How to Improve Reading Achievement Scores
In the climate of high stakes testing, reading achievement scores are of the utmost importance. These scores are often used to determine the effectiveness of a school and the school's teaching population. If students fail to achieve on these tests, the district or school building can receive sanctions or experience loss of funding. Teachers can work to prepare their students for these tests by training them in basic literary vocabulary and showing them useful comprehension improvement techniques. This practice ensures that students perform to their full ability on these highly important assessments.
Instructions
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Study common literature vocabulary. Students often perform poorly because they do not understand the basic vocabulary necessary to correctly interpret the question. Go through the content standards for your students' grade and highlight any key vocabulary terms such as plot, setting and point of view. Create a list of these highlighted terms and review them with students during the months leading up to the test. If students are familiar with the terms, they will be more likely to effectively answer questions containing the terms.
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Teach students to highlight. In most states, students are allowed to use highlighters on standardized tests. These can be valuable tools for students as they can assist them in more easily picking out key points. Practice highlighting with students. Show them how to highlight key points within a passage and to use this highlighted information to answer comprehension-based questions.
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Practice self-questioning. Improve students' metacognitive abilities by encouraging them to stop and question themselves as they read. Practice this skill by stopping every three to four paragraphs as you read aloud and asking students to summarize what has happened in the text up to that point. Once students have created a summary, continue on with reading. Tell students to silently engage in this same practice as they read passages on the standardized test as doing this ensures that they are actively paying attention to what they are reading.
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Use graphic organizers. When reading, provide students with graphic organizers on which they can chart information about characters, plot and setting. Allow students to use these organizers as they read texts in class. Show students how to create these graphic organizers. Most standardized tests include note pages on which students can write information that helps them comprehend the text. It is permissible for students to create graphic organizers on these pages and use these self-made organizers to help them navigate the text. Encourage students to do this during the test.
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