Quote: "Standardized reading tests use formal language that's unfamiliar to many students...Students need help understanding test talk so that high-stakes tests really measure what they know."
Comment: Standardized testing is so different from any other test that occurs in the classroom, and a main part of that difference is the vocabulary on it. It seems like a difficult task to prepare students to understand all this vocabulary, especially English Language Learners. If we are preparing practice tests, we need to make sure to include this test talk in them so our students have an opportunity to get used to it.
Question: When should we start preparing our students for high stakes testing? And how can we assess whether the students are struggling with the practice test format or with what is on the tests? And one more question: are we allowed to be in the room with our students when they take the tests, and if we are, can we answer basic questions, like give a synonym for a confusing word in the question that a student doesn't understand?
I think when you start preparing children for high stakes testing depends on the state you live in. Some tests are just more natural to students than others. In Washington, where I am from the standardized test used, called the W.A.S.L. requires students to explain their reasoning, especially in math. Most elementary school students aren't used to explaining how they got an answer to an addition problem so, teachers would give W.A.S.L practice problems through out the year. They made sure that the practice problems related to what was already being taught though, so that the problems did not interfere too much with instruction.
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