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I’m a 7th grade ELA teacher in Texas!
a High School English Teacher
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There is absolutely a need to focus on test-taking skills. I try to incorporate them into my lessons. It makes a big difference for the kids and I think it helps with their test anxiety as well.
I use my bell ringers one day a week as a test-strategy skill. My juniors have to take the SAT as their assessment, so there is a lot of material out there. (Its Test strategy Tuesday--I love alliteration!).
I really think starters or bell ringers are the way to go for test prep. That way, they get the strategies and some practice in the format, but it doesn’t dominate the curriculum.
The kids who get going in class right away do great; those who are slow “getting the engine started”, don’t benefit as much because still looking for a pencil in their backpack when everyone else is applying the strategy for a passage or item set.
I never teach to a test, and I never give a test that is multiple choice. I give only short-answer and essay-based written exams.
In more than 10 years of teaching, I've only had a handful of students who received lower than a 'C' on a state assessment. The important point of the assessment is being able to justify an answer with the text. Writing that justification out provides a superior thought process to guessing at a letter choice.
I regularly incorporate the same types of questions as major standardized tests on my classroom assessments. We also use our bell ringers to discuss and practice strategies while also teaching content. It is my goal that my kids feel confident when they see these tests because the format is familiar.
Yes, I agree. Children need to learn how to take a test properly, it will help them all throughout life when taking competitive examinations and entrance tests. I try to incorporate strategies when I can, but there needs to be a dedicated 1-semester subject for it in my humble opinion
I agree wholeheartedly. I've noticed that they may know the test material but may have a hard time finishing the test if they don't know how to properly take it
I teach 8th grade so not quite high school, but personally I disagree. Today's public school kids are taking standardized tests since elementary and are given refreshers on test taking skills each time. If they don't get it by high school they probably won't be learning it in your classroom. Better to use ELA to encourage critical thinking which can help in a more robust array of situations.
You also teach grammar and mechanics in middle school,and they act like they never heard of these rules when they get to high school! I have kids who don’t capitalize first words in sentences, the pronoun “I’ or proper nouns , and they skip end punctuation. I refuse to grade careless work like that until they go back and fix it. These are GT kids! Do they really think they’re e.e. cummings? I guarantee he knew the rules and just chose to break them!🙄
I personally think that standardized tests are a useLESS way to assess students in English. Think about college... They need a decent vocabulary and they need to know how to write an awesome research paper. That's it.
Yes! I wish I could just spend a few months on strategies alone. Would help them be successful on more than standardized tests as well. I have a few fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants students and I worry for them.
Do you have a homeless liason or supplies and clothes closet at your campuses?
Yes. In my case, I take the extra mile to help them with this. This is a skill that I wished someone was able to teach me back then.