Teach Reading, Not Testing
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Description
Teaching IS rocket science—and you are the pilot!
Teach Reading, Not Testing reinforces what teachers already know—test preparation worksheets and drill-and-kill activities do not make children into lifelong readers. The authors' conscientious approach to reading instruction combines an insider perspective on the development of high-stakes tests with classroom experience in achieving successful reading outcomes at the elementary and secondary levels. Their research-based methodology, building on teachers' expertise about best practice, is based on five key components:
- Aligning instruction to the state or national core standards
- Using formative assessment
- Connecting units to real-world contexts
- Motivating students effectively
- Holding on to best practice in literacy instruction
Included are end-of-chapter quizzes and real-life scenarios, plus a full chapter on teaching literacy with special populations. Readers will find helpful solutions for teaching children to love reading in the midst of the accountability movement, and an approach to test preparation that doesn't require teachers to sacrifice everything they already know about teaching kids to read.
Contents
Foreword by W. James Popham
Foreword by W. James Popham
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
About the Authors
Introduction
- 1. Conducting an Alignment Study
- Conducting an Alignment Study
- What Is Alignment?
- Teaching to the Test: Just Say No
- Key Points to Remember
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 2. Using Formative Assessments
- What Does Formative Mean?
- How Are the Scores of Test Takers Analyzed?
- Differentiated Instruction
- Tests as a Snap Shot: The Jacuzzi Metaphor
- DIBELS
- Test Quality and District Assessments
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 3. Struggling Readers
- Accommodations Versus Modifications
- Modifications and High-Stakes Tests: Alternative Assessments
- Accommodations and High-Stakes Tests
- Assistive Technology (AT)
- Response to Intervention (RTI)
Differentiated Instruction (DI)
- English Language Learners (ELLs)
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 4. Attitude and Motivation
- Motivation Research
- Incentives
- Goal Setting
- What to Do If Your Principal Wants to Use Pizza Parties to Bribe Students
- The Use of Practice Tests: Preparation or Motivation?
- Test Preparation: Analyzing Tests as a Reading Genre
- Communicaton With Stakeholders
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 5. Engaged Independent Reading
- Connect Your Reading Units to Real-World Contexts
- Teaching Students to Read for Pleasure
- Reading at Home: W.E.I.R.D.
- What's the Deal With Boys?
- Literature Circles and Book Clubs: What Is Normal in the Real World?
- Best Practice for Book Clubs
- Summary
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 6. Best Practice
- What Do Quality Inservices Look Like?
- Theory and Practice at the Elementary Level: Best Practices Primer
- Know What Works for You
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 7. Implications for Your Teaching and Beyond
- Holding Your Ground
- Test Misuse in the Early Days of Testing
- The Need for a Supportive Principal
- No More Teaching to the Test
- Next Steps
- Final Thoughts
Resource A: Answers to Quizzes
Resource A: Answers to Quizzes
Resource B: Five Ways to Teach Vocabulary
Resource B: Five Ways to Teach Vocabulary
General Glossary of Assessment Terms
General Glossary of Assessment Terms
References
References
Index
Index
Additional materials
Description
Teaching IS rocket science—and you are the pilot!
Teach Reading, Not Testing reinforces what teachers already know—test preparation worksheets and drill-and-kill activities do not make children into lifelong readers. The authors' conscientious approach to reading instruction combines an insider perspective on the development of high-stakes tests with classroom experience in achieving successful reading outcomes at the elementary and secondary levels. Their research-based methodology, building on teachers' expertise about best practice, is based on five key components:
- Aligning instruction to the state or national core standards
- Using formative assessment
- Connecting units to real-world contexts
- Motivating students effectively
- Holding on to best practice in literacy instruction
Included are end-of-chapter quizzes and real-life scenarios, plus a full chapter on teaching literacy with special populations. Readers will find helpful solutions for teaching children to love reading in the midst of the accountability movement, and an approach to test preparation that doesn't require teachers to sacrifice everything they already know about teaching kids to read.
Contents
Foreword by W. James Popham
Foreword by W. James Popham
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
About the Authors
Introduction
- 1. Conducting an Alignment Study
- Conducting an Alignment Study
- What Is Alignment?
- Teaching to the Test: Just Say No
- Key Points to Remember
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 2. Using Formative Assessments
- What Does Formative Mean?
- How Are the Scores of Test Takers Analyzed?
- Differentiated Instruction
- Tests as a Snap Shot: The Jacuzzi Metaphor
- DIBELS
- Test Quality and District Assessments
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 3. Struggling Readers
- Accommodations Versus Modifications
- Modifications and High-Stakes Tests: Alternative Assessments
- Accommodations and High-Stakes Tests
- Assistive Technology (AT)
- Response to Intervention (RTI)
Differentiated Instruction (DI)
- English Language Learners (ELLs)
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 4. Attitude and Motivation
- Motivation Research
- Incentives
- Goal Setting
- What to Do If Your Principal Wants to Use Pizza Parties to Bribe Students
- The Use of Practice Tests: Preparation or Motivation?
- Test Preparation: Analyzing Tests as a Reading Genre
- Communicaton With Stakeholders
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 5. Engaged Independent Reading
- Connect Your Reading Units to Real-World Contexts
- Teaching Students to Read for Pleasure
- Reading at Home: W.E.I.R.D.
- What's the Deal With Boys?
- Literature Circles and Book Clubs: What Is Normal in the Real World?
- Best Practice for Book Clubs
- Summary
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 6. Best Practice
- What Do Quality Inservices Look Like?
- Theory and Practice at the Elementary Level: Best Practices Primer
- Know What Works for You
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 7. Implications for Your Teaching and Beyond
- Holding Your Ground
- Test Misuse in the Early Days of Testing
- The Need for a Supportive Principal
- No More Teaching to the Test
- Next Steps
- Final Thoughts
Resource A: Answers to Quizzes
Resource A: Answers to Quizzes
Resource B: Five Ways to Teach Vocabulary
Resource B: Five Ways to Teach Vocabulary
General Glossary of Assessment Terms
General Glossary of Assessment Terms
References
References
Index
Index
Additional materials
Reviews
Teach Reading, Not Testing
Best Practice in an Age of Accountability
November 2011 | 144 pages | Corwin
| Format | Published Date | ISBN | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | 01/02/2026 | 9781412997737 | $37.95 |
| Lifetime | 01/02/2026 | 9781452269399 | $35.00 |
Teaching IS rocket science—and you are the pilot!
Teach Reading, Not Testing reinforces what teachers already know—test preparation worksheets and drill-and-kill activities do not make children into lifelong readers. The authors' conscientious approach to reading instruction combines an insider perspective on the development of high-stakes tests with classroom experience in achieving successful reading outcomes at the elementary and secondary levels. Their research-based methodology, building on teachers' expertise about best practice, is based on five key components:
- Aligning instruction to the state or national core standards
- Using formative assessment
- Connecting units to real-world contexts
- Motivating students effectively
- Holding on to best practice in literacy instruction
Included are end-of-chapter quizzes and real-life scenarios, plus a full chapter on teaching literacy with special populations. Readers will find helpful solutions for teaching children to love reading in the midst of the accountability movement, and an approach to test preparation that doesn't require teachers to sacrifice everything they already know about teaching kids to read.
Table Of Contents:
- Foreword by W. James Popham
- Acknowledgments
- About the Authors
- Introduction
- 1. Conducting an Alignment Study
- Conducting an Alignment Study
- What Is Alignment?
- Teaching to the Test: Just Say No
- Key Points to Remember
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 2. Using Formative Assessments
- What Does Formative Mean?
- How Are the Scores of Test Takers Analyzed?
- Differentiated Instruction
- Tests as a Snap Shot: The Jacuzzi Metaphor
- DIBELS
- Test Quality and District Assessments
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 3. Struggling Readers
- Accommodations Versus Modifications
- Modifications and High-Stakes Tests: Alternative Assessments
- Accommodations and High-Stakes Tests
- Assistive Technology (AT)
- Response to Intervention (RTI)
- Differentiated Instruction (DI)
- English Language Learners (ELLs)
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 4. Attitude and Motivation
- Motivation Research
- Incentives
- Goal Setting
- What to Do If Your Principal Wants to Use Pizza Parties to Bribe Students
- The Use of Practice Tests: Preparation or Motivation?
- Test Preparation: Analyzing Tests as a Reading Genre
- Communicaton With Stakeholders
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 5. Engaged Independent Reading
- Connect Your Reading Units to Real-World Contexts
- Teaching Students to Read for Pleasure
- Reading at Home: W.E.I.R.D.
- What's the Deal With Boys?
- Literature Circles and Book Clubs: What Is Normal in the Real World?
- Best Practice for Book Clubs
- Summary
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 6. Best Practice
- What Do Quality Inservices Look Like?
- Theory and Practice at the Elementary Level: Best Practices Primer
- Know What Works for You
- End-of-Chapter Quiz
- 7. Implications for Your Teaching and Beyond
- Holding Your Ground
- Test Misuse in the Early Days of Testing
- The Need for a Supportive Principal
- No More Teaching to the Test
- Next Steps
- Final Thoughts
- Resource A: Answers to Quizzes
- Resource B: Five Ways to Teach Vocabulary
- General Glossary of Assessment Terms
- References
- Index