Standardized Test Taking...

Chapter three is about standardized test taking and the importance of preparing students for them.  Benjamin suggests we address this by embedding strategic reading lessons in the content area curriculum.  Many teachers overlook standardized test preparation.  They assume students know how to take these tests.  But the wording of the questions proves to be most difficult for students who have never seen these types of questions before.  She delves very deeply into the types of questions one may encounter and how to figure out the answer.  After all, standardized tests can be very much about tricks for answering the questions.  For reading comprehension, Benjamin describes six categories of questions, which include: Main idea questions, the vocabulary in context questions, the author’s intent questions, the internal organization questions, the drawing conclusions questions, and the part-to-whole questions.  The previous one is to see if the test taker can analyze the text. 

Benjamin also discusses the necessary training we need to give our students in order for them to succeed on multiple choice tests.  Large numbers of teachers assume that reading comprehension, specifically for understanding multiple choice questions, is a given skill.  But this is not always the case.  I know there were many times when I was taking a test where I didn’t know what the question was asking because I didn’t understand the way it was worded.  We need to give students the tools, in the form of sample questions so they have the opportunity to do well on their exams if they know the information.  Science teachers are not reading teachers but the language of these tests needs to be taught.  After all, these are very high-stakes tests.  Benjamin lists five ways we can familiarize the students with test-taking language:

1.       Make it a habit to use the language while you’re giving directions and explanations. 

2.       Encourage students to write their own test items and have them use similar word choices. 

3.       Give a lot of test samples and have them write down phrases that are frequently used. 

4.       Give attention to complex sentence styles. 

5.       Give students the first few words of a question and ask them to predict how it will end.  

Another very valuable tool that Benjamin discusses is how we need to teach students phrases as if they were single words so they can learn the context in which it is being used.  They should be thought of as more than just the sum of the parts (words) that produce them. 

References

Benjamin, Amy.  But I’m Not A Reading Teacher: Strategies for Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas.  Larchmont, NY.  Eye on Education, 2007