Fall is still up in the air in terms of how this pandemic is going, but it’s pretty safe to say that at least some or all of the classroom learning will be done online. While many areas have been pretty flexible what online lessons can look like for the students, it’s important to keep in mind that testing is going to happen. Standards and academic language will once again be presented to your class, and you need to make sure they’re ready for it. Here are tips for transitioning back into a testing classroom.
You can’t just wait to cram everything in at the end
Just throwing up a lesson for your students now might sound like an easy way to get by until we are back in the classroom, but this will end up hurting your students in the long run. Not preparing them for test-taking will make it that much harder for them when the time finally comes. You can’t just cram everything in at the end, and you need to space out these lessons now to allow ample time for your students to learn the information.
There will be a time when testing is required
You may not have classroom proctors, and teaching evaluations like you usually do around this time of year, but that doesn’t mean that those moments won’t come. Your students will eventually have to sit in a classroom and take a test. For some students, this is going to be a hard transition since they’ve spent so much time online doing distance learning. Preparing your students to not only take tests but also prepare them for classroom testing will help you and your students as well.
Don’t let your students get behind
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, and this is true when it comes to testing. You don’t want your students to fall behind or come into their next year unprepared for the material that they’re now faced with. You don’t have to have the same amount of quizzes and tests as you once did, but you need to confirm that your students understand the material they’ve learned.
Encourage practice tests and even online assessments
Just because you can’t hand your students a physical test doesn’t mean you can’t test them! Practice tests without a huge weight on their overall final grades. This will encourage them to take the tests honestly and give you some insight into whether or not your lesson plans are working. Assessing their knowledge is important, and ensuring you have systems in place to prevent cheating is also important. You may need to consider getting parents involved if you are worried about your students not taking the tests seriously.
It may have been a while since we spent our last few weeks of school standing by while our students take tests, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t prepare for it now! Having these tips handy can help make the transition back into a testing environment easier and set your class up for success in the fall.
