Test Prep 101: Be Ready for State Testing Week

State testing week brings out all the feels! Teachers, students and parents all feel the pressure to perform as schools attempt to simultaneously emphasize just how important these tests are while also advising not to stress out the students with too much, well, pressure. It can feel impossible to strike the right balance. 

As testing week nears, we definitely think it is important to combat anxiety for students as much as possible. Encouragement, communication and reassurance can go a long way, as the hype around state tests can create unnecessary fears for students - many kids, for example, think that the test will determine whether they can advance to the next grade. You can read more about this and other myths in our article on how to help students cope with state test stress. 

That being said, don't underestimate the power of practical preparation to reduce stress as well! For the math portion, we've put together a list of 4 key math skills you can review with your students to help them feel confident going into testing week and at peace with their effort in the end. 

#1 - Review Word Problems

More than half of the questions your students will encounter on the math section of state assessments will most likely be word problems.  In a study conducted at the University of Texas in Austin, 747 high stakes test released items from grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were analyzed by a team of expert educators and out of those 747 problems, 92% (690 problems) of them were found to be text-based!!  It doesn’t matter if your students can add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers when given a computational problem if they can’t also determine when to use each operation when solving a word problem. Need help with this skill?   We’ve got you covered!  Check out our free Guide to Solving Math Word Problems or for more in-depth instruction you can grab our digital course Word Problems Unlocked. 

#2 - Sharpen Those Math Fact Skills

One of the most frustrating things about math is miscalculating just one out of several steps of a problem results in an incorrect answer.  When you take into consideration that these assessments are timed, that creates an even higher margin for errors due to students feeling the need to rush. Trust us, the multiple-choice questions cunningly contain answer choices that reflect the mistakes students are likely to make. Brushing up on those multiplication and division facts for grades 3-6 and reviewing factors and multiples for grades 4-6 will help your student work confidently through problems on the test and decrease the likelihood of miscalculations.  We have Multiplication and Factors and Multiples Skill Builders to help you out in this department.

#3 - Calculator Review

Most math state assessments are separated into sections, one of which will allow your student to use a calculator (depending on the state and grade level so check with your teacher!).  The problem is that they usually spend almost all of the school year not being able to use a calculator and then can be a little “clumsy” solving problems with a calculator.  Especially since many of the “allowed calculators” are provided as a digital on-screen calculator in which they must use a touch screen or mouse to press the numbers and symbols.  A great way to practice before testing (and throughout the year going forward) is to have them use a calculator to check their homework.  In addition, the very best advice you can give your student when using a calculator is to ALWAYS ENTER IT TWICE and make sure they get the same answer both times! Remind them that even YOU make mistakes using a calculator like hitting the equals button twice or accidentally pressing two buttons at once and this strategy helps eliminate human error.

#4 - Review How to Check Answers

I know this one seems obvious, BUT you would be surprised at how many students either do not check their computational work OR check it the wrong way.  With that being said, first be sure to encourage your student to go back and check their work after finishing the test.  Second, review with them the best way to check different types of problems.  Here are the main problem types to get you started:

• Check addition problems with subtraction.  
• Check subtraction problems with addition
• Check multiplication problems using division.  
• Check division (especially long division!) using multiplication.  
• Check solutions to equations by substituting your answer for the variable into the original equation. 

It’s amazing the difference just reviewing and practicing these tips can make on your student’s performance. Happy Test Prep!