Tag Archives: Standardized testing

Laughter is the test medicine

Some of most favorite memories as a student and as a teacher are the ones where the entire class was laughing.

There is nothing like a good, wholesome, belly aching laugh to make you feel fabulous.  I am sure there is research on the release of endorpIMG_1569hins, but I know that a good  me to the soul, and it helps me relax.

I am not really sure why I began the practice of fostering fun and games in the last days preparing my AP English students for their intense exams.  But I have been doing it for a while now, and I love watching the kids enter the testing room laughing, happy, and most importantly, relaxed.

Perhaps AP kids tend to be uptight.  Perhaps some people think an AP class is supposed to be uptight.  I don’t like to teach in uptight situations, and I did not like being a student in those kinds of classes.

My students have an extremely rigorous program of study to prepare them for the AP English Language and Composition test.  They need to be able to write–extremely well–on timed and intense prompts, and they need to be able to read and analyze–extremely well–dense and difficult pieces of prose. And ironically, they even need to be able to analyze the effect of humor as an argument.

IMG_1568We work hard.  But all through the year, we do laugh.  And when the pressure gets greater, we laugh harder.

A few weeks before the test, I give them song sheets to lyrics to a re-written “I Will Survive” disco song.  We sing, and I usually coerce my colleague to come in and do a few disco spins with me.  Then the real fun begins.

IMG_1584I am generally not a big extra credit kind of teacher.  But in the fourth quarter I offer my students the opportunity to create an extra-credit morale-boosting music video, where they change the lyrics to a song to get the class hyped up and psyched up.

The videos are hilarious.  Somehow they rhyme words like “dialectical journal” and “50 Essays” and even find a way to work in Szymborski.  We watch all the videos, from the first one, “AP Pokerface,” to the new ones, a few every day.

It is so nice to see them leave class each day laughing and smiling and happy and relaxed.

I make a big deal a few days before the exam about the secret homework that they will be assigned the night before the exam.  In the past years, I have even listed it on GradeConnect to make sure parents know their child is not making it up. Their homework consists of doing something fun–going to the movies, playing a basketball game, getting a manicure–and not looking at any test prep materials. We talk about the importance of a good night’s sleep.  We talk about nutrition and the importance of a eating protein rich breakfast to stabilize blood sugar.

IMG_1562The day of the exam, I ask them to report to me a half hour before they are due to report to the testing room.  I blast a playlist, they write last minute worries on post-it notes and place them anywhere in the room–even on the ceiling–for me to “hold” during their test, we take a class picture, and we sing “I’ll Get a Five” one last time.

Then we conga.  

Hands on the shoulders in front.  This year forty-three kids, right through the hallway five minutes before the bell for homeroom.  They conga right through the kids talking at their lockers, past teachers who have seen this year after year, into the back corridor, and into the testing room, entering with a high five from me.

I love seeing them smile.

In case you are thinking that this is all silly, let me explain.  You see I do not care what score each students gets.  As long as it is the BEST one he or she can get.  I look at this as a personal competition.  Whether a five or a two, if each student performs to the greatest level of excellence is capable of reaching, then the test is worthwhile and valid.

Life is hard enough without stress and anxiety about SAT and AP scores. Learning to relax and realize that ONE test does not define a person’s worth is a life lesson. Embracing the belief that learning is more important than any number is the most important lesson for my students.

And laughter is one way to learn that.IMG_1582.

 

Test taking tips: then and now

After the administration of the first new SAT, teachers at my school are thinking about ways to prepare our students for the new format. In addition to developing stronger critical reading skills, students benefit from knowing details about how to prepare for such tests. In fact, helping students develop good test taking skills will benefit them not only for high stakes testing, but for quizzes, tests, and exams as well.

I recently was given a copy of a 1959 article which features test taking tips for teens.  One of the sources for the advice is Morton Botel, the founder of the Penn Literacy Program.

I was especially struck by relevance of the tips to today’s students.  I was curious as to what my students would think as well.  I typed the article and gave it to my students, telling them that the advice in the column was from a friend of mine.  I asked them to read it and comment on the tips that resonated with them and to consider what the article made them wonder.  

Their comments were insightful.

Hannah responded that “it is very important to study a little at a time for a few days leading up to the test.  If by the night before the test the only thing I have to do is review the hardest points, I will be less stressed and more confident.”

“The tips given in this piece are extremely helpful to any student,” wrote Anthony.  “I find that test taking is one of the hardest parts of school today.  A tipblog old test that I will be sure to use in the future is to review the things I find the hardest the night before a test.”

Sean thought that this list “was a good summary of what it means to prepare for and do well on any test.” He especially appreciates tips 7 and 11.  He wrote, “Tip #7, which is to understand how the scoring system of the test works is very important, especially on standardized tests, which sometimes deduct points for incorrect answers and sometimes do not.”

After that, I showed them the original article, which was published in The Chicago Tribune. I asked them to respond with their thoughts and conclusions after realizing that this article was actually written so long ago.

Jackie realized that these tips “for test taking apply throughout the years.  I wonder how different test taking materials are from then to now.  Students now struggle with tests just as much as students then did.”

Nick found it “amazing that this article is so old.  The same techniques and problems have been going on for a very long time.”

And Emily thought it was “interesting to see that so many tips can still be used.”

What struck me is that even as we talk about teaching the 21st century student, testing and test taking advice has not changed much.  Part of me is comforted by this fact, as the durability of testing seems to provide evidence of its importance and relevance.

Yet, I cannot help but wonder, as many of my students noted, why it seems as though testing has remained the same for so long.  And if students are still reporting that they are stressed by such tests, and admit as Erin did that she will “still end up cramming,” if we have somehow failed our students.

As much as things change, they stay the same.  And after 26 years of teaching, I still am not sure how accurate a picture standardized tests–as well as other quizzes, tests, and exams–portray a student.