TOP 10 Things You Should Know About Iowa

Assessments Comprehension Test!

# 10. Teaching ABOUT the test is not the same as teaching TO the test!

Standardized test are a part of school life and are a real world skill because they are required of many professions, so it’s important to learn the best strategies to use for taking them.

Teaching ABOUT the test and how it is designed gives a student knowledge and strategies to apply to any standardized testing format.

Teaching TO the test is unethical—it means telling students information and questions that are known to be on the test.

# 9. The IA Assessment comprehension test is NOT constructed like a test you would take in a class at

school:

You are asked to choose the BEST answer

There are often two good answers that you must decide between, so read ALL the choice before you decide!

Incorrect answers are carefully worded to distract the reader.Example: Simmering means: a. slowly cooling

d. barely boiling

“l’ is tall letter like “k”—a proficient reader’s brain predicts the work “cooking”!

To be a valid standardized test the scores need to be spread out!

If everyone scores well it’s an invalid test!

At grade level

This is called a Bell Curve distribution

Non-Proficient comprehension

BELOW 40th Percentile

Proficient comprehension

ABOVE 40th Percentile

# 7. A law passed by the federal government called NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND has made the

Iowa Assessments reading comprehension, math scores, and science scores HIGH STAKES

TESTS!

Individual schools in the district are comparedDistrict scores are printed in the newspaperStates scores are compiled and compared Federal funding can be lost is annual yearly progress toward proficiency goals is not achieved

READING COMPREHENSION TRAJECTORY

Percent proficient in general population and all sub-groups

# 6. The Iowa Assessment reading comprehension test writers have observed typical reading behaviors and

will use them against you!

ITBS READING COMPREHENSION: QAR Make-Up

41%24%

35%

Right There

Think & Search

Author & Me

You will only get ony 24% of the questions correct using the skimming strategy!

They know a favorite reading strategy to complete homework is to read the question and skim the text to find the answer.This only works for factual (“Right there!”) answers.

# 5. The most efficient reading strategy on a standardized comprehension test is to read the

question stems (not the answers) FIRST—this sets your purpose for reading.

ITBS READING COMPREHENSION: QAR Make-Up

41%24%

35%

Right There

Think & Search

Author & Me

76% of the answers can be determined only by READING (not just skimming!!) the paragraph!

Use your scratch paper (YES! You can have scratch paper out to use on the reading test!!) to guide your eyes as you read so you don’t skip lines.

Use your scratch paper to jot notes if needed.

# 4. Try to analyze the questions using QAR: (Question Answer Relationship)

ITBS READING COMPREHENSION: QAR Make-Up

0%

41%24%

35%

Right There

Think & Search

Author & Me

On My Own

Right There: What was Gram showing Amanda in the trunk? When did she find it?(The answer if found in one sentence in the text)

Think & Search: How did Gram’s and Amanda’s thought about what was in the trunk differ?(The answer if found by combining several pieces of information from the text)

Author & Me: Why was Amanda holding her breath as Gram opened the old trunk? (The answer requires the reader to think about what makes someone hold their breath as well as the clues in the text to decide why Amanda might do such a thing.)

Author and MeRight There

Think and Search

On My Own: What family stories do you have that make you laugh? (NOT on The Test(The answer is entirely in your head)

# 3. After you have read the selection and BEFORE you read the answer choices, formulate an answer in

your head and then read through the answer choices to see which one is the best match to what you were

thinking.Read ALL the answer choices before deciding. ITBS reading comprehension is not composed of simply one right answer and three incorrect. Many times there seem to be two good answers that could be justified. But, the question will ask you to choose the BEST answer!

Test writers know that your short term memory will recall the details of the last paragraph. When answering questions such as “What is the main idea?” or “What would be a good title for the story?” be sure your answer choice reflects the ENTIRE selection, not just the last part. Goldilocks Rule Next Slide

BACK

Example of using the “Goldilocks Rule: (“Too wide.” “Too narrow.” “Just right.”)

If the reading selection included details about the dangers of circus high wire act, horse tricks, lion tamers, and the human cannonball, what would be the BEST title?

a. The Life of Circus Performers

b. The Flying Walendas High Wire Wizardry

c. Danger at the Big Top is Their job

“Too Wide.” The story is not about ALL circus acts, just dangerous ones.

“Too Narrow.” The selection is not ONLY about the dangers of high wire acts

“Just Right.” The story is about life-threatening circus acts.

# 2. If you are asked to define how a word was used in the selection you read, go back to the passage and

RE-READ. Do NOT rely on past knowledge of the word! Many words in English have multiple meanings and it will often be a lesser known definition that fits the way it was used in the selection!

Example: What the best definition of “weigh” as used in paragraph 3?1. to measure the mass2. to put pressure on a scale3. to think about4. to be important

I know this! We studied it in science last year. The definition of “weigh” is

answer one! I don’t need to look back!

The text said: “I want you to weigh his words carefully. He seems sincere and presents his arguments well. There is, however, something that doesn’t quite ring true about the candidate.”

The Best definition is answer three!

Did you notice answer 4? It is a distractor trying to get you to focus on the word “carefully” in the text rather than the word “weigh.” They don’t just pick random words for choices!!! Sneaky!

# 1. Pay attention to how much time you have and remember that the more complex paragraphs and questions are at the end of the test. DON’T skip a question! Put down an answer for every question and note on your scratch paper that you may want to go

back to look at it again if you have time! You are NOT penalized for guessing on the Iowa Assessments (The score is simply based on number of correct answers.)

If you decide to skip, read the next question or selection and then forget that you had planned to skip, all the rest of your answers will be on the wrong numbered bubbles and you will get them all wrong!!