Making StandardsBased Testing Work for You

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Making Standards-Based Testing Work for You

• Mrs. Natasha Neagle
• Baltimore City Public Schools
• November 24, 2009

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Goals and Objectives

• Students will increase their knowledge of content
  covered in class by using various study
  strategies both in and outside the classroom
• Students will increase their assessment scores by
  applying basic test-taking strategies to every
  assessment

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Pieces of A Puzzle
Slash The Trash

Graphic Organizers
Negative Qs
Jail The Detail
Extra! Extra! Read all about it
Plug it in!
Test -Taking Tips

• Using study strategies at home will increase a
  students knowledge base.
• In conjunction with test-taking strategies,
  students will easily find the answers to the
  question at test time.

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Study Strategies
Study Strategies

• By taking the time to teach different study
  strategies within your classroom you will
  increase the success your students will have on
  retaining information.
• Present one strategy at a time and practice

• Foldables
• Cornell Notes
• Graphic Organizers

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Foldables a 3-D, interactive graphic
organizer

Foldables

• ...quickly organize, display and arrange data
• result in student-made study guides
• ...continue to "immerse" students in previously
• can be used as alternative assessment tools

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Foldables
(E.E. Miller Elementary, 2006)
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Cornell Notes
Cornell Notes

• Cornell notes, also called the Cornell
  note-taking system, was devised by Walter Pauk in
  the 1950s.
• This system is becoming increasingly popular
  system in the 2000s, particularly since the No
  Child Left Behind Act.

• The New York Public Education System uses teaches
  this style of note taking in its curriculum.
• Most Southern California schools are also
  beginning to use it.

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Cornell Notes
Cornell Notes

• a method of note taking
• to help students take organized notes
• to help students identify keywords and
• concepts from a lecture
• to help students scan their notes to
• locate important information

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Cornell Notes
(Cornell University, n.d.)
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Graphic Organizers

Graphic Organizers

• instructional tools used to illustrate
  knowledge

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Graphic Organizers
(E.E. Miller Elementary, 2006)
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Test-Taking Strategies

• Use test-taking strategies to overcome testing
  barriers
• Present one strategy at a time and practice

• Slash the Trash
• Jail the Detail
• Negative Questions
• Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
• Plug it in! Plug it in!

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Slash The Trash
Slash The Trash

• Read ALL choices. Mark possible correct answers
  with a ?. 
• Cross through any choices you know are incorrect.
• Think carefully about the remaining choices and
  choose what you think is the BEST answer. 

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Example Slash the Trash

• Even if you arent sure what a watershed is,
  Madison and Littleton are nowhere near the James
  River. Therefore, you can eliminate B and D.

The answer in this case is A.
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Jail The Detail
Jail The Detail

• Look for the keywords within a question that tell
  you what the question is asking.
• Highlight, Underlining or circling them may help
  you to determine the best answer.

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Example Jail the Detail

• Certain storms form over water near the equator,
  usually between the months of June and November.
  Warm, moist air rises quickly over the ocean
  causing a strong, whirling storm with high winds
  and heavy rains. This type of storm is known as a
  
• Tornado
• Hurricane
• Blizzard
• Sandstorm

__________________
_____
_____
Only two storms have swirling winds and rain.
Typically in these late summer months we see a
lot of hurricanes!
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Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
Extra! Extra! Read all about it

• Do not skim or scan any part of the test!
• Read each question and each answer carefully
  before making a final choice.

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Example Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

• If you omit this in your reading than the
  question makes no sense.
• If you look for the answer to the question in
  the box you will be confused because it is not
  the question that needs to be answered.

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Plug it in! Plug it in!
Plug it in!

• Plug in each answer to the question and see if it
  makes sense.
• If an answer does not make sense in a question it
  can be eliminated by Slashing the Trash.
• Then, review the remaining answers to pick the
  best answer.

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Example Plug it in! Plug it in!

• November 6 is way before the 23 so it wouldnt
  make sense and should be slashed.
• November 17 is before the 23.
• November 18 is before the 23.
• November 24 is after the 23 so this can be
  slashed right away.

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Negative Questions
Negative Qs

• There is a rule to follow when answering negative
  questions
• There are three answer choices that are similar
  but the answer will always belong to the choice
  that does not fit the trend

• Whenever you see the words not, except, never,
  disadvantage or no ask yourself if this is a
  negative question.
• Write -3 beside the problem.

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Example Negative Questions

• Answer A is metric
• Answer B is not metric
• Answer C is metric
• Answer D is metric

The correct answer is B
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General TestTaking Tips
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How to Approach Answering

• Multiple choice questions
• True-False questions
• Short Answer questions

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Multiple Choice

• In a question with an "All of the above" choice,
  if you see that at least two correct statements,
  then "All of the above" is probably the answer.
• Read all the choices before choosing your answer.

• Come up with the answer in your head before
  looking at the possible answers, this way the
  choices given on the test won't throw you off or
  trick you.
• A positive choice is more likely to be true than
  a negative one.

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True - False

• Usually there are more true answers than false on
  most tests.
• Qualifiers like "never, always, and every mean
  that the statement must be true all of the time.
  Usually these type of qualifiers lead to a false
  answer.

• Qualifiers like "usually, sometimes, and
  generally" mean that if the statement can be
  considered true or false depending on the
  circumstances. Usually these type of qualifiers
  lead to an answer of true.

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Short Answer

• Try not to leave an answer blank, show your
  work/write down your thoughts, even if you don't
  get the exact answer, partial credit is usually
  awarded
• If you don't know the answer, come back to it
  after you finish the rest of the test and make an
  educated guess. Other parts of the test may give
  you clues to what the answer may be.

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Lets Recap

• Using both study and test-taking strategies can
  increase student achievement.
• Plan time in the classroom to teach and review
  these strategies

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References

• Cornell University Center for Learning and
  Teaching (n.d.) Cornell note- taking system.
  Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from
  http//www.clt.cornell.edu/campus/learn/LSC20Res
  ources/cornellsystem.pdf
• E.E. Miller Elementary School. (n.d.) Graphic
  Organizer Suggestions. Retrieved on March 15,
  2007 from www.eemes.ccs.k12.nc.us/candler/PDF/fol
  dables.pdf
• Herbert, J. (n.d.) Herbert Science Foldables.
  Retrieved on March 15, 2007
• from http//www.route-
• one.com/teachers/jaymeherbert/index.asp?pageid2
  49

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References

• North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.
  (n.d.) Graphic Organizers. Retrieved on March
  15, 2007 from http//www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/iss
  ues/students/learning/lr1grorg.htm
• The Learning Toolbox. (n.d.) Cornell Notes.
  Retrieved on March 15, 2007 from
  http//cssdesigns.com/learningtoolbox/cornell.htm
  l
• Wikipedia (2007). Cornell Notes. Retrieved on
  March 15, 2007 from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
  Cornell_Notes.