by Liana Ponce
It is still winter but many teachers are already thinking about how testing season is fast approaching. Regardless of my personal views on this type of testing, in April students in my school district will take the PARCC assessment. As a coach, I want to ensure students can use this opportunity to demonstrate their genius-- and that teachers feel they’ve truly helped students progress academically. Below is some advice to responsibly prepare students for standardized testing and engage them in the process.
1. Always remember: We teach the content, we do not teach the test.
If you find yourself telling students, “We’re doing this for the [assessment name here],” take a step back and reflect on your purpose. What is the true learning intention behind the lesson? If it’s really just a trick for a specific test, then leave it out. But, if it has a meaningful, long term purpose then make sure that’s the message students receive.
Guiding questions: What is my purpose with this lesson? How will I message this purpose to students? Is this purpose and the messaging a valuable use of students’ time long-term
Read about setting learning intentions for elementary and secondary in these videos.
2. Be transparent with students.
Students deserve to know how and why they are being assessed throughout the year, so share that information with them. Let them know what tests they will take, how the data will be used, and allow them to provide their feedback on the experience. Set up a system that allows students to access their own data and provide their reflections.
Guiding questions: What tests are students required to take? Why are they required? How is the data being used? How will I convey this information to students in a manner that is developmentally appropriate AND allows them to formulate their own thoughts? What information systems can I set up for students? How can I help them take action after giving feedback?
Here are some ideas for eliciting student feedback.
3. Teach students how to use tools.
Many online tests like PARCC and Smarter Balance provide a range of tools, like strike through and answer masking, to help students keep track of their thinking. Find ways to infuse these strategies into daily work, especially as they represent thinking skills people use outside of the testing environment. You can use think alouds to help students see these tools in action.
Guiding questions: What is the larger purpose of each tool? How does each tool help build problem-solving skills or help organize and annotate problem-solving?
We owe it to students to understand the purpose and implications of the testing practices in which we engage - and if necessary take action on that understanding. Only then can we responsibly prepare students.