Testing Tuesday: Almost. Done.

I somehow landed a pretty sweet testing schedule this year and was one of only two classes that got to test during the first two weeks at our school.  We have 3 days of reading and 3 days of math, so tomorrow will be my last day of assessments for this year.  (Well, except for a couple students who were in separate settings or that were absent last week.)  I'm super happy to get it over with.  Does anyone else just get to the point where you feel like there's nothing more you can do to help prep the kids?  I usually get to that point about 2/3 of the way through February.  Thankfully, this year the schedule worked in my favor and I don't have to worry about any testing after Spring Break.  I totally prefer it that way!

I don't really have anything much to share with you testing wise this Tuesday.  Like I said, I'm pretty much over it.  I'll probably take a break from sharing testing stuff for a while and maybe come back with another (semi) clever weekly theme.  

To all of you that have students testing over the coming days, weeks, and months I wish you and your students the very best!  I hope everyone's hard work pays off!  

Testing Tuesday (A Few Days Late): Goodies!

 Happy Tuesday Friday  SATURDAY!  It's been a very busy week with testing, so I'm a little behind on my posts.  I've been trying to work off stress (and make up for going out to eat too much in the last few weeks) by working out each evening, so my computer and blogging time has been a little less.

Well, reading assessments have come and gone and I have to brag on my class...  They totally rocked!  I was pretty confident that they'd all do just fine, but I was really surprised at how well they did as a whole.  They're my highest scoring class in my five years of teaching!  I hope that they're ready to do this well on math assessments next week!

Anyway, I mentioned the other day that I had a lot to prep for assessments.  I've taken over a lot of the testing coordinator responsibilities this year, so I've been in charge of getting goodies together for all of the students.  

(You might recall my post on motivating students.)  

I wanted to share some of the treats and goodies that we have for the kids during testing weeks.  

I might also add that we combine our assessment kickoff with Dr. Suess Week for the lower grades.  Pre-K through second grade has themes each day based on a Dr. Seuss book.  Ours are pretty much the same, but ours are tied with testing:

Monday - Dress for Success (Wear nice clothes.)

Tuesday - Anti-Bullying shirts (This is every Tuesday.)

Wednesday - Ready, Set, GO!  (Wear green shirts.)

Thursday - Step Up to the Test (Wear silly socks.)

Friday - Hats Off to Testing (Wear hats.)

In addition, our principal comes around to each classroom and gives a motivational speech.  He's been doing this for several years (as a teacher) and we all insisted that he continue this tradition.  He usually finds a video clip about someone who has overcome challenges and encourages the kids to overcome their fear and challenges with testing.  He then passes out a special paper with an encouraging phrase that many of the students take with them during testing.

Finally, the little kids in the lower grades write letters to the kids before testing.  My aunt is a first grade teacher in my building, so her class wrote letters to us and gave out some little treats.  My class loved getting letters from the first graders!  Many of them took those letters with them during testing too!

Does your school do anything special to get the kids pumped up for assessments?  I'd love to hear some ideas and suggestions that I could use for next year!  :)

Testing Tuesday: Accommodating Students

I've been pretty busy today and didn't have much time for today's Testing Tuesday.  BUT, I wanted to talk briefly about how to handle difficult testing situations with challenging students.  

We have a good amount of freedom to have students test in various settings around the building.  Students can test with paras and teachers in whatever setting we feel best sets them up for success.  During our six days of testing I usually only have about half of my class in the computer lab with me.  The rest of my students are in other settings where I feel they'll be able to do their best.

The biggest thing is to know what is allowed by your school / district / state.  I'm one of the head assessment people in my building now, so I've been studying up on what is and isn't allowed.  There are a lot of specifics on taking the test itself, but some accommodations are pretty much just good practice in any testing situation.

If you have this freedom, here are a few suggestions on how to set students up for success.

1. Make sure students are comfortable with the person they're testing with.  Some of my lower students spend a lot of time with some of our paras when they do interventions.  I have to say my paras are the real rock stars and really build great relationships with the kids.  A child will want to perform their best with someone who they know and trust.  I really try to not have my students test with someone they don't have a relationship with.  
2. Find the time of day when kids are most alert.  It ends up most years that my class tests first thing in the morning.  For most kids this is best, but for some, it's not.  For example, I had a student a few years ago who always had a rough morning getting from home to school in one piece.  Her mom would walk her to class and I could always tell by the looks on their faces how the day had started.  For this student, afternoons were the best times to test.  If the morning was rough it was usually forgotten by the afternoon.  Kids don't test well when their minds are elsewhere.
3. Give 'em a break!  If your assessments aren't timed (like ours), let you students take their time so that they're more relaxed.  Each part of our tests usually takes the kids only 45 minutes or so, but that can still be a long time to sit and work.  I encourage my students to get up and take a quiet stretch break every few problems.  I also allow my students to bring snacks during testing weeks.  If we test first thing in the morning I encourage them to eat a good breakfast, but allow the kids to enjoy a snack afterwards.  If we test later in the morning I let my kids enjoy their healthy snack before going to the testing rooms.

How do you accommodate students during testing?  

Testing Tuesday: Motivating Students

When it comes to assessments, motivating kids to do their best is a big part of preparing them for the big test.  I think we do a really great job of this in my school.  I've had students come in on the first day of school (two years in a row!) and tell me they were excited to be in third grade because they got to take state assessments!  Yes, seriously!  

So, how to we get our students motivated?  Here are a few things that we do in our school and in my classroom to help motivate students to do their best on the test.

1. Track their progress - We have practice tests available online and after each test I have the kids record their score on a graph.  The kids each have a bar graph for reading and math and they fill in the bar for the appropriate test.  I have a big bold line showing where 70% is (passing).  It's a really easy way to track progress and a great visual for students.  It's also a really great thing to show parents at conference!
2. Offer incentives - To go along with our formatives (practice tests) the students who score an 80% or better on a set number of tests will be able to earn their way into a pizza party after assessments are over.  We can't really do this based on their performance on the real test, but this is something we're doing to get them to do their best on the formatives and hopefully prep them to do their best on the real thing.  After assessments we usually take the kids on a special field trip or do an ice cream party and inflatables at the school.  We can't reward kids based on scores, but this is something we motivate kids with based on their effort.  As long as they do their best and keep a good attitude, they'll get to participate in the celebration!
3. Pump them up - It's hard to get excited about a test.  I mean, how many of us used to get super excited about taking a test?  Probably none.  Our testing lands at the same time as Dr. Seuss Week so we do a "spirit week" type thing to get the kids excited about assessments.  Each day has a theme:  PJ Day, Dress Your Best for the Test, Silly Socks, Hat Day, etc.  We've even had the high school band and cheerleaders come in for a pep assembly!  We include the younger grades in on all of this, which is why I have kids so excited about testing in third grade.
4. Inspire them - Our principal used to be a fellow third grade teacher and he would tour the classrooms in the days leading to assessments and give a motivational speech to the kids.  It usually involved a video clip about someone who has overcome difficulty to exceed at something great.  Then, at the end he passes out a colorful sheet of paper with some simple words of wisdom or an inspirational quote.  A lot of the kids keep this paper with them during testing to remind them to keep working even when things get hard.
5. Give them goodies - As I said, testing is usually kicked off with Dr. Seuss Week.  I've been lucky enough to hit Target's dollar section several times when they've carried Dr. Seuss themed goodies.  For this year I have Dr. Seuss silly bands, erasers, and pencils to give to the students during testing week.  It's a small way that I remind them I care.  For some kids, just looking at an eraser or having a silly band on their wrist reminds them that I believe in them and I know they can do a great job!  In addition, our younger kids write kind letters of encouragement to the older students and deliver them at the beginning of testing.  Some of the kids take their letters to them when they go test to remind them to do their best.  They're usually accompanied with some "Smarties"! :)

Do you do anything special to motivate your students to do their best on state assessments?  I'd love to hear more ideas on ways to pump the kids up for these tests!

Testing Tuesday: Assessment Prep Stations

In preparation for assessment season I'd like to share a few ideas and tips for thing that I do to help prepare my students for their state tests.  We are still going off state standards for the next couple years and will be gradually moving towards Common Core.  I know things will have to change when we make that transition, but I'm not going to think about that quite yet!

A few years ago my two fellow third grade colleagues and I decided to change things up a bit for our state assessment prep.  We don't switch classes for different subjects like some schools do, but we thought that rotating our students and doing test prep groups would be a fun way to mix things up a bit.  Each teacher has unique tips, tricks, and lessons for teaching different skills so it's a nice way to share that with all of the students in our grade level.

Here's how it works...

From January to March for 30 minutes 3 days a week we rotate our classes and do a small mini lesson, game, or review session based on our tested indicators.  We typically do Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday since we have a lot of Mondays and Fridays off this time of year.  It's sometimes hard to eek out an extra 30 minutes from the day, but sometimes other things (like science, SS, and unfortunately writing) sometimes get cut.

Each teacher works on a specific skill each week.  For ease of planning, I teach reading lessons, one of my coworkers teaching reading lessons, and the other alternates between reading and math.  The nice thing about it is that we're teaching one lesson three times...  Just once to each class!

We typically do these stations at the end of the school day, so I try to do activities that are a little exciting and engaging for the students.  I use Quia a lot to create games and other activities for us to do, so that we're not stuck doing another worksheet or practice test.  (I hope to share some of my Quia activities on here soon after I make a few.)

If you have any great tips and tricks on prepping your students for state assessments, please share!  I'd love to get some fresh, new ideas!  :)