Test Taking Strategies: Start Them Early!

Carol Brewer
Sep 01, 2008

Test Taking Strategies are the plans or procedures used to prepare students for taking tests. These specific Test Taking Strategies should start early in the year and continue throughout the year. Many times teachers wait until a month before their state tests to begin this preparation instead of incorporating it into their everyday lessons. This does not mean giving the students a test every day, but it does mean planning for questions that might better prepare the students.

A test taking schedule is important for administrators and teachers to create and follow. There should be two sessions, one for taking the test and the other for reviewing the test. (Detailed procedures for reviewing tests may be found in the Connecting Learning to Assessments Book and Flipchart.)  Many teachers have been very successful in creating tests that correlate with the content they are teaching. For example, if they are teaching a unit on rocks and minerals, they create a test and use it for their test taking strategies. The only difference is that they focus on the structure of the test as well as the content. This helps prepare students for the reading test by using nonfiction text.

Start preparing your students for testing now! This will build confidence and stamina.