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Testing as a Genre

Out of the mouths of babes. . ..

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Testing as a Genre

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    1. Testing as a Genre “. . .if we think about the test as a sort of genre, bizarre though it is, we could teach kids how to negotiate it in much the same way that we teach them how to negotiate any other genre.” ~Donna Santman Lisa Arneson CESA 5 Curriculum Specialist arnesonl@cesa5.k12.wi.us

    3. “Test Practice is NOT Test Preparation” (Calkins, Montgomery & Santman, 1998) Simply taking practice test after practice test can reinforce non-productive strategies. Instead, we must equip students with strategies for taking tests and dealing with all vagaries of the genre. (Jett-Simpson, 1998)

    4. What do you notice? Class chart Walk through Modeling

    5. Remaining Calm How does your body feel when you are nervous? Present calming strategies Deep breathing Self-talk Practice Discussion

    6. Feeling overwhelmed Just because it looks hard, doesn’t mean it is hard. Compare passages Describe why it “looks” hard.

    7. Increasing Stamina Tests are long! Model techniques Stretching Changing positions Get a drink Get a new pencil Focal point/look away

    8. Scavenger Hunt Strategy Teach students to read the questions first, and then go on a scavenger hunt to “find” answers. Research findings suggest that a person can remember three questions at a time.

    9. Keeping Your Place Hold pages Bend pages Leave pencil in fold Finger

    10. Process of Elimination Begin with what you know Practice skipping questions to find easy ones Practice/talk through with a buddy Important to check your work to make sure you didn’t leave any blank

    11. Vocabulary of the Test Genre Classroom chart Word hunts http://schoolimprovement.us/documents/PowerWordsandPhrases_000.pdf

    12. Comprehension Strategies Test takers Ask questions Create mental images Draw inferences Synthesize new learning and ideas Activate, utilize and build background knowledge Determine the most important ideas/themes Monitor for meaning and problem-solve when meaning breaks down

    13. Teach the Test Puzzle “From inception, tests are designed so a portion of the population will fail.” Mary Regina Jett, 1998

    14. Tricks and Traps Know your distracters. What is distracting me from what I need to know? 1. Answers that are facts in the story but don’t answer the question 2. Answers that are partly right 3. Answers from background knowledge but not stated in the selection 4. Answers that contain extra information that don’t answer the question

    15. More tricks and traps. . . 5. Answers that are true in the story but aren’t the main idea when it is a main idea question. 6. Questions that contain the word “you” like “What do you think this poem is about?” Remember test makers DON’T want to know what YOU think. They want you to find what THEY THINK is the best answer to the question based on the test

    16. Yes, there’s more. . . 7. An item that includes the “none of the above” choice. Remember to use this ONLY when you are certain none of the other answers are correct. 8. Questions asked out of sequence of the story. 9. Questions containing NOT. . .”which of the following is not true?” Mary Regina Jett, 1998

    17. No Money-Back Guarantee “Many researchers have documented the many ways that learning in a thinking-centered classroom leads students to improved test scores on standardized measures. But because every group of students is different, nothing is a “gimme.” Put Thinking to the Test

    18. “Anyway, I’ve been wondering, who is the person who gets to decide what’s important? Because I wish it was me!”

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