“Is This a Test???”
Standardized Test Prep Strategies for YEC members
DISCUSSION GROUPS:
BY GRADE & SUBJECT AREA
Please sit at a table based on where you spend MOST
of your YEC tutoring time:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
3-4th Reading
5-6th Reading
5-6th Writing
3-4th Math
5-6th Math
DO’S & DON’TS

DO:

DON’T:

Promote positive attitudes about
testing: “BE serious, BE confident, BE
strategic”*

Over-focus on upcoming testing

Add to a student’s anxiety or stress
by “hovering” or overcorrecting
mistakes

Make it obvious every time you are
practicing a test-taking strategy. (Try
to integrate test prep into the
learning task at hand.)

Practice ways to relax

Stay focused on RELATIONSHIP &
LEARNING

Make learning fun, whenever
possible
*from article: “No Pain, High Gain” by Nell K Duke, Ron Richhart
“Long Before the Test” STUDY SKILLS: Pick 1 to practice
with your students during sessions, then try another
• Repeating information and stating it several different ways, out loud, to your
shoulder partner (or to your dog at home!)
• After identifying an important “nugget”, close your eyes and paint a mental
picture of that concept. For example, “see” the buckets from the story
problem lined up in rows. Imagine what the synonym for “shuffle” (waddle)
looks like and say the word out loud while picturing it.
• Practice various mnemonic techniques (see handout), as you encounter
important facts or lists.
“Night Before the Test” tips: Look for teachable
moments to reinforce teacher’s messages about
sleep/nutrition

Have your students ever been tired? Keep one of those stories in your
pocket for later! (hint: share it at a time when they are NOT tired)

E.g. “You’re pretty on top of things today! Did you sleep well? You’re doing so
much better than that one day when you were tired. It makes sense to me why
your teacher says to get a good night’s rest before your test.”

Use a similar approach for the importance of eating a good breakfast/lunch. We
call it “brain food.” Have students brainstorm what kinds of things would be good
brain food (slow release of energy) and which would be poor brain food (high in
sugar, quick release of energy).
“DURING THE TEST” TIPS: Try to model 1 strategy for
strategic test-taking through a “think aloud” during your
tutoring session
1. Look over the whole test (or assignment) before beginning, so you can budget
your time.
• “Hmm. (flipping through the reading packet) It looks like we have 2 stories
to read, and 10 questions. How long do you think we should spend on the
first story?”
2. Skim through and answer the easiest questions first. Answer more challenging
items next. Decide whether you will circle or “star” the ones you skip.
• “Wow, problems 1-3 & 16 look pretty easy. Let’s do those real quick so we
know how much time we have left to do the harder ones.”
3. Eliminate choices that are obviously incorrect.
• “Before we answer this reading question, let me make up two possible
answers. You tell me which one is totally silly because it doesn’t fit what we
know from the story.”
DISCUSSION GROUPS:
BY GRADE & SUBJECT AREA
1) Take 2-3 pages of your grade level’s sample test.
1) Take the next 10 minutes to answer as many questions
as possible.
2) Prepare:
• Choose 1 study skill or mnemonic device (see slide
#3 & handout) that could help a student remember a
concept related to 1 of your test questions.
• Choose 1 of the “During the Test” tips (slide #5) to
practice with your group & think of a way to model it
using the test pages you have.
DISCUSSION GROUPS:
BY GRADE & SUBJECT AREA
4) “Round Robin” Role Play/Share:
• Each member of group will play “YEC member” role
and share the mnemonic device they chose. Have
“students” practice it.
•
Each member of group will role play their selected
“During the Test” tip and have “students” practice it.
RESOURCES:
Helpful Test Prep articles & lesson plans:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collecti
on/standardized-test-preparation
AZ Dept of Ed Practice AIMS tests:
http://www.azed.gov/standardsdevelopment-assessment/aims/sample-forstudents/