Thursday, February 21, 2008

Standardized Tests

More and more states are moving toward standardized tests as a way to show that students have the skills necessary to graduate from high school. Some states, including New Jersey, have or are experimenting with having standardized assessments in other areas: science, social studies, the arts, etc. Identify the pros AND cons of having these tests as a graduation requirement.

Reading Difficulties and Strategies

What specific aspects of the READING parts of the HSPA give you the MOST trouble? (i.e. the open-ended responses and correctly answering the multiple-choice questions about the narrative story or the persuasive article) Why?

What strategies have you used successfully in order to make sure the finished product you submit is the best it can be? Share one or more of those strategies in order to help classmates improve their own READING scores on the test

Writing Difficulties and Strategies

What specific aspects of the WRITING parts of the HSPA give you the MOST trouble? (i.e. writing the persuasive essay; the picture prompt) Why?

What strategies have you used successfully in order to make sure the finished product you submit is the best it can be? Share one or more of those strategies in order to help classmates improve their own WRITING scores on the test.