5 Strategies for Maintaining a Nurturing and Supportive Academic Assessment Environment
This week I received a request to write a piece on creating a positive assessment environment. As much of our standardized testing not only doesn’t make use of technology but actively forbids it, I’m venturing a bit off the beaten path with this one, but I’m glad to do it! After all, student achievement is the ultimate goal here for all of us, so…here goes!
Creating a positive test-taking environment, be it for your students in class every day, the students for whom you’re proctoring a standardized test or anyone else, is all about lowering anxiety and building confidence! As such, it relies on many of the same strengths that good everyday teaching does, so much of my advice focuses on putting those best practices to work for you in the testing room.
1. Don’t let the formality limit your relationship building with the students.
Nothing intimidates an unsure student more than walking into a sterile testing room, immediately being told to be silent and having a script with the engagement level of a dishwasher manual read at them in hostile monotones. There are certain restrictions on all of our behavior in a testing environment, but none of them preclude us from greeting students warmly at the door, welcoming them into the room and offering a few last-minute words of encouragement. Just like in class, demonstrating to students that you genuinely care about how they personally perform in a testing environment can go a long way! Don’t turn off your charm when the testing window starts!
2. Make the Room Work for You!.
So assessment protocol often does away with the Kumbaya circle seating arrangement in a classroom and forces us back into standard rows, but that doesn’t mean it takes away all choice about the arrangement and control of the space. Here are a few things to consider:
- Where is your desk positioned? During a standardized test, your best bet is to put the desk behind the students so you can see them before they can see you, and you can more easily monitor the content of their desks.
- Is there room to circulate? To the greatest extent possible, you should spread out the desks so that you can circulate up and down rows without distracting students. If there isn’t enough room to walk comfortably between desks, that limits your ability to effectively circulate the room.
- Is there natural light? Humans are prewired to prefer sunlight to artificial. It’s mood boosting and helps fight fatigue. About the worst thing you can do in a testing environment is cover up all the windows to “avoid distraction.” If your testing room doesn’t have any sources of natural light, you might do well to find an alternative room if ever possible.
- Check that Thermostat! Another ill-fated choice is to keep your testing room cold to “keep them awake.” There is a significant amount of evidence out there to suggest that people are more productive and happier at work when they’re warmer! I’m not suggesting you sweat them out, but keep it on the warmer side to give your kids the best chance to succeed!
3. Exercise those Brains!
I feel like I’m definitely not telling most elementary teachers anything they don’t already know here, but this one goes for the older kids too — a little exercise immediately before test-taking can yield some pretty significant improvements in focus and achievement. Why lose sight of this on test day? Take a few minutes to get the blood pumping before hunkering down for some bubble filling!
4. Visualize Success!
This one might be a tough sell for some older kids, but if it’s good enough for Michael Jordan, Muhammed Ali and Michael Phelps, it’s good enough for me! Visualization of success works, especially for those who are less than confident in their abilities to succeed in a given situation (i.e. many of our students in a testing room!) so if you can sell your kids on it, it is most definitely worth a few seconds of “finding your Zen” before the test begins! Related to this idea, you could also consider showing a “mindset” video like the ones featured on class Dojo before beginning the test. (<- Look at that, I did sneak some tech in here after all!) It’s all about convincing kids to have that growth mindset — they are capable no matter what their past record might suggest!
5. Food is Good, Darn It!
We used to provide snack breaks to students during PSSA tests at the high school? Why did we stop? Do our kids no longer enjoy food? I say we bring it back! I shouldn’t be telling any of you something new when I say food is an extremely effective short-term motivator. Even if it cannot be done in an official capacity, a bag of candy can go just as far in a testing room as it can in any other class setting, so just like in point #1, don’t let the formality of the testing room get in the way of what you know to be true, and if you catch any heat for bringing treats in the testing room, you can feel free to blame me! I’m data-driven — increasing calories raises test scores! That sounds like a great excuse for a snack to me!
Bottom Line: Most of what I’ve written here today shouldn’t rock your understanding of the cosmos, yet I know firsthand that little if any attention has been paid to these things in many testing rooms I’ve been in over the years, so let’s act on what we know to be true and give our kids the best possible chance at success on these tests!
