Test Practice or Test
Preparation?
“There is a huge difference between
test practice and test preparation.
Test practice happens when teachers pass out
reams of practice passages and questions that
students dutifully complete. Test preparation
occurs when passages and their corresponding
questions are carefully analyzed by a team of
students while they talk about HOW they might
navigate the passage and HOW they might
address the questions.”
Linda Hoyt ~ author of Spotlight on Comprehension
Teach the Attributes of a Test as a
Genre
• How wonderful it would be if students
understood the genre so well, that they could
navigate the test and move quickly and
efficiently past the test hurdle!
• When students pay attention to the attributes
that make a test a test and notice the way this
particular genre works, they develop an
understanding of the structure of a test and the
inherent game that is played by the test
designers. (Hoyt, page. 363)
Questions to consider. . .
• What makes a test a test?
• How is it different from a textbook and its
questions?
• What is the goal of the test writers?
• What do we notice about the questions?
• Is there a pattern to the way questions are
worded?
• What is the balance between fiction &
nonfiction passages?
Test Reading
Classroom Reading
Multiple answer choices but only one is
correct
There can be more than one right answer.
We are expected to use the selection
information to help answer the
comprehension questions.
We can use what we know from our lives to
help us answer questions.
Test directions & questions are a bit like a
If a question isn’t clear, I can ask someone
puzzle ~ we have to figure out what the test for help.
question is asking.
The teacher cannot explain or give me any
help at all.
The teacher makes sure I get help when I
need it.
There are numerous reading selections that Usually we only read one selection at a
are not related at all ~ each is like a
time and then answer comprehension
separate story.
questions.
On a test it is important to read
I might skim and scan some of the
EVERYTHING…pictures, captions, charts,
information knowing that the teacher will
graphs, all directions & answer choices, etc. discuss the reading with the class.
Model the Language of Tests
• Embed test-style language into your daily
conversations about books, characters, etc.
• Post question stems on a chart for student use.
• Analyze test questions ~ what is this question
really asking?
• Remind students that the testing genre
requires reliance on the text more than our
ability to make connections and draw from our
background.
Why build stamina?
To establish good reading habits
To develop independent literacy routines
Purpose + Choice = Motivation
Students will have a love for reading
Increasing Stamina
• Tests are long!
• Model techniques
–Stretching
–Changing positions
–Get a new pencil
–Focal point/look away
Encourage Purposeful Reading
• What’s the purpose?
• Encourage students to skim/scan the
questions prior to reading the selection.
• While reading, they should underline/circle
words and phrases that might help them find
the right answer.
• Make explicit connections between good testtaking practices and good general learning
practices.
Cover All Kinds of Questions
• Ask questions that enhance comprehension
and promote a range of interpretations.
• Teach question and answer relationships
(QAR).
– Right There Questions
– Think and Search Questions
– Author and You Questions
– In My Head Questions
QAR
Teaching Q-A-R
“The researchers recommended that each strategy be
taught with singular focus, over a long period of time, to
students from kindergarten through twelfth grade and
beyond, and that teachers model and students practice
the strategies with a variety of texts. If teachers focused
their attention on a strategy, beginning with a great deal
of modeling and gradually releasing responsibility
(Gallagher and Pearson, 1983) to the children to practice
it independently, the researchers believed students
could actually be taught to think differently as they
read.”
From Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Keene
TURNS:
A mnemonic
• Title, Pictures and Predictions. Read the title and predict what
you think the passage is about. Look at the pictures and/or
charts.
• Underline key words in the questions so you will have a
purpose for reading.
• Read the passage; stop to ask questions and underline possible
answers. Number the paragraphs only if you need to. Write in
the margins as you question the passage.
• Now re-read the questions and remember to look back in the
selection for proof; underline proof.
• Study and select the best answer by eliminating incorrect
answers.
Teach Text Structure
• Most tests are written in a standard format.
• Students need to understand the testing
structure to be successful test takers.
• Text structures are an important part of
both literacy training and test preparation.
Actively Engage Students in
Preparing!
•
•
•
•
•
The Great Cover Up!
Use a sticky notes to cover up the
multiple choice answers.
In groups or pairs, students look
at question and write an
appropriate answer.
Students must highlight or
underline proof in the passage.
Once all questions have been
answered, students lift sticky
notes to reveal A,B, C, D choices.
Students determine which
answer choice matches their
written response. If none,
students re-think the question.
What was the question again?
If these are the answers,
what is the question?
• Cover the appropriate
questions with a sticky
note.
• In groups or pairs,
students read the
answer choices.
• Students must infer
from the answer
choices what the
question must be.
Use test passages for teaching
skills!
Prove It!
• In groups or pairs,
students determine the
answer to the question
and then go back to the
text to prove it.
• Students can either use
sticky notes to label
their evidence or can
lay question strips
directly on the passage
where the evidence
appears.
Be a Test Writer!
• Give students a copy of
the question stem
document and a
passage.
• In groups or pairs, have
students to create
multiple choice
questions for the
passage after reading it.
• Students can trade with
another team or pair
and answer the
questions created.
• Which statement best
expresses the author’s
main point?
• What does the word
_____connote as it is used
in the sentence?
• What is the effect of the
metaphor in the 3rd
sentence of the 1st
paragraph?
• Which sentence BEST
summarizes the
information in paragraph
4?
So what do I do now?
• Set goals with students and use informal
assessments to regularly monitor their progress.
• Implement a Self Selected Reading (SSR) period at
least once a week to increase stamina in grades 7-12.
In grades 3rd-6th, SSR should happen each day.
• Actively engage students in authentic literacy
activities so that they become capable readers and
writers.
• Introduce strategies such as TURNS and QAR.
• Explain the purpose of the tests and how the results
will be used, without making students anxious.
“Testing is not teaching, but we
can teach how to comprehend the
standardized tests that are a reality
in the lives of our children.”
Graves, 2002