There is a whole lot of practice testing going on this month in New York State. Teachers with the best of intentions have put aside the work that they love best so that they may, in their minds, serve kids well by preparing them to take a standardized test of one kind or another. I understand their concerns. We would all feel a bit irresponsible asking students to do battle without arming them properly. But what does that look like?
How do we get kids “ready for the test”? How do we know if our efforts are even making a difference? What helps? What hurts?
Two years ago, I sat across a table from someone who shared five different New York State Math Assessment practice tests with me. When the scores on each of these assessments were compared, the scores remained pretty level. In the end, it was clear that “preparing for the test” in this way resulted in very little improvement over time for this particular teacher and the group of students she served. I’ve noticed the same, over and over again, in my work with teachers. Yet, when I suggest that practice testing may not bring up scores, that review books do little more than bore kids to tears, and that students don’t need help understanding the format of the test because they take one every thirty seconds anymore, I am always challenged on this. Always. And it is never pretty.
So, help me out.
I’m wondering how many teachers study the effect of their “test prep” efforts over time. How do you feel about preparing for assessments? What is your approach? What works? What doesn’t?
Should we even be having this conversation? What do you think?
6 Comments
I don’t think most teachers study the effects of test prep nor do they spend too much type analyzing the test results of their own students. I think most teachers have a gut feeling that this is all a necessary evil… but probably more ‘evil’ than ‘necessary. Lets face it – often by the time test scores are received it is almost time to pass the students off to another grade and new teachers. And – most teachers to not take the time to look at a student’s performance over time to look for trends, strengths, deficits,… when they get new students at the beginning of the year. At best, teachers tend to go through the motions and file the results for someone else to worry about. The whole point of assessment is to inform, refine, and tailor practice to better meet the needs of the students. The formal school assessment system is so dysfunctional that I believe many teachers simply put up with it. It would be the minority that spend time being analytical at all.
Testing is big business in America, fueled by millions of dollars. I hate to sound so pessimistic, but like the auto industry, testing companies (CTB McGraw-Hill, Riverside Publishing (a Houghton Mifflin company), NCS Pearson, ETS, Harcourt,…) need us to believe in standardized test effectiveness as much as GM, Ford, and Chrysler need us to drive automobiles that are not fuel efficient. Why don’t we just let the testing industry go bankrupt? Maybe then we will begin to rethink what we are doing and how we are doing it.
Fortunately, MOST of the teachers and schools that I work with don’t use assessments or data in this way any longer, although it’s been a long road getting to where they are. I am by no means a fan of standardized testing. It’s a reality though, and without support and good information about how to prepare for and respond to assessment in healthy ways, teachers and kids often find themselves consumed by the pressure they feel they are under. I think there are good ways to make use of assessment data, but the points you make are so important–information needs to be shared early, used to inform instruction, and analyzed beside many other measures. I often wonder why are teachers not prepared to do this through their certification programs. Teachers are asked to use a wide range of data and assessment practices, yet they receive little support for developing these literacies preservice.
I probably shouldn’t respond at all, but since I’ve been on both sides of the coin on this issue, I feel I must say something. Before I taught in New York, I taught for many years in North Carolina-a VERY high stakes testing state that pitted good teachers against AYP goals by offering incentives if the students scored a certain percentage over what they scored last year–by any means necessary. This meant that for two months before the state tests, all instruction was effectively shut down and teachers were handed “research based” test prep books. I hated it and so did the kids. They were so exhausted by the “test prep” that we never really saw much change from one year’s score to the next. Not to mention the fact that none of this data was ever collected with the intention of driving future instruction.
When I moved to New York, I was a little shocked that the two months was shortened to two weeks of test prep, but that the same “test prep” materials were still being used. Over the course of 14 years teaching, and reading “the research” myself–I saw that these books really didn’t do a whole lot, like Angela said, except to frustrate kids AND teachers who had to (or felt they needed to) use them. When presented with the task of preparing my own students AND still handed the test prep books, I decided to use ONE passage w/ questions and rip it apart with the kids. I wanted them to be metacognitive about WHY they were answering what they were answering and prove their answers with solid facts from the texts. I did not want to drill and skill them into oblivion. Also, I could have done this with any text and questions–and didn’t need a special book to do so.
Beyond that, I wanted the students to analyze what types of questions they did well on, and what types they could improve on. I asked them to bring in tests that they had already taken and look at which types of questions they most often missed, and then whether or not it was an issue of not studying properly or not knowing strategies for that particular type of question.
I didn’t harp on things though. I wanted them to know my perspective and I started talking about this from the beginning–not two weeks before the test was to be administered.
Test “Prep” is largely a joke. We’re preparing kids for tests that they already know how to take. They’ve already seen the format, they already know the drill. What is actually happening is that the “Test Prep” is turning into “Test Kill.” Frustrating the kids and filling them with fear is undoing their ability to do well on these tests. The brain will tend to block incoming information in the presence of negative stress.
So, for me, it boils down to trust and positivity. We need to trust the students–that they will do well without an overbearing “test prep” monkey on their backs and we also need to be positive about the upcoming assessment. Positivity breeds emotional engagement, which breeds attention, which drives performance. Rather than a workbook full of drill and skill, what about a pep rally? What about creative visualization? What about letting the kids decide how they would like to prepare for the tests? One of the things we did down South was to rewrite the popular songs of the moment with test-type lingo and then perform them for the students. The kids thought it was a laugh riot and really put them in a positive place.
I’m thinking we should rewrite the test prep books, but I’m betting my version wouldn’t be very popular…there wouldn’t be any questions in it.
Oh, and here’s a freebie: (To the tune of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” ) in honor of a mutual friend:
Student’s Cheer (Gonna Have To Test On It)
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
Now put your books up!
Up in the class, the time came fast,
We gotta do this little ole test
We worked real hard, now we’re on guard
And all we can give is our best.
I’m ready now, Won’t have a cow,
I’m ready to pay attention
I’m the best there is, gonna bust this quiz
Gotta get lots of rest
‘Cause if you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you’re ready then you’re gonna do your best on it
So if you learn it
Then you’re gonna have to test on it. (Oh, Oh, Oh.)
I got protein, that’s nice and lean
And all the pencils I need
I’m not acting up, I say “WASSUP”
When it’s time to put the test in front of me.
I’m on a learning mission, did I mention
I gotta pay attention.
Now it’s my turn,
To prove what I learn
I won’t let some test beat me!
‘Cause if you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you’re ready then you’re gonna do your best on it
So if you learn it
Then you’re gonna have to test on it. (Oh, Oh, Oh.)
‘Cause if you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you’re ready then you’re gonna do your best on it
So if you learn it
Then you’re gonna have to test on it. (Oh, Oh, Oh.)
Don’t tell me that you worry about me,
I’m gonna be just fine,
You just wait and see, you gotta believe
I’m a kid who knows just what to do, here in school,
I won’t disappoint you, I’ve got a clue
This is true.
I’m ready for this test
Because I am the best,
Give it here, I’m ready now,
And like a star, you’ll just say WOW!
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
All the student’s cheer
Now put your books up!
‘Cause if you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you learn it then
You’re gonna have to test on it
If you’re ready then you’re gonna do your best on it
So if you learn it
Then you’re gonna have to test on it. (Oh, Oh, Oh.)
I saw this on your blog and plan to link to it in another post : ) How fun! Jerry Balisteri explained his approach around prep to me and with other colleagues this month in Depew, and it made a lot of sense. Looked much like what you explain here. Thoughtful and intentional.
Maybe the question teachers and educators should ask is — how do we make better writers, thinkers, and evaluators? How do we instill and motivate our students to read and enjoy what they are reading?
All too often test prep is teacher driven torture even though students must perform on the test…as an ELA teacher we can only guess on passages from the test, but at least we can prepare our students on how to analyze different texts.
It would be interesting to take a teacher who doesn’t focus on test prep and one who does and compare their scores. Would the score matter or would the overall outcome of the student’s growth matter more?
I agree with you, Pam. I think it would make sense to have conversation and to begin studying what makes sense and serves students best in terms of test prep. Experience tells folks like us that it’s all about helping kids become better readers, writers, and thinkers…….which is what we’re in the business of doing anyway. But my experiences don’t often quell the fears of those who are responsible for preparing kids. I think conversation, study, and sharing what works makes sense.