“Save Room” for Test Taking Strategies

Carol Brewer
Jul 21, 2008

When planning for next year's schedule, do not forget to save room for test taking strategies! The pacing of this implementation will show great gains for your students. This means that every now and then teachers schedule a day or two to prepare students for multiple choice and short response assessments. This does not mean just give a test for a grade, this means to use this assessment for instruction. The assessment should also make the connections to what is being taught. For example, if you are teaching compare and contrast, the assessment should focus on compare and contrast questions for multiple choice, as well as constructed response questions. This assessment can be teacher made or commercial.

Most commercial "practice tests" are generic to the States' End of Grade Test, instead of what is actually being taught for the period of time or the learning unit. This gives teachers an overall glimpse of the intended outcome, but does not specifically give the results of what is being taught. This approach is fine if the teacher's focus is aligned to what is being assessed at the end of the year instead of during the unit of study. 

One suggestion that meets the needs of both instruction and assessment is to use the commercial practice tests once a month at the beginning of the year, then more frequently as the year progresses. Most teachers use this resource just before their State Test instead of throughout the year. When reviewing the test, teachers should look for proficiency for what is being taught as well as what is assessed at the end of the year. When reviewing the test with the students, it is suggested to focus just on the compare and contrast questions, because that is what is being taught at that time. The other questions may be used as a preview for upcoming units or as a focus for the high achievers that had correct responses. Remember, not all questions need to be reviewed, just the questions that the teachers need to use as their focus. Refer to the Connecting Learning to Assessments Book and Flipchart for suggestions on reviewing the assessments.