| The NJASK is the SAT of the younger generation. I | | | | Yet, while it reaches us affectively, it also may cause |
| state this to peak your interest even if it is a bit | | | | us to reflect upon the actions of colleagues or those |
| controversial. It may also guide you towards an | | | | of our own children's teachers. |
| understanding of the place this assessment task, the | | | | Let's go back to the NJASK-SAT connection. People |
| New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge has | | | | take and retake the SAT. People spend money on |
| in the life of a student, parent, and teacher. | | | | prep books, tutors, and courses. The score, now |
| Thinking back thirty years or thirteen years, | | | | 2400 is the ultimate goal, impacts where the student |
| depending upon your current age, reflect upon your | | | | applies to college and in many cases, which |
| SAT or ACT experience. Did your teachers share tips | | | | admission's officer will accept you to college. The |
| and strategies as a way of helping to prepare you | | | | scores impact scholarship money. The scores impact |
| for this test? Did you walk into the testing location | | | | the district's school report card, and sometimes sales |
| 'cold' without any advance preparation? Did you use | | | | of homes in the district. The scores are used as |
| #2 sharpened pencils? Did you get a good night's | | | | bragging rights by students, teachers, counselors and |
| sleep and eat breakfast before the big event? | | | | local news reporters. All of that for a test that takes |
| Now come back to the present moment. Visualize | | | | place for a few hours on one day in the life of a |
| your classroom filled with your students. It is the | | | | teenager. |
| school day prior to the NJASK testing week. Do you | | | | Let's look at the NJASK. It is longer than the SAT |
| have a supply of #2 sharpened pencils with erasers? | | | | and it is administered over the course of a week to |
| Do you have calculators? Did you share tips and | | | | students beginning in grade 3. Those students do not |
| strategies as part of their advance preparation? Did | | | | take it again to get a better score; they take it the |
| you get a good night's sleep and eat breakfast? Did | | | | following year when they are in 4th grade, then 5th |
| you share that restful nutritional tip with your | | | | grade and so forth up to the HSPA. Scores are not |
| students? But, if not, why not? | | | | impacting scholarships or college admissions, at least |
| What is it about facing the test 'cold' that makes you | | | | not yet, but scores are reported on school and |
| believe that is a good way to approach the NJASK | | | | district report cards. Scores are used as tools by |
| or SAT? With sample scored tests available for | | | | realtors and scores are part of news reports. So, |
| teachers to use as instructional tools, what is it that | | | | rather than scoff at helping kids, let's take the time |
| you don't want the kids to know? Why not prepare | | | | to share the inside scoop, to share the scored |
| your pupils unless it is a response to your own fear | | | | samples, to provide our students with skills and |
| of testing, your own test anxiety? | | | | strategies for success. Why? We do this because we |
| Conquer your test anxiety while simultaneously | | | | can. |
| engaging your students to do the same. Why? So | | | | Open your mind and adapt your educational |
| that you and your class have this shared experience | | | | philosophy just a bit. We are not giving in or cowering |
| and from that you can understand and even | | | | to the powers that be, rather we are recognizing the |
| embrace the relevance of and benefit of test | | | | powers that be, and we have found ways to join |
| preparation, a preparation that is as much for | | | | them and show them how best practices coincides |
| emotional and affective reasons as it is to lower your | | | | with curriculum standards and how when that |
| blood pressure and calm students and parents, or | | | | becomes part of direct and indirect instruction, we |
| whether it leads to an increase in performance | | | | can save jobs, increase home values, and more |
| scores which in some classes is all that it is about. | | | | importantly increase district, and student pride in a |
| Testing Miss Malarkey is a story that I have read out | | | | job well done. There are professional development |
| loud with students and with adults. It can be | | | | sessions, there are district reading coaches, math |
| borrowed from a library or purchased either in person | | | | coaches, and literacy coaches who are available with |
| or online. When people laugh at it, I often hear | | | | tools of the trade to guide and provide assistance. |
| comments such as "That is exactly what it's like in | | | | It's not if you can't beat them, join them, in a |
| my school." It touches us and makes us look at what | | | | negative sense, it's if you can't beat them, show |
| is happening in conjunction with high stakes testing. | | | | them how it's done and do it well. |