This is the moment you’ve spent months preparing for: Standardized testing is only a couple of sleeps away. You’ve practiced the material, reviewed test-taking strategies, planned for the rest of the year, and repeatedly stressed the importance of this exam to your students. Now that the days are quickly nearing, what do you do now for your staff, your students, and yourself?
Guide students on their own self care.
We know that students need to get adequate sleep, eat healthily, and get exercise — not just at testing time but at all times — but we especially need to guide them through those healthy habits now, when they are crucial to giving them the best chance of success.
Telling students to practice healthy habits without telling them why, how, and some practical ways to do this is a waste of breath and time. To promote adequate sleep, suggest baby steps, such as going to bed 10 minutes earlier each evening the week before the exam. For nutritious eating, continue advocating for small changes such as adding a “healthy food” to each meal of the day.
It’s spring time for most standardized tests, so the weather is conducive for getting outside. Even if students are not athletes, suggest that they spend 20 minutes outside each day whether it’s to walk their dog, stroll around their neighborhood, or just decompress and soak in the early-spring atmosphere.
Model self care for them.
Because you need it as much as they do! It’s difficult to stress the importance of drinking eight glasses of water a day when they see you chugging eight cans of Mountain Dew. Fill your Stanley Cup (or Yeti, Hydroflask, Owala, or generic bottle) with water, and drink it throughout the day. Tell your students you’re going to bed early — and then do it — and remark how much more energized you feel the next day.
Get outside during the school day. You can tie your standards to almost anything outdoors, and it will get some of the impending stress out of your system, or at least out of all of your minds for a while. As long as you adhere to school safety measures, there’s no reason you can’t take your classes outside for a large chunk of learning prior to testing.
Address potential problems now!
I’m not a big fan of exclamation marks, but this point merits it. We’ve all heard stories of exam-day disasters, and some of us have probably experienced a few. From ill-timed weather and safety drills, to miscommunication of testing times to all stakeholders, to flu outbreaks, to technology mishaps, problems will arise.
The best advice for addressing potential problems is to brainstorm what could possibly go wrong. First, make sure all stakeholders associated with your school are fully aware of testing dates and times. This is the time to over-communicate so that mom doesn’t show up halfway through the math test to take Debbie to her dentist appointment or the talent show coordinator doesn’t get on the speaker to announce tryout times.
Next, pay close attention to what’s going on outside of the school. Watch the weather: Depending on where you’re located, spring brings the potential for severe weather in many parts of the country. What’s your plans B, C, and D if the area is under a flood warning or the power goes out? Similarly, is there anything remarkable going on in your town or community? Spring festivals and sporting events can cause delays in transportation and unwelcome distractions, so you need to plan accordingly.
Simulate test conditions.
Don’t do this the day before the test, but do it close enough for students to feel familiar with exam day conditions.
If possible, go to the room where they will be testing when the stakes are low. Show students where the pencil sharpeners and clocks are, and tell them the general procedures they will experience on test day, including collecting cell phones, bathroom and break procedures, and how long the testing will take each day. If possible, let as much natural light into the testing room as possible as long as it doesn’t cause distractions, such as an elementary field day taking place outside or a high school P.E. class playing dodgeball right outside the window.
Be proactive about what you do the day before exams.
Give them a sincere pep talk, but be sure to infuse it with a bit of humor. Your encouragement should aim to ease stress, not multiply it.
If you think students have heard enough of your cheerleading rants, show them a motivational film clip that depicts overcoming challenges. This website has some great motivational movie clips for all ages to get your students primed for filling in those bubbles. Just be sure to view any video before you show it to your students. (This caveat should go without saying, but I’ve been burned by not doing it, so I’m saying it anyway.)
Plan for what your students will do after testing.
This advice largely depends on the age of the students, but the big idea is to keep it simple.
For older students, give them a choice. If they are of driving age or have parents/guardians available to pick them up early, strongly suggest that they take the rest of the day off. Standardized tests like Advanced Placement, SAT, and ACT leave most students mentally and physically drained, and the best thing they can do for the rest of the day is to go home and “chill.” Whatever you do, “class as normal” is a definite no for after standardized testing.
If going home is not an option, allow them choices of what to do at school. Some students may need to blow off steam on the playground while others would rather read or put their head down in a quiet environment. Teachers have different needs as well, so assign staff that need to release physical energy to take students outside to play, and assign those that need to sit and breathe deeply to monitor the quiet-room book readers and nappers.
For younger students, most schools like to have some sort of celebration, whether it’s a pizza party, a movie, or a trip to an indoor entertainment center. Again, though, give them a choice, if possible. I still have nightmares of playing laser tag and life-sized video games in the overstimulating environment of a multi-acred arcade. Just because students are young doesn’t mean that they want to destress in a loud, frenzied environment.
A little planning in the days prior to standardized testing goes a long way in ensuring that your students feel confident and calm during testing and appreciated and loved after the day is over. Take a deep breath, and good luck to you and your students! You’ve got this!