The Rookery

The irony of our project presentations directly preceding MCA season is not lost on us.  However, in my more generous moods, I can see them as related.  Both are ways of showing others what you know.  Granted, I think that a project presentation is a more authentic demonstration of a child's ability to question, discover and teach.  But I think it's important for students to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways and, in our world, tests are one of those ways.

To that end, we work to make sure that students feel comfortable sharing what they know on the MCA.  For the past week, we've been reviewing some key concepts.  This year, I've been talking a lot to the students about the neuroscience of learning.  We've worked to build strong synapse connections among concepts and vocabulary and we've talked about the work and process of building understanding.  When we've returned to review ideas, I've challenged students to "re-find" the synapse connection.  The pathway is still there but it might have become a little overgrown – some weeding might be in order!

Along with reviewing vocabulary and formulas, we've also been talking about how to successfully show what you know on a test:

1) Know what to expect – we have reviewed the content and looked at sample questions.  In addition, all students have had an opportunity to try out the on-line tools such as text to speech, answer elimination, bookmarking and highlighting.  We've also talked about how to use the calculator effectively.

2) Have Fun – Attitude means a lot.  Students look to us to see how they are supposed to feel.  I encourage students to smile (we even practice fake smiling) in order to release chemicals that help us relax.  We also do some invigorating (and silly) power stances.  Being relaxed gives students a sense of control and they are much better able to access what they know.

3) View tests as a puzzle.  Be interested in what you're doing – Fourth and fifth graders are still pretty concrete.  They can look at a test item and quickly give up because they think they don't know it.  Instead, we encourage them to think of each question as a puzzle.  Often, there are clues to what's being asked in the answers provided.  Maybe there was a similar problem earlier that holds a clue.  What is familiar?  How could they use what they know to figure out what they don't know.  Thinking of the test as a puzzle to solve also makes it more interesting and the more engaged one's brain is, the more likely one is to be able to show what you know.  (Insert joke about zombies not being very good test takers here.)

4) Check your work three times.  Use scrap paper a lot!  We teach students to re-read each question and re-think each problem.  The MCA is not timed so there is no reason not to re-do one's work when checking.  We also teach students to use their scrap paper to jot down numbers and calculations.  We also show them how to keep the scrap paper organized so they can come back to their thinking easily when they are checking their work.  I shared with students that this year when I went through the fourth grade item sampler, I missed three questions.  Now, this was not because I don't know fourth grade math – it was because I went quickly and missed words like "less than" or "how many more."  It was a good reminder for students that everyone needs to check their work.

Please don't think that this post is a celebration of the MCA.  It's not.  At all.  Really.  But it is a way to approach the tests we have to take positively so that, as (very) imperfect as the tests are, students are able to crack the test code and show what they know.