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Teaching Strategies That Prepare Students for High-Stakes Tests
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Teaching Strategies That Prepare Students for High-Stakes Tests



May 2008 | 104 pages | Corwin

"Helps building and district-level administrators realize that they don't have to abandon sound and effective instructional practices to prepare students for high-stakes tests."
—Sheila Smith, Science Specialist
Jackson Public Schools, MS

"I encourage trainers to discuss this text and its applications with teachers to enhance the performance of students on state and national tests. This book meets a very specific need in classrooms."
—J-Petrina McCarty-Puhl, Teacher
Robert McQueen High School, Reno, NV

Improve student performance on high-stakes tests with research-proven practices for teaching to standards!

Standardized tests are one of the leading measures of student achievement and educator accountability today, so it is important to give students the necessary skills to perform well on state exams and to align instructional practices with standards. This step-by-step manual outlines a straightforward, powerful model for infusing state standards and knowledge benchmarks into lesson plans and day-to-day assessments to boost overall achievement.

Grounded in the results of more than 30,000 studies, the best practices shared by the authors are linked specifically to the two types of knowledge—declarative and procedural—assessed on high-stakes tests and are ranked according to their effectiveness for each type. To help educators maximize testing results while meeting state standards and ultimately deepening student learning, the text provides a solid framework that empowers teachers to easily:

  • Unpack state standards by grade level into measurable units
  • Identify the key elements of state tests
  • Determine and assess critical benchmarks
  • Select the most appropriate and meaningful strategies based on new data on the effectiveness of various instructional practices

From reproducible templates to tangible tactics for mapping lesson plans, this resource offers comprehensive tools for teachers to nurture learning and ensure success in all students.


 
List of Figures
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Introduction
 
1. Zooming in on the Standards
The Forgotten Part of the Triangle

 
Meta-Analysis

 
Breaking Down Standards Into Manageable Parts

 
What Will Students Need to Know About the Standard?

 
What Will Students Need to Be Able to Do With the Knowledge?

 
At What Level Will Students Be Expected to Achieve?

 
In Summary

 
 
2. Identifying the Types of Knowledge
Using Benchmarks to Identify Tested Content

 
Unpacking the Standards and Benchmarks

 
Declarative Knowledge Strategy: Teaching Vocabulary

 
Procedural Knowledge Benchmarks

 
Procedural Knowledge Strategy: Heuristics

 
In Summary

 
 
3. Teaching and Assessing Declarative Knowledge Standards
Declarative Knowledge

 
The Process of Teaching Declarative Knowledge

 
Constructing Meaning

 
Activating Prior Knowledge

 
Using Semantic Mapping

 
Storing Declarative Information

 
Teaching Vocabulary

 
Diverse Learners and Vocabulary

 
Building Background Knowledge for Culturally Diverse Students

 
Providing Visual Representations and Kinesthetic Opportunities

 
Finding and Using Research on Best Practices

 
Formative and Summative Classroom Assessments of Declarative Knoweldge

 
In Summary

 
 
4. Teaching and Assessing Procedural Knowledge Standards
Identifying Procedural Knowledge, Standards, and Benchmarks

 
Teaching Procedural Knoweldge, Standards, and Benchmarks

 
Constructing Mental Models

 
Shaping

 
Automaticity

 
How Do We Assess Procedural Knowledge in the Classroom?

 
In Summary

 
 
5. Mapping Lessons to Standards
First Things, First

 
Levels of Understanding

 
Levels of Complexity

 
Mapping the Way

 
In Summary

 
 
Blackline Masters
 
References
 
Index

"Helps building and district-level administrators realize that they don’t have to abandon sound and effective instructional practices to prepare students for high-stakes tests."

Sheila Smith, Science Specialist
Jackson Public Schools, MS

"I encourage trainers to discuss this text and its applications with teachers to enhance the performance of students on state and national tests. This book meets a very specific need in classrooms.”

J-Petrina McCarty-Puhl, Teacher
Robert McQueen High School, Reno, NV
Key features
  • A step-by-step guide that shows educators how to use the accountability and standards movement to improve student learning
  • This simple yet powerful model clarifies the processes of unpacking state standards; identifying the key elements of state tests; selecting research-validated teaching strategies; and using a variety of teaching tools to address all necessary elements for student success on their state test
  • Includes reproducible templates, resources, bibliography, and index
  • Presents new data on the effectiveness of different instructional practices

Select a Purchasing Option


Rent or Buy eBook
ISBN: 9781452294360

Paperback
ISBN: 9781412949767
$30.95