kept procrastinating, until, finally,  it loomed ahead of us, and we had no other choice - we had to cram!  Students now have even more pressure, because the stakes are high, not only for them, but also for their teacher, school, district, and state. Teachers are now much more stressed out, because the accountability for their students' achievement hovers as the result of the pressure trickling down from the state superintendent to the district superintendent to the principal to them.

So, does cramming for a test work? Even when it is used to study for a final exam in a specific course, and when we know exactly what content to review, studying a large amount of material in a short period of time (usually including late at night just before the exam) is not the most effective way to retain information. With today's state standardized tests students and teachers only know the general range of information that may be tested, which makes cramming to memorize unrealistic. Cramming for a test can lead to confusion of facts the student has already learned, which can be especially true for students with specific learning disabilities. It is also difficult at this late date to connect "new" facts to prior learning, which is necessary to commit ideas to memory. Cramming just does not allow time for the brain to process the content and make important connections in concepts.

In many classrooms, the teacher version of "cramming" is seen as the state test draws near. They use the weeks leading up to the test to teach test-taking strategies and to review content from the entire year. Part of the problem with the effectiveness of this approach is that students have so much thrown at them in such a short amount of time that they have "information overload." When they complete practice items over and over, they become tired of doing them and become less and less motivated as they get closer to test time. So, what should we do instead?

We learn about using a Learning Based Review Schedule in Learning-Focused training. The premise here is that teachers should set aside one or two class periods each month to review the content taught the previous month, periodically also including a review of the most essential content from earlier in the year, as well. An option for middle and high school teachers is to set aside review days at the end of each learning unit, since that is a natural break.

The review can take place in the form of a game, such as Bingo, Jeopardy, or $10,000 Pyramid, using lesson essential questions from the unit(s) as the basis for the game questions. If students have created vocabulary or study cards during a unit, they may use those for partner card games. Another review option is to have students condense the most difficult to remember content to a 4" x 6" index card, trade cards with their partner, and ask each other questions from the cards. The teacher might want to keep students' cards until the next review day, when they go through the same process with the next unit and again go through previously created cards. By the end of the course they will have a synopsis of the condensed, most difficult content, which by that time will not seem so difficult after all. Websites for good review games and activities include http://teach.fcps.net/trt10/PowerPoint.htm, http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/PPT-games/, and http://www.educationworld.com/a_less...esson306.shtml.

Using these strategies throughout the year on a regular basis can help improve state test achievement and final exam performance much more effectively and efficiently than cramming.

Refer to Planning Units for Learning for more information and ideas on Structured Review. Additional strategies for preparing for assessments all year can be found in our Connecting Learning to Assessments Book and Flipchart.



The Writing Continuum

Brenda Hill
Mar 16, 2009

Writing is an expected form of communication and students are asked to write for many different reasons from many different perspectives throughout school and across all grade levels. The writing process is a most effective tool for helping students improve written products. Many states and districts have writing benchmarks or required writing products for each grading period. According to the research, instructional practices critical to raising student achievement are: 

~ All types of writing are required with an emphasis on "writing to inform".

~ There is a consistent district (school-wide) teaching of writing.

~ There are consistent (school-wide) assignment patterns for writing. 

High expectations should be established for students and a continuum (K-12) implemented, requiring more of students over time and building from one grade level to the next. There will be times when written products are brief statements (1-2 sentences-summary point writing) or paragraphs about new learning that will not need to go through the writing process. There will be other times when students are expected to write and take the written products through the steps in the writing process. During the process each student develops an understanding of the writer's craft. Steps in the writing process include:

  • Prewriting - generating and organizing thoughts and ideas

  • Drafting - the first attempt in putting ideas on paper

  • Revising - checking organization, flow, or quality

  • Editing - checking grammar and spelling

  • Publishing/sharing - creating a product that it is ready for its final destination or for publishing - sharing completed written product with an audience


Students should begin using the writing process in kindergarten, or, most definitely, by the beginning of first grade. Teachers must explicitly teach and model with think alouds before students are expected to understand, implement, and use this process independently. Multiple opportunities should be given across all grade levels for students to improve writing by consistently using the writing process. Good luck in your future endeavors of teaching writing so ALL students can be successful lifelong learners!!!

The Learning-Focused Literacy Collection provides resources for helping students improve their writing.