Grab Your Hiking Gear! by Lola

I'm getting ready to climb a mountain. Well, not literally, but if you're in a state testing grade, then you know precisely what I mean. It's a familiar expedition up a very steep slope of preparing my students by encouraging, reviewing, and hoping. I'll know that I've reached my destination when I can finally say, with confidence, "You may begin the test now." My good friend and teammate, Wendy Beltran, who will be administering a state test for the first time in three years (as she was on a sabbatical in kindergarten) likened the experience to climbing a slippery, muddy slope with high heals on. I think she nailed it!

The drawing below perfectly illustrates the trek that I (and a multitude of other educators across the country) are embarking on. Pause. Back up. Full disclosure. To be perfectly honest, I've been climbing this mountain since that first day in August when I first laid my eyes on my new group of "third graders." (I'm using quotation marks because, even though they are officially third graders, it will be quite a while before they are full-fledged third graders.)

Just like you wouldn't really go mountain climbing without appropriate gear, you don't want to have your students take the SBA without proper preparation. The appropriate gear for this journey includes, among other things,  strategies, perseverance, stamina, good judgement, and clear thinking.  I think the tortoise had the right idea. Slow and steady does win the race. It all starts on the first day of school and continues each day thereafter. Each new day of instruction builds on the day before.

Before you know it, it will be April and the testing window will fly wide open. With so little time left before testing, perhaps you're wondering what more you could possibly do now to get your students ready? Actually, there is quite a bit you can do. For instance, take time to expose your students to the SBA Released Questions. This will enable them to familiarize themselves with the type of questions they'll encounter and the computer-adapted tools that will be at their disposal. Remind your students how to double check their answers. Teach them how to (inconspicuously and quietly) give themselves brain breaks as needed, how to stretch, and how to breathe deeply. Come up with clever ways to help them build stamina.

The investment of time and energy devoted to test preparation will undoubtedly pay off in ways we may never know. As our students move along their individual college and career paths, they are likely to take tests to gain acceptance into a college or university of their choice or to obtain a coveted promotion. In any case, let's ensure that our students are equipped to climb their own mountains.

"Knowledge is like climbing a mountain; the higher you reach, the more you can see and appreciate."

Author Unknown

Lola Jollie