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My three potential higher-order thinking research questions are:

1) How will the instruction of mathemetical skills in the subject area of Advertising/Marketing make a difference on the outcome of standardized tests?

2) In what ways could mathemetics be added to an Advertising/Marketing class
in order to link the skill with real-life scenarios that students can transfer
into all situations?

3) What type of impact would homework be on this research given that this
elective course does not typically administer homework?

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The page you are looking for is no longer available. We thank you for your interest in Wikispaces over the years and wish you all the best with your future endeavours.

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Researchers who looked at data from more than 18,000 10th-graders found there was little correlation between the time students spent doing homework and better grades in math and science courses. But, according to a study on the researc h, they did find a positive relationship between standardized test performance and the amount of time spent on homework.

The study, called "When Is Homework Worth the Time?: Evaluating the Association Between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math," was conducted by Adam Maltese, assistant professor of science education at the Indiana University School of Education; Robert H. Tai, associate professor of science education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, and Xitao Fan, dean of education at the University of Macau.

According to a news release by Indiana University, the researchers looked at survey and transcript data from the students in an effort to explain their academic performance and concluded that despite earlier research to the contrary, homework time did not correlate to the final course grade that students received in math and science classes.

The value of homework has been the subject of various research studies over the years, yet there is still no conclusive evidence that it makes a big difference in helping students improve achievement. The most often-cited studies are those that conclude that there is virtually no evidence that it helps in elementary school but some evidence that it does improve academic performance in later grades. Yet this newest study looked at 10th graders and found no correlation.

The study did, however, find a positive association between time spent on homework and student scores on standardized tests. It doesn't directly conclude that the homework actually affected the test scores, but the university release quotes Maltese as saying that "if students are spending more time on homework, they're getting exposed to the types of questions and the procedures for answering questions that are not so different from standardized tests."

That, of course, would depend on the kind of homework students receive. Maltese is further quoted as saying, ""We're not trying to say that all homework is bad. It's expected that students are going to do homework. This is more of an argument that it should be quality over quantity. So in math, rather than doing the same types of problems over and over again, maybe it should involve having students analyze new types of problems or data. In science, maybe the students should write concept summaries instead of just reading a chapter and answering the questions at the end."

The co-authors also recommend that education policymakers better evaluate homework - the kinds of assignments that are most useful and the time required to make the work effective.

You may also be interested in this: 3 Healthy Guidelines for Homework

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homework; value of homework; research on homework; homework and time; homework and assignments; is homework useful; study on homework; the answer sheet

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Study: Homework linked to better standardized test scores

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Researchers who looked at data from more than 18,000 10th-graders found little correlation between the time students spent doing homework and better grades in math and science courses. But they did find a positive relationship the time spent on homework and standardized test scores.

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The bad news is that standardized tests - an important part of the college and graduate school admissions process - are here to stay. The good news is that prospective students can improve their scores with a positive attitude and good preparation.

Understanding the tests and putting them in perspective can ease anxiety.

"With individual grades and curricula varying widely from school to school, admissions officers need a way to determine what you know and predict whether you'll succeed at college. A standardized assessment is an important tool for comparing students from different educational experiences," said Jenny Oren Krugman, vice president, Southern Region, of the College Board, which administers the SAT test.

Admission officers want students to succeed at their institutions, and "they know that the best predictor of college success is a student's GPA and SAT scores combined. But the test is only one of many factors that colleges consider," Krugman said.

The SAT and other standardized entrance exams are not IQ tests. They measure knowledge and skills - areas in which students can always improve.

"The SAT tests your knowledge of reading, writing and math - subjects that you have taken in school and will need in college. The more you know and can apply, the better you'll do," she said.
Here are some tips for taking standardized tests.

1. Prepare

"The best preparation for standardized tests is to take challenging, college preparatory courses in high school and study hard. That advice should be printed in 500-point type and underlined about 20 times," Krugman said.

Georgia College Board data shows that students who took the recommended college prep core curricula scored 119 points higher, on average, on the SAT. Students who took AP or honors English and math courses scored 160 points higher on the English section and 209 points higher on the math section.

The College Board's website (www.collegeboard.org) can help students create a more rigorous high school schedule, find colleges, prepare for the SAT and research financial aid options. Reading is great preparation for any standardized test. Instead of memorizing vocabulary words, read a daily newspaper or books and look up unfamiliar words.

2. Practice

"Players don't walk into a football stadium without understanding the game and training for it. They're building their muscles and strategies well ahead of game night; you should do the same," Krugman said.

High school students should take the PSAT in 9th, 10th or 11th grade. Georgia students who took the PSAT scored 196 points higher on average when they took the SAT. Being familiar with the test format and directions, plus learning about your strengths and weaknesses, pays off.

"Students who take the SAT exam twice generally improve their scores. Take it in the spring of the junior year and, again in the fall of senior year, when you have more academics under your belt," she said.

Prospective graduate students should take practice tests for the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations), the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) or the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test).

3. Know the test

More students are taking expensive SAT prep courses or hiring tutors, but neither is necessary and cramming doesn't help, Krugman said. Students can benefit by using the free test practice materials and tips on The College Board's SAT website ( http://sat.collegeboard.org). All standardized tests offer similar free practice materials.

4. Have a strategy

"All answers are equal, but some are easier. Answer the sentence completion part first, because it takes less time," Krugman said.

Skip difficult questions and go back to them. Know that you don't have to memorize math formulas, just know how to use them. The formulas are provided in the test booklet.

"There's no penalty for leaving an answer blank. If you are clueless, move on, but if you can eliminate one or two answers, take an educated guess," she said.

Read questions fully before attempting to answer them. When you skip questions, make sure you also skip that part on the answer sheet.

When writing the essay portion of the SAT, follow the tips provided in the practice materials. Develop a point of view and create one or two fully developed examples.

Get a good night's sleep, eat breakfast and get to the test site early. Bring your ID, test admission ticket and the appropriate materials. Breathe deeply and try to relax. See the test as a chance to show what you know, and remember that you can always take it again.

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Five ways to improve your standardized test scores

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The bad news is that standardized tests - an important part of the college and graduate school admissions process - are here to stay. The good news is that prospective students can improve their scores with a positive attitude and good preparation. Understanding the tests and putting them in perspective can ease anxiety.

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Every day for the last four years, Leah Alcala has greeted her Berkeley, California, middle-school students with an exercise she calls "my favorite no."

As students enter class, they see a math problem on the whiteboard and are instructed to solve it on index cards. After they finish, Alcala immediately sees which answers are right or wrong -- "yes" and "no" -- and chooses her favorite incorrect response, the one most liable to be repeated. She then explains the mistake to the class -- never identifying its culprit -- and demonstrates how it can be avoided.

"At this point, I can almost predict the mistakes they're going to make in a way that I never used to be able to," Alcala says. In addition to helping her students understand that "mistakes are natural," she says, she has seen their test scores rise since she started the activity.

As it turns out, Alcala's students aren't the only ones who can benefit from exercises like "my favorite no." A new study by two French researchers published in the Journal of Psychology: General shows how telling students that failure is a natural element of learning -- instead of pressuring them to succeed -- may increase their academic performance.

"Teachers should not hesitate to tell children that what they're going to do is very difficult," said author Jean-Claude Croizet, a University of Poitiers professor. He conducted the study with Poitiers postdoctoral student Frederique Autin.

The study's findings, publicized by the American Psychological Association, come amid mounting cries against high-stakes standardized tests in the U.S. As more and more states seek to tie students' standardized test scores to teacher evaluations, statisticians often question the validity of those exams. According to Croizet and Autin, high-stakes test trigger a psychological mechanism and lack of confidence that makes it harder to assess aptitude.

Croizet has previously studied " stereotype threat," a concept identified in the U.S. by researchers Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson that refers to how often intangible social circumstances can affect academic performance. "That convinced us there was more going on in performance situations than just poor abilities," Croizet said. "We wanted to show that even if you put children in a situation where there's no pressure, the simple fact that they're confronted with difficulty could trigger a disruption in their performance."

To verify this hypothesis, Croizet and Autin conducted three studies among sixth graders in their city, Poitiers. In one experiment, they gave 111 sixth graders an impossible set of anagrams to solve. Then Autin told one group of kids that "learning is difficult and failure is common," but hard work will help, "like riding a bicycle." Autin asked a second group of kids how they attacked the problems after the test. When both groups, plus a control group, then took an exam that measured working memory -- a capacity often used to predict IQ -- the students Autin had counseled performed "significantly better" than both groups, especially on the tougher questions.

In the second setup, the researchers added an additional group of kids who were first presented with an easier anagram problem set before giving all groups a reading comprehension test. Once again, the kids Autin had advised bested the other groups, even the one that performed well on the easier anagram test. "This finding is indicative that motivation or involvement alone cannot easily account for the gains observed" after kids are told that failure is natural, the researchers wrote.

For their third experiment, the researchers organized the kids into similar groups, and before a reading comprehension exam, had them write self-descriptions about their intelligence. The group that had been advised on the difficulties of learning once again outscored their peers -- and also reported, overall, fewer feelings of ineptitude.

And while the researchers conducted their experiments in France, they think it's applicable to all high-stakes test-taking Western countries. Aronson, a New York University psychology professor, agrees. He noted that similar studies in the U.S. have found that college students perform better after reading positive messages, and that he replicated the experiment by having older students tell younger students that they should "expect middle school to be difficult but doable" -- and found that state test scores increased dramatically.

So far, Croizet said, teachers have been very receptive. "Some of them are willing to implement it in their classrooms," he said. "They have also told us it's very difficult in the long run to implement because the educational system is geared toward ranking students." Student rankings, he says, "reinforce what we think we should avoid in the classroom: who's smart and who's not smart."

The researchers also found that test relaxation techniques that seem obvious to most teachers, such as telling students that they can perform well, can actually make kids more anxious -- and thus perform at lower levels.

"It makes sense to me," Alcala, the Berkeley teacher, said of the study. "I've been doing it [my favorite no] for four years now, and my kids' understanding is significantly better than before, as measured by test scores."

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Reassuring Kids About Failure Boosts Scores, Says Study

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Every day for the last four years, Leah Alcala has greeted her Berkeley, California, middle-school students with an exercise she calls "my favorite no." As students enter class, they see a math problem on the whiteboard and are instructed to solve it on index cards.

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Home > Administrator's Desk Channel > Administrator's Desk Archive > Administrator's Desk Columnists > Larry Bell Archive > Larry Bell Article

Somebody Needs You

Are math word problems killing your state test scores? Or maybe fractions are? Or basic math facts? Whatever it is, you need to take action to do something about it. I have a suggestion that I have seen work very effectively.

At each workshop I present, I challenge teachers to become members of my 100 Percenters Club. In order to qualify as a 100 Percenter, 100 percent of a teacher's students must pass the grade-level state tests. That includes at-promise kids, kids of color, special ed inclusion kids -- all kids.

While members of the 100 Percenters Club might have picked up a few valuable tips from me, I have learned far more from them. The members of the Club have helped me to compile a list of 20 simple things that excellent teachers do to raise scores.

Among the 20 tips, those that are most near and dear to my heart are the ones that raise math achievement test scores. Perhaps those are most dear to me because I was not a good math student. I see immediately how some of these tips might have helped me to be a better student.

One of the simplest tips is this: when teachers disaggregate school-wide test data, they should look for the test questions that lowered their school's scores the most. What skills are associated with those questions? Those are the skills that it will pay to focus on in the year ahead.

Are word problems killing your scores? Or maybe it is fractions? Or basic math facts? Whatever it is, you need to take action to do something about it.

In many cases that I have examined, I have found that word problems are killing the scores of young students of color, particularly young black males. If that is the case in your school, I have a suggestion that I have seen work very effectively.

First, email every teacher on the staff a list of 30 word problems that are the same kind of word problem used on the standardized tests your students take. Those questions might be created by your school's math teachers or, if your state allows, they might be sample problems taken directly from the previous year's test. Email the questions and the answers to all teachers in your school. On the answer page, don't simply list the answers; provide the detailed steps that led to each answer.

Then, at the start of every class, every teacher in every single class must randomly select one math word problem, use an overhead projector to display that problem, and ask students to solve it. Give students a few minutes to do the math, and then take another few minutes to go through the steps to solve the problem.

This idea -- like all 20 of the ideas I have collected -- can be done in 7 to 10 minutes, max, of class time. These ideas can be done at the start of the class, the end of the class, during a moment of transition between activities, or any other time. This might not sound like an effort that will result in higher test scores but, take it from me and the 100 Percenters, it works!

The beauty of the approach is that if you get every teacher in the building -- whether he or she teaches science or language arts or industrial arts -- to work at solving a math word problem during the first 6 or 7 or 10 minutes of every class four times, five times, or six times a day, think of the cumulative effect of having every student do this all year long. This is a tremendous way to help kids get over the fear of these types of problems.

If you teach in an elementary school where students stay in the same classroom all day, every teacher might do this at regular intervals two or three or more times a day. They might do it as a bell-ringer activity at the start of every day, immediately after recess, and immediately after lunch.

If you don't rope the entire school into doing this, why not just the math department? Or the math and science departments? The key is the repetition. Students will see these problems over and over. (You might switch to a new set of 30 problems at semester break. Or give them another skill on which to work.) They almost can't help but absorb the process for solving these problems. It will become second nature to them. Most important, when they see a math word problem on your state's standardized test, they won't get frustrated and freeze up like they did last year. They will be so comfortable with math word problems that your scores can't help but climb.

If you know you have students, especially at-promise students, who are intimidated by and don't do well with a certain type of math, why not start on Day One in September and have every teacher join together to conquer this weakness?

In sports, we make sure kids practice over and over and over those things that intimidate them. Practice is a great tool to use with any skill that can greatly increase the test scores of your must vulnerable students.

My friends, somebody needs you.

Larry Bell

Education World®
Copyright © Education World

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A Simple Idea for Improving Math Achievement

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Home > Administrator's Desk Channel > Administrator's Desk Archive > Administrator's Desk Columnists > Larry Bell Archive > Larry Bell Article Are math word problems killing your state test scores? Or maybe fractions are? Or basic math facts? Whatever it is, you need to take action to do something about it.

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Students of all ages could improve their test scores if the category of information changed abruptly midway through the test, according to a new study on memory by researchers from Syracuse University, the University of South Florida, and Indiana University.

The study was recently published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The study was conducted by Amy Criss, assistant professor of psychology in SU's College of Arts and Sciences; her research associate Kenneth Malmberg of the University of South Florida, the corresponding author of the study; and colleagues from Indiana University. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research funded the study.

The researchers looked at the question of "output interference" and how it can be minimized when people are trying to recall information or answer a series of questions over a relatively long period of time, such as in standardized testing. Output interference is a phenomenon that causes a decrease in memory accuracy as the number of questions in a particular subject area increases.

"The simple act of testing harms memory," Criss says. "Previous studies have shown that people are more accurate in their responses to questions at the beginning of a test than they are at the end of a test. This is called output interference. Our study demonstrates how to minimize the effects of output interference."

The researchers found that simply changing the subject matter of the questions increases accuracy on longer tests. In the study, test subjects were asked to memorize word sets from different categories, such as animal and geographic terms, or countries and professions. The testers were then split into three groups, each of which responded to a series of 150 questions. The tests included 75 terms from each word set.

The first group of testers responded to questions in which the terms were randomly intermixed. A second group responded to 75 questions about one category followed by 75 questions from the second category. The third group responded to alternating blocks of five questions about each category.

The second group out performed its counterparts on the test. "While accuracy fell off as the test subjects neared the end of the first category of terms, the accuracy rebounded when the questions switched to the second category of terms," Criss says. "The study demonstrates that memory improves when categories of information people are asked to remember change."

The results have implications for the way in which standardized and comprehensive tests are created, Criss says. "You don't want to place a lot of the same information into one section of the test. Accuracy will increase by changing the subject matter of the questions."

The results also have implications for student study habits. "While it's natural for students to complete one subject before moving on to the next, if you look at the data, students may have better results if they work on one subject for a little while, move to something completely different and then go back to the first subject," Criss says.

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intelligence; memory; k-12 education; dyslexia; educational psychology; learning disorders; alzheimer's; behavior

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Switching subject categories could improve test scores

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Students of all ages could improve their test scores if the category of information changed abruptly midway through the test, according to a new study on memory by researchers from Syracuse University, the University of South Florida, and Indiana University. The study was recently published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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Boosting scores - strategies that work

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Raising test scores is a goal at the top of all principals' lists. It's a task that requires focus and a multi-pronged approach. In this article, Ed World's "Principal Files" team shares strategies that have helped them boost sagging scores -- strategies that could work for you too.

Did your students' test scores rise last year? If you're like many of our Principal Files team members, you've witnessed an increase in scores over the past several years. Seldom is it by chance that those scores have risen; it's the result of a concerted effort by an entire staff -- an effort that is very likely to include extensive data analysis, focused teacher training, frequent monitoring of student progress, practice testing throughout the year, student and staff incentives, and other strategies.

"Our scores have gone up in each of the last five years," said principal Michael Miller of Saturn Elementary School in Cocoa, Florida. "In our state, schools are graded from F to A, and we have been in the A category for the past three years."

That's a commendable accomplishment given the school's diverse population and a mobility rate as high as 45 percent.

Miller is quick to point out that the increase in scores is the result of a district-wide focus. "I am responsible to my area superintendent to accomplish a 'principal's checklist' of goals. One of those responsibilities is to meet, along with my assistant principal, with each of my Level 1's [students scoring at the lower levels on the state tests] and their parents to discuss test scores and the importance of raising those scores. We talk about the school's responsibility for raising the students' test scores and how the parents can support that effort.

"That personal attention is a very good idea because, many times, students and parents don't understand how close they are to the next level until we point it out."

The district's extra attention to test results has paid off substantially. Today, all but two of the district's nearly 100 schools are classified as A or B by the state, he said.

ANALYZING TEST DATA

"All of the teachers on our staff have been fully trained in how to look at their class's test scores," Miller told Education World. "They are able to identify their students' specific strengths and weaknesses. The teachers know where they need to concentrate their attention.

"As they focus on analyzing their class's scores, I do the same thing for the school as a whole. I look at each class, and then at the entire school, to check for patterns. I concentrate my attention on developing new strategies and methods -- and arranging training and obtaining materials -- needed to improve those specific areas."

Sue Astley also sets aside time for teachers in her school to analyze their students' test results. The goal of that exercise is twofold: to identify areas of the curriculum that need to be improved and to identify the strong and weak students in each class.

"We are trying to move away from the smile-and-file mode of testing -- the mode in which we get back test results, smile as we share the results with parents, then file away the results and never look at them again," said Astley, assistant headmaster and elementary principal at St. Martin's Episcopal School, a private Pre-K to 8 school in Atlanta, Georgia.

"We are also trying to get away from the perception that we're evaluating teachers based on student scores. As we all know, there are many variables in the testing equation. While we want scores to improve from year to year, we're more interested in what they tell us about our curriculum and teaching."

At St. Martin's, the data analysis effort is carried out completely in-house with the assistance of one classroom teacher who carries a lighter teaching load and spends the balance of her time working with and supporting teachers as they gather data from test scores. That "testing teacher" has created a special work sheet that helps teachers analyze their data, said Astley.

PARENTS SUPPORT SCORE-RAISING EFFORTS

At Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, Florida, principal Les Potter has led his school's focus on building literacy and test scores. "A state literacy grant has enabled us to present numerous in-services focused on reading in the content areas," said Potter. "Additionally, we identified our lowest readers and we provide them with intensive reading classes. We provide after-school tutoring, food, and transportation for students. And we held our first literacy fair.

"Those efforts are fully supported by our school's advisory committee of parents and teachers and our school PTSA," added Potter. "Our parents have dedicated time and money to help with our reading initiatives."

FOCUSING ON "BUBBLE" STUDENTS

In Lancaster, Ohio, principal Paul Young has used a state access grant to bring aboard two expert consultants who work in classrooms with teachers to identify and assist "bubble" students. "'Bubble' is the term we use for kids who appear to score right at the minimum level," explained Young, who is principal at West Elementary School. "With one or two more correctly bubbled answers, those students would achieve a proficient score."

Bringing aboard the consultants has proved successful. "Having a fresh set of eyes and ideas -- and having an outsider reiterate the things the principal, supervisors, and master teachers have been saying -- is valuable," said Young.

"Our regular staff meetings typically have agenda items related to test scores, and our Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) meets weekly," added Young. "That team shares the responsibility for success of nearly 20 percent of our student population. They develop intervention plans to meet the academic, behavioral, emotional, and social needs of students -- particularly those students at risk of failure in the regular classroom and on high-stakes tests."

Mary Smith doubles as principal and superintendent of the K-8 Whitebead School in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. There, a population in flux -- in ten years, the Hispanic population that has grown from 4 percent of the district's students to 25 percent -- has created special challenges. "An intervention plan developed by staff and parents places money and emphasis on kindergarten and first grade intervention in an attempt to be proactive rather than reactive in our approach," said Smith. "All K and first grade students identified receive 30 minutes a day of one-to-one intervention focused on readiness."

The program doesn't end there. Identified second through fifth graders receive 45 minutes of small-group language arts instruction five times a week. Non-English-speaking "newcomers" get a double dose of small-group language arts instruction.

CONSTANT MONITORING OF PROGRESS

"School improvement is an evolving process that takes ongoing monitoring and constant input," said Smith, who meets weekly with the five teams that comprise her staff. "A special computer-based program enables me to pull up records of any student or classroom to monitor their progress."

At St. Martin's Episcopal, once the analysis is complete, principal Sue Astley and the school's testing teacher meet monthly with staff members to talk about strategies for improving instruction for the whole class and for individual students.

Similarly, Michael Miller meets with Saturn Elementary's teachers on a regular basis to chart progress of those students whose test results are below the level of acceptance. "Our teachers know they need to come up with ways to increase the scores of the bottom 25 percent of students," explained Miller. "Teachers conference with me on a regular basis about those students, all of whom are on academic improvement plans that offer specific strategies for improvement."

In addition, parents are intimately involved in their children's improvement plans. "Teachers are required to meet with students' parents, and parents are required to sign the plans," added Miller.

At Doctors Inlet Elementary School in Middleburg, Florida, principal Larry Davis meets monthly with representatives of each grade level. "Those meetings are designed so we can talk about individual students and how to assist them with learning," explained Davis. "In addition, teachers of each grade level turn in monthly minutes that reflect their team discussions of student data."

LOOKING AT STUDENT WORK HELPS IMPROVE TEACHING

At Cedar Creek School in Ruston, Louisiana, curriculum coordinator Marilyn Koepke has spearheaded a comprehensive staff development effort in the area of writing across the curriculum. A consultant introduced a series of instructional strategies, and teachers implemented those strategies between sessions. "At each subsequent in-service, teachers were expected to share student work in small groups and discuss their experiences with implementation," explained Koepke.

Group discussions of students' work took place in K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 teams. The groups discussed and shared samples of work related to strategies. They shared individual student success stories; they also shared their frustrations and skepticism about the value of some strategies.

"Those discussions were an opportunity for teachers to learn from one another, to ask questions, and, generally speaking, to contribute to a professional dialogue," observed Koepke. "The main benefit for our teachers, I believe, is that it has made them eager to dialog among themselves and learn from each other -- even without a consultant present. Doing that has helped to begin to turn us into what Richard DuFour calls a 'professional learning community'."

And as the conversation continues, the test scores creep up. In the past three years, average ACT scores at Cedar Creek have increased more than 2 percentage points. The average Stanford 9 score increased from 80.6 percent to 81.8.

PRACTICE TESTS ALL YEAR LONG

Just as data analysis and progress monitoring are ongoing ventures, so too is practice testing in many schools. "We purchased practice materials for improving test scores for reading, math, and language arts," Sacred Heart's Patrice DeMartino told Education World. "Teachers are asked to make use of those materials about once a week. We also set up an after-school program where students and a teacher work with the materials.

"We all agree having the practice-testing materials helps put students more at ease with testing," added DeMartino.

The same is true at Doctors Inlet Elementary. Practice tests are used there with ESE (exceptional/below level) students each month, said principal Larry Davis.

At Calgary Academy in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), copies of previous exams are available for teachers to use with students. While teachers there make good use of those tests, "we focus more on the process skills behind the tests than on the tests themselves," said principal Kim McLean. For example, to improve reading comprehension teachers of all subjects read stories throughout the year and ask questions based on the levels of thinking in Bloom's taxonomy.

"If students learn how to answer questions and to think on different levels, then it doesn't matter what is on the test," added McLean. "Those skills are transferable to all testing situations."

GOOD TEACHING IS GOOD TEACHING

Not too many years ago, when Jim DeGenova was an elementary-level principal, he had a teacher transfer into his building. That teacher had taught middle school for most of his career, but he was taking on a fourth-grade class in DeGenova's building. "A proficiency test was to be given to all fourth graders that year, and the new teacher's class was expected to be the worst of the seven fourth grade classes," explained DeGenova, assistant principal at Slippery Rock (Pennsylvania) High School.

That teacher approached DeGenova with an old SRA reading kit and asked if he could use it. He saw the repetitive drill and the format of the kit's exercises as a tool for raising scores. "Since we had been consistently the lowest-scoring building, 'why not' was my answer," said DeGenova. "I cleared it with the district office.

"Due to the enormous amount of drill in the program, the teacher took a great deal of criticism. So did I. However, at the end of the year, the test results indicated tremendous gains in our building. We finished in 2nd place in the district by less that one point. Similar results followed the next year."

DeGenova learned a valuable lesson that year: "It is not a new law, method, or technological advance that creates success. Good teaching is simply good teaching; and that is what motivates students to improve. Good, old-fashioned, hard work on the part of the teacher, student, and parents motivates students to reach higher and achieve success."

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Boosting Test Scores: Strategies That Work | Education World

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Raising test scores is a goal at the top of all principals' lists. It's a task that requires focus and a multi-pronged approach. In this article, Ed World's "Principal Files" team shares strategies that have helped them boost sagging scores -- strategies that could work for you too.

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How To Learn | World's Leading Site for Learning Resources

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As more importance is placed on standardized tests and closing achievement gaps nationwide, teachers report that math test scores are improving faster than reading test scores. When asked, one teacher attributed the lagging improvement of reading scores to the difficulties teachers face in overcoming that vast reading challenges students face. It seems the concrete nature of mathematics theory offers the opportunity to give a quiz to students, determine which concepts students struggle and simply "... teach the kids how to do it, and within a week or two you can usually fix it," said David Javsicas, a reading teacher in Troy, NY. Whereas, helping students work through narrative perspectives, subtext and character motivation can be much more challenging. "It could take months to see if what I'm teaching is effective," Jacsicas said.

While teachers, politicians and business executives view the state of our math education as troublesome when compared to other countries, the fact that reading comprehension is tripping students up may be of greater concern. This growing trend of math test scores improving faster than reading test scores seems to be even more glaring at schools that serve low-income students. Teachers report finding it easier to achieve academic progress in math to hit national standards, whereas improving reading comprehension at the school level proves challenging with achievements moving at a markedly slower pace. While this article focuses on Troy Prep Middle School in Troy, Ny, schools across the nation are experiencing similar trends.

At Troy Prep, students entering the fifth grade here are often several years behind in both subjects, but last year, 100 percent of seventh graders scored at a level of proficient or advanced on state standardized math tests. In reading, by contrast, just over half of the seventh graders met comparable standards.

The results are similar across the 31 other schools in the Uncommon Schools network, which enrolls low-income students in Boston, New York City, Rochester and Newark. After attending an Uncommon school for two years, said Brett Peiser, the network's chief executive, 86 percent of students score at a proficient or advanced level in math, while only about two thirds reach those levels in reading over the same period.

"Math is very close-ended," Mr. Peiser said. Reading difficulties, he said, tend to be more complicated to resolve.

"Is it a vocabulary issue? A background knowledge issue? A sentence length issue? How dense is the text?" Mr. Peiser said, rattling off a string of potential reading roadblocks. "It's a three-dimensional problem that you have to attack. And it just takes time."

Uncommon's experience is not so uncommon. Other charter networks and school districts similarly wrestle to bring struggling readers up to speed while having more success in math.

In a Mathematica Policy Research study of schools run by KIPP, one of the country's best-known charter operators, researchers found that on average, students who had been enrolled in KIPP middle schools for three years had test scores that indicated they were about 11 months - or the equivalent of more than a full grade level - ahead of the national average in math. In reading, KIPP's advantage over the national average was smaller, about eight months.

Among large public urban districts, which typically have large concentrations of poor students, six raised eighth-grade math scores on the federal tests known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 2009 to 2011. Only one - in Charlotte, N.C. - was able to do so in reading.

Studies have repeatedly found that "teachers have bigger impacts on math test scores than on English test scores," said Jonah Rockoff, an economist at Columbia Business School. He was a co-author of a study that showed that teachers who helped students raise standardized test scores had a lasting effect on those students' future incomes, as well as other lifelong outcomes.

Teachers and administrators who work with children from low-income families say one reason teachers struggle to help these students improve reading comprehension is that deficits start at such a young age: in the 1980s, the psychologists Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley found that by the time they are 4 years old, children from poor families have heard 32 million fewer words than children with professional parents.

By contrast, children learn math predominantly in school.

"Your mother or father doesn't come up and tuck you in at night and read you equations," said Geoffrey Borman, a professor at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin. "But parents do read kids bedtime stories, and kids do engage in discussions around literacy, and kids are exposed to literacy in all walks of life outside of school."

Reading also requires background knowledge of cultural, historical and social references. Math is a more universal language of equations and rules.

CONTINUE READING In Raising Scores, 1 2 3 is Easier Than A B C to learn more about why Math Test Scores Are Improving Faster Than Reading Test Scores.

READ MORE about Improving Reading Comprehension This Summer

Motoko Rich writes about national K-12 education for The New York Times. Prior to that, she covered the national economy, writing about work force training, unemployment, housing and retirement. She also covered the book publishing industry for four years, during which time she wrote a series about the Future of Reading. She joined The Times in 2003 to write for the House & Home section and covered the run-up to the real estate boom.

She believes all these beats are ultimately connected, and welcomes ideas, comments, referrals, anxieties and constructive criticism. Before joining The Times, Motoko worked as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal for six years, in Atlanta and New York. She started her career as a reporter at The Financial Times in London. Motoko grew up in New Jersey, California and Japan and now lives in Brooklyn.

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Math Test Scores Are Improving Faster Than Reading Test Scores - How To Learn | World's Leading Site for Learning Resources

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As more importance is placed on standardized tests and closing achievement gaps nationwide, teachers report that math test scores are improving faster than reading test scores. When asked, one teacher attributed the lagging improvement of reading scores to the difficulties teachers face in overcoming that vast reading challenges students face.

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Four tips for improving standardized test scores

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Practice standardized test questions

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American College Test

The ACT is a standardized test designed to measure basic math, science, english, and reading skills. Submission of either ACT or SAT scores is required by most colleges and universities. The test is an important factor in the admissions process, and you should do your best to show schools that you know your stuff. It is composed of five sections each of which will be graded on a scale of 1-36. Your final score will be an average of these results. Below you will find a typical test layout.

The MathThe math section will be composed of 60 questions which you will have 60 minutes to answer. Problems in this section test your algebra, geometry, and trigonometry skills. The questions are all multiple choice and you may use your calculator to solve them.

The ScienceYou will have 35 minutes to finish the 40 questions that make up this portion of the test. This section is meant to test your ability to read graphs, interpret results, and compare opposing viewpoints. Many students find this portion of the test to be the most difficult. However, you do not have to be a science whiz to do well on it. Practicing graph interpretations and passage reading under time constraints will help you significantly.

The EnglishThis section has the most questions, but they are generally less consuming than those on other sections. You will have 45 minutes to complete the 75 questions you are asked. Many of them will deal with grammatical errors. Common ones ask about the style and mechanics of provided sentences.

The ReadingThe reading section is composed of 40 questions which you must complete in 35 minutes. You will be presented with excerpts from books and magazines and asked to answer questions based on what you have read. Passage topics vary greatly, but history, science, and liberal-arts ones are common.

The Writing SampleThis portion of the test is optional. You will have 30 minutes to write an essay that answers the proposed question. Although the writing sample is not graded, schools will receive a copy of it. Many do take the writing sample into consideration during the admission process. Some schools have said that they use this section as the "tiebreaker".

If you do not do well on the test your first time around, don't despair. You may take the test as often as you would like (keep in mind that the test is only offered 6 times per year). Schools will only receive the results you choose to send. Use this to your advantage, and plan ahead. Taking the test during your junior year will give you extra time to prepare for round two. When you practice, keep in mind that you should answer all questions. Incorrect answers will not count against you, and it is in your best interest to answer everything. To get you started, we have prepared some sample ACT problems.

Sample Questions

To print a PDF version of the ACT overview and practice test questions, click here.

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Act American College Test - Scholarships.com

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The ACT is a standardized test designed to measure basic math, science, english, and reading skills. Submission of either ACT or SAT scores is required by most colleges and universities. The test is an important factor in the admissions process, and you should do your best to show schools that you know your stuff.

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Practice NJ HSPA

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New Jersey mathematics questions quiz designed per the NJ Curriculum Content Standards.

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Practice SAT Math Questions

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SAT Math : Free math practice tests and information for the SAT

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24 free SAT math practice tests to help your SAT prep. Plus learn more about the SAT math section.

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Anchor activity for preparing for standardized tests.

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Enjoy brain training created by scientists and game designers

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Incorporate math into the Marketing curriculum in order to increase math scores on standardized tests.  Also, be able to have students take Marketing math and related it to real-life situations they will see in questions on standardized tests that use the skill taught, but in a way that does not relate to the way they learned it (ie through Marketing).  For example, students will learn how to determine the mode of a survey in Marketing.  Students should be able to determine the mode of prices of lunch for a week that would have nothing to do with Marketing, but does exercise the skill of finding a mode.

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HSPA and PSAT or SAT practice manuals with sample test questions.

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Students sometimes "check-out" when math is incorporated into the curriculum.

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Need to let scores reflect themselves without tweaking numbers.

If student's scores do not increase - appears to be teacher failure in teaching math lesson.

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Belief that adding math into curriculum can only increase standardized test scores.

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Students choose to not participate.