Practice Reading Test Today

Parents,

 

Today we took another practice reading FCAT test that is aligned to FCAT 2.0 next generation questions. Some students did extremely well others didn't do so well. I have recorded the test in Progressbook but will not count it as credit. Before the test some students asked me if they had to use the strategies I have been teaching them such as SMART 7 and PIP. I told the kids that on the day of the test I can not make them use a specific strategy, however, I highly recommend using both strategies because they have proven to be successful in the past.

 

If I knew that a strategy was almost guaranteed to work, I know I would use it for sure, it wouldn't hurt. The FCAT allows plenty of time for kids to use strategies beyond just reading the passages and answering questions. I also asked the kids if they were aware of the fact that our brain remembers information better when we write it down, almost 40% better in fact, if I knew that statistic I know I would be writing down notes in the margin as I tested. However, many students today decided to not use the strategies that I have been teaching and sure enough it backfired on them, they didn't score well at all. After the test I asked volunteers that scored high to share what they did to score high and you can guess that they all said they used SMART 7, PIP, double checked their work, looked for clues, and took their time.

 

The BIG day is next week so all I'm saying is that I highly suggest the students use the strategies that I've been teaching them all year and not decide on the day of the test that they will use some other strategy or no strategy at all with the hopes that they will do well by chance. Maybe the kids are just getting  "burnt" out on testing and test taking skills or maybe they are becoming over confident but I think you may be able to have an important conversation with your child this week about their goals for the assessment and what their strategy will be on test day. A conversation coming from you at this point may be helpful. I know they can do it, we are so close!!!