During my observation, there was a lot of test prep going on.
The state ELA and math tests were coming up in a month, so students were being prepped repeatedly for these exams.
Fridays are review days in the 5th grade class I observed. The only day of the week, specifically designated as a day to "teach to the test."
For example, on the state ELA test, students are allowed to use a highlighter. Due to this, the teacher did a whole theme on highlighting during a social studies unit. She taught them how to highlight without highlighting the whole page or simply using the highlighter to draw.
The teacher goes over test-taking strategies, which were established by both her and the students.
Prior to taking a practice test, the students first had to share useful test-taking strategies.
While the students take this practice test, the teacher walks around the room and observes. The practice test is also timed out the way the actual state test is.
After a section of the test was completed, the teacher would read off the answers. If a student answered a question incorrectly, they would have to say where they went wrong.
The teacher has students do this self-assessment when going over homework answers as well.
She believes if the students can find where they went wrong, they can fix the problem on their own.
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