10 Great Ways to Practice for ELA State Testing

Test prep can be beneficial to other content areas because the testing skills asked of students are skills we use throughout the year in the classroom. It’s important to target test prep skills and be conscious of them in our lessons. Here are 10 of the best ways to practice for the ELA Performance Task test.

Writing responses to questions about multiple reading passages can be a HUGE challenge for students. This skill is an integral part of state testing like SBAC and PARCC. Having watched my students attempt tasks like the ELA Performance Task, and noticing that several of them appeared bewildered when they first saw what was asked of them, I had an Ah-ha! moment. A plan of action!

I decided to make small steps out of what was being asked, and I would use small reading passages as test prep to simulate the larger task. This way, when students see what’s being asked on the test, they’ll have background experiences. The key is that I’ve made these experiences short.

Performance task testing skills are skills we use in real life. We look at several sources and analyze the text to locate information, compare and contrast, argue a point, etc. It’s a valuable skill. Look at the list below and you’ll see that these 10 essential skills are regularly taught in classrooms, we just need to put them all together.

I don’t believe it’s valuable asking students to do a lengthy task for test practice. My goal is to educate and inspire, not drill and kill testing skills. With this in mind, I’d like to share the…

10-Test Prep Skills for Writing a Written Response Using Multiple Reading Passages

Skill 1:  Understand the prompt.

Students need to read the prompt multiple times and annotate the prompt for clarity. Break down what it is asking. Number each direction they are being asked to do. It might be beneficial to write out each task they are being asked to complete. Encourage students to re-read the prompt before and after reading each written passage. They need to keep reminding themselves of what’s being asked. During each read, they should consider if there is information that can be used to address the prompt.

Skill 2:  Annotate the text.

With the prompt in mind, underline, highlight, or use symbols to indicate significant information in the text. Number the paragraphs if possible. Use an easily-drawn T-chart or compare/contrast circles to take notes if needed. During annotation, make sure students are looking back at the prompt to see what’s being asked and that they’re not highlighting everything!! (I teach how to use highlighters early in the year!)

Skill 3:  Read the passages more than once.

Teaching close reading skills is crucial to developing deeper understanding. The more a passage is read, the more students will understand the content and successfully address the prompt. Show the benefits of close reading by using two short (perhaps complex) passages. (Find a blog post here on the topic.)Note that the first read is for getting the gist of the passage. It’s really during the second and third reads that we can truly dig deeper into the text. See this free Close Reading resource for more detail.

Skill 4: Restate the prompt in the written response.

Brainstorm several ways to restate the prompt. Practice each possibility. This becomes the topic sentence. Generally, the short answer to the prompt is in the topic sentence. This skill can be easily taught and practiced throughout the year.

Test Prep Skill 5: Cite the sources.

Mentioning the source should be done early in the response. Practice ways to cite sources. Most state tests allow sources to be cited by either title or number.

Skill 6:  Answer the question (or questions).

Reread the question again to make sure it’s been answered. It is helpful to number the items being asked of you. The answer comes before the explanation.

Skill 7: Use transition words.

Remind students of the words needed to move a reader through a written response. Categorize the transition words and phrase into those that work for the beginning, middle, and end of the written response.

Test Prep Skill 8: Find synonyms for key words.

Avoid repeating the same word or phrase in the written response. Note the key words in the prompt. Show students how to think about synonyms for these words or phrases.

Skill 9:  Write a conclusion.

Restate the prompt and answer the question (simply) one more time. Brainstorm transitional words and phrases for writing a conclusion. Use synonyms for key words so the conclusion is somewhat different from the topic sentence.

Test Prep Skill 10:  Reread the written work.

Students must read what they have written. Check for clarity, grammar, punctuation, and correct spelling. Use the prompt to check the spelling of domain-specific words.

These 10-Steps are all essential skills we generally teach throughout the year. Put them together as a strategy for written portions of state testing, including the longer Performance Task.

If you’d like a resource to help you get started, I’ve created a differentiated paired passage reading on King Tut. There are two activities with the same passages. I’ve kept the readings short and high-interest. Find this test prep practice resource HERE.

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