2. Sound Mind, Sound Body, and Sound: A healthy body leads to a healthy mind. Keeping students in their seats for long periods of time can stifle their ability to think and lead to a loss of focus. Simple stretching exercises can improve blood flow and can help energize students to maintain stamina through a long testing block. Additionally, providing students with a small snack that is low on the glycemic index can give them the mental fuel they need to perform their best.
3. Mind the Gaps: A rich environment won’t help a student much if they haven’t prepared mentally. For this, teachers should consider employing a good, old-fashioned brain dump. For a week prior to a standardized test, you can have students record as much as they can remember about what you learned during the different units you’ve explored. Have them write this out by hand–handwriting helps solidify knowledge in the memory. Follow this up with several partner reviews to reinforce it in students’ minds.
4. The Three Biggies: Finally, it’s good to remember the basics of test taking: Keep students separated to minimize distractions, remind them to eliminate answers they know are incorrect, and when everything else has been done, encourage them to go with their gut.
Standardized tests have their place in the world of education, but that doesn’t mean they need to be traumatic for the students taking them. By giving students the tools and techniques necessary to meet this challenge, educators can give them confidence, and can supercharge this success both in school and afterwards. So, don’t let your students underestimate themselves. Show them just what they can accomplish with a little creativity, confidence, and grit.
Related:
Will gamification replace paper tests?
How the COVID crisis caused K-12 to rethink testing
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