At the end of this year, I shared with another teacher that I felt a student did well on their test. She told me that she watched him test and asked what strategy he used. He told her, and when she told me, I just smiled. He was paying attention.

When it comes to ELA tests, there are usually many pages of text for the students to read. My tip is to tell them to read the question, and skim for the answer. Only read if it is absolutely necessary. Or read a small section. Some questions ask them to look at context clues. This is a simple question that can point them in the direction of finding those clues. Reading an entire two pages of text is unnecessary.

Students are so used to reading the text, then reading the question, and then reading the text. This leads to testing burnout quickly. If they read the question first, it provides them with their focus for reading. Then, as they read, they can highlight or make notes if it is a question that they just can’t skim for.

What test taking strategies do you teach in your classroom? Share in the comments below.

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