Teachers prepare all year for their students to take the end-of-year standardized test. This can cause teachers and students to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious. But even though teachers are feeling all those emotions, they also have amazing tips and suggestions. So, instead of us sharing our ideas, we wanted to hear from other teachers. In today’s episode, our Teacher Approved community is sharing their best teacher testing tips with you!

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Emily 0:37

Hey there, thanks for joining us today. In today's episode, we're sharing teacher approved tips from our community to help you survive and thrive during testing season.

Heidi 0:48

We start our episodes with a morning message just like we used to do at morning meeting in our classrooms. This week's morning message is what are your best tips for surviving end of year testing?

Emily 1:00

This is such a big one. And we got so many good responses from our teacher approved community that we are devoting our entire episode to it.

Heidi 1:09

Before we start, we just want to give any enormous thank you all caps. Thank you to everyone who submitted their ideas. We so appreciate you taking the time to share your expertise with us. And with all of our listeners.

Emily 1:23

Let's start with this tip from Michelle. She says My best tip for surviving all of the testing that occurs at the end of the school year is to be as organized as possible. I make a schedule. Make sure all materials are ready stuff is prepped and all assessments are marked. So when I test there is no confusion.

Heidi 1:42

I love Michelle's energy about this. And I think she's onto something important. When we are headed into such a loosey goosey time like testing season, you will do yourself a huge favor if you make a clear plan of what to do in the days ahead.

Emily 1:59

And Katie is on top of it too. She says her biggest tip is to stay planned ahead. I'm hoping to plan the rest of the year during spring break. That way I can coast through the year being more mindful of my students well being.

Heidi 2:11

I love that from Katie I know.

Heidi 2:13

And if you need a little jump on summer prep Anne has this tip. She says I'd have to say the number one thing that gets me through all of the end of your testing is that I look at the requirement to remove all academic information from my walls and bulletin boards as the perfect excuse to start prepping my room for summer vacay. What a fantastic head start.

Emily 2:35

Oh, I love that that's a win. Good idea to get some sneaky get ahead strategy going with your testing prep. But besides slowly packing up your room, your upcoming plan should include lots of time for review.

Heidi 2:50

And luckily, we have got lots of great review tips to share. Let's start with this one from Keelia, she says I have my assessments ready to go so that I can rotate between kids. I also rely on a lot of centers so that I can take as many opportunities as I can to work in small groups or one on one.

Emily 3:08

I'm glad we're starting with this tip because it's so helpful. Like we talked about in last week's episode, it's important to focus your limited prep time where it can be most useful. Giving your students some short assessments can help you identify the concepts they're still struggling with.

Heidi 3:24

And it is so smart of Keelia to use that information to make small groups or even to identify which kids need personalized support.

Heidi 3:33

Megan does something similar. She says, during testing season, I grew up my kids into small teacher led or self directed review or enrichment groups based on need according to each standard. This helps me to stay focused on reviewing with the kids who needed the most and engaging those who already know it.

Emily 3:51

Such a good point for Megan, it's so important to make a plan for the kids who know the information already so they don't get bored.

Heidi 3:59

Yeah, and luckily there are lots of things we can do to keep things interesting. Brianna says her class is doing a March Madness competition, which sounds like a lot of fun. Yeah, and Audra has a reading and math bootcamp to review skills. She says they even dressed up in black and camo to keep things fun.

Emily 4:15

Oh, fun. Having fun is such an important component of test prep. We talk a lot about student engagement being like an old timey balance scale. One of the buckets on the scale is for structure and the other bucket is for novelty. When our students are engaged, those buckets are roughly balanced. If we tip too far, either way, our kids are no longer engaged. They're either bored or overwhelmed.

Heidi 4:40

And bored or overwhelmed kids are not the kids who are doing their best at testing.

Emily 4:45

So we definitely want to avoid upsetting the balance of our classroom. Mostly on this podcast we talk about all the ways that our novelty buckets get too full. There are holidays and field trips and inside recess to get our kids amped up. So we counter that by increased In this structure, but when it comes to testing, we have the opposite problem. As Laureen says, sometimes when you drill too much students tend to not focus and tune out. Yeah, we don't want that.

Heidi 5:12

Yeah, testing time is all about structure. There are so many rules, so many rules, and so much pressure that comes with a standardized test, our structure buckets start to overflow. And that means we need to add more novelty to help rebalance our classrooms.

Emily 5:29

As Miranda points out, one of the best tips to survive end of the year testing is to make it fun for the kids. When the kids are having fun, everyone's having fun. I bring treats or small trinkets with fun reminders that they are smart and they can do it.

Heidi 5:43

And Kimberly keeps it light with theme days, she suggest bubble day Jessup day, write with a market day etc.

Emily 5:49

Laura and Stacy both recommend giving students something as a way to boost engagement. Laura has little surprises for the kids each morning of testing. And Stacy says snacks are the best way to make it through end of the year testing.

Heidi 6:01

Probably for teachers too. Treats or little surprises are a great way to add some novelty. And it's also a fun way to remind students that you care about them.

Emily 6:10

Little surprises are so fun, but don't feel like you have to fund this yourself. If you're in a district that allows donations you can ask parents to send in items.

Heidi 6:19

And when it comes to donations. I think the key to making this work is being very specific in your request. This isn't coming from anyone who's done this the hard way. Maybe you could do a sign up genius. You can ask parents to sign up to send in 25 stringy cheese sticks, 25 pencil topper erasers or whatever it is you want to give your students. Leaving it vague and just saying something like sending snacks is just going to end in more headaches than it's worth.

Emily 6:44

Yeah. And no teacher needs another headache during tests.

Heidi 6:47

No, absolutely not. Besides keeping things fun for the kids, we've got to do everything we can to keep ourselves zen, not just for us, but for our students as well. Kim says my best tip for end of the year testing is to stay calm. Kids are like dogs, they sense fear. They also sense frustration. Stay focused and calm, focus on review and strategies and doing your best. It's all you can ask of your students too.

Emily 7:15

Jeanne has a similar tip she says relax, if you stress about it, your students will too. Give them the tools strategies, encouragement and celebrate when it's done.

Heidi 7:24

That doesn't mean this is easy, though it takes real effort to maintain your calm in the face of all of that stress. One way to lower the anxiety level is to make sure that the test doesn't become the focal point of your whole day.

Emily 7:38

Stephanie has a suggestion for that. She says, I've learned that if you relax and just do the norm during testing, the kids don't stress and feel your anxiety. Don't make a big deal out of it. That stresses your kids out they feed off of you. Chill, Teach!

Heidi 7:53

Abby suggests using pump up music to help keep things light. She adds. I act a bit goofy while waiting until everyone shows up. It helps to alleviate tensions. I also remind them to do their best and not stress.

Emily 8:08

And a little bit of encouragement definitely goes a long way. Colleen says it's fun to give the students a little something each day like bookmarks with some encouraging words to help them focus and feel the love and support you have shared all year with them. Remember, it's just a snapshot of a fabulous year together learning and growing.

Heidi 8:25

And Emily, not our Emily but another Emily we also love. She adds end of the year testing is a time for kids to show what you have done with them since the beginning of the year. I tell my kids do their best and show what they know. You know, usually with a bribe of doughnuts to celebrate finishing.

Emily 8:42

You can't go wrong with doughnuts never. Mikayla has a fun idea for having your students share the encouragement with other students. She says for end of yoar testing, I like to have my class spread kind messages to other students are classrooms saying good luck on their test. The kids love to do it and the receiving kid loves it too.

Heidi 9:00

Well that's such a sweet idea. Our friend Shareka has a tradition that we love. She says I have families write notes to their students. I send home six slips in an envelope and email the instructions to write six notes encouraging them during the test. They send the notes back in the sealed envelope. Then on the first day of testing, I hand them the envelope and tell them to take one out the smiles and looks of relief. They do this six times one for each test session. And families don't send it back. I write the notes myself.

Emily 9:29

I love that Shareka. Shareka is my teacher bestie. I'm sure the kids treasure those notes so much. And it's smart of her to have a backup plan for the kids whose papers don't get returned.

Heidi 9:40

And if you don't want to write the notes yourself, if you happen to know any of your students, previous teachers, you could have them write the notes instead. Wouldn't that be such a big surprise for a student to get a note from you know, their kindergarten teacher their first grade teacher? Oh, that's cute. Sure they would love that.

Emily 9:57

Knowing their teachers believe in them is such a huge boost. Wendy has a bunch of suggestions for encouraging students. She says, I keep everything positive and tell the kids how much I believe in them. I communicate with parents how important it is for their child to be well rested, and have a good breakfast and to encourage their children at home.

Each day, we have a small theme or a cute little snack to go along with the theme and do fun brain breaks. We talk about setting goals and how we are going to rock the tests. Even though my grade is not a star grade, we make posters and put them around school to cheer on the third through sixth graders. I have a sparkly shirt that says rock the star and another one that says my students rock and I dressed up like a rock star with the black wig and inflatable air guitar.

Wendy's fun, kids love it. And they all feel like rock stars for my second graders, I tell them that all of our end of year testing is preparing them for third grade and they just show what they know and trust in everything we've done up to this point.

There is a lot of trust that comes with end of year testing. As much as we're encouraging our students, we also need to encourage ourselves that this is going to be okay.

I love this pep talk from Megan. She says My best tip to survive end of year testing is to remember that I am a great teacher. Yeah, I have done my very best instruction all year long. And I've been reflective and adaptive along the way. And of course I remind myself that I work with 10 year olds, they are surprising. Some kids will do better than expected. While some kids might have an awful day when testing day arrives. I can't take that personally because well refer back to tip number one.

Denise has your back too. She says My best tip for surviving the lovely end of year testing will be to have patience and faith that the students will realize that they've got this. There's nothing on the test that they haven't at least been exposed to. And I asked them to just do their best.

Laurie has this to add. I try to remember that we have been working hard all year. No amount of last minute cramming is going to help. And I put up my border that says you are more than a test.

And don't forget to celebrate after the test is done. Natasha says at the end of each test session, my students and I take a praise break and we celebrate doing our best. This gives my students something to work for and look forward to. It boosts their confidence and determination to do their best.

I like that Natasha is thinking ahead about what happens when testing is done for the day. How we use that time can have a big effect on how the rest of our testing goes.

Going back to that structure, novelty balance. It's important to keep things light during your non testing time. As Emily says, establish boundaries between seriousness and silliness. We sincerely try our best on our tests and take them very seriously. But afterwards, we get to decompressed by being silly together.

And Tiffany has these suggestions. I survive testing by making it fun for the kids. I do activities that will help them relax for morning work. Then after we're done with testing for the day, I give them extra recess special snacks and do centers for our learning time. This gives me a break and gives them something to look forward to.

Yeah, we want to make sure we're giving students fewer structured activities. But we don't want that to come at the cost of extra planning for the teacher. Centers, like Tiffany mentioned are a great way to keep things academic but light and you don't need to create new centers. Pull out the games and activities you did a few months ago and let the students work with those.

Another simple to plan but fun activity is to read aloud. Heather says during end of the year testing I read a chapter a day of a well loved novel such as Charlotte's Web or Dear Mr. Henshaw, the children love listening to some good old fashioned storytime and have an opportunity to relax and hear great fluency.

Kathy has a great system. She says during end of the year testing, we spend the morning testing and then the afternoon playing. Kids bring in board games and card games from home and we have tournaments. The week ends up being very fun for everyone. I don't have to prep any lessons or grade any homework.

Well that sounds like a win for everyone. Brianna has another fun suggestion. She says work in more non academic activities that we know are beneficial, but to students feel like free time. My class loves directed drawing videos and I love that they're practicing listening to and following directions.

My students always struggled with the listening comprehension part of the test. So directed drawings would probably count as test prep.

I like how you're thinking. And I know we're trying to minimize teacher work during testing season. But one way to look at these post testing days is as giving a gift to your future self. Maybe you want to plan something more elaborate this year that you can just pull out and use next year as well.

Erica says during testing, I try to spend extra time creating team building engineering activities for students. Activities like an egg drop building the highest tower with spaghetti noodles and activities like that. My goal is to give students a positive experience to minimize the stress that testing can and create.

And if you get a chance take advantage of any nice spring weather. Phoebe says My best tip for surviving the end of the year is to take breaks, if it is nice outside and if you are able take the learning outside for a little bit. And Kristen adds the fresh air and exercise are a great break from testing.

Well, sounds like we've got the kids covered. What about our poor teachers who are doing all of this work?

Don't worry, we've got plenty of tips for you too. Dawn says her best tip is to take care of yourself with an exclamation point. And Laureen says self care is completely key. I know that sounds pretty simple, but we actually forget about ourselves or tend to be hard on ourselves. Stressing out during this time. Make sure to take time to take care of yourself. Do something that you love or helps you to relax in your downtime. A good meditation works.

Lindsay says My best tip for surviving the end of the year testing is to take lots of deep breaths and make sure I'm making time for self care as much as possible. And also ensuring that exercise is a daily part of my routine. And Kelly adds My best tip for surviving testing season. Do something that fills your cup every afternoon like calling a friend or going on a walk.

She's right once the kids leave, it's so important to do what you can to fill your cup. I love this suggestion from Irma. The best tip I have for surviving end of the year testing is by binge watching a comedy show. For example The Office which will have me laughing hysterically and the stress gets released.

I've loved the idea of having a show that you set aside to rewatch during stressful times. Last summer for my summer of Parks and Rec. I watched Parks and Rec for the first time and I highly recommend it if you want something light and silly.

I love Parks and Rec. Superstore and Brooklyn 99 are a couple of other winners, I just rewatched Superstore for the first time and I couldn't believe all the jokes I missed the first time through.

So funny. So yay for comfort shows. But Natasha maybe has the winning tip. She says, I treat myself to a monthly massage the last three months of school and then in all caps, she adds, this is the best.

I bet it is. Thank you again to everyone who shared their tips with us. We are so grateful for your time and insight. And if you want more tips from other great teachers come join the conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.

Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved tip. Each week, we leave you with a small actionable tip that you can apply in your classroom today. This week's teacher approved tip is plan ahead for next year's test review.

It might seem a little nuts to be thinking about next year already. But we received tips from several teachers who say the best way to survive end of year testing is to prepare all year long.

Lisa says I find that just small consistent practice pays off. I compare it to running a marathon you prepare in small pieces. And Brianna adds embed test taking skills into everyday instruction and make time to make it fun. And you might be thinking, Well gosh, that sounds great. But it's a bit too late to help now and you will be right. But what if you use this year to springboard you into a school year of ongoing spiral review so your test prep season is less frantic.

There are a lots of ways to make review part of your daily routine. Lila has this suggestion. My favorite testing trick is giving the students bellringer questions that are testing related and look like the test. It gets them in the mindset and of course we love spiral review morning work.

And just because we call it morning work doesn't mean that you have to do it in the morning. Spiral review works anytime of day. The important thing is making sure that it actually does happen every day.

If you haven't incorporated spiral review into your schedule yet, write yourself an email reminder to make a plan for next year. And then schedule it to send in the summer when you have some time and energy to make some decisions. Come next spring you'll be so glad you started when you did.

To wrap up the show we are sharing what we're giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?

Well this is niche extra credit probably but I'm giving extra credit to the organizing crew that just did my garage and storage areas this last week. They came and tackled an awkward under stairs closet which is my only major indoor storage space. Plus some deep cupboards in my mudroom and most importantly my three car garage.

They absolutely blew me away with what they got done in six hours. I feel like when I walked into my garage, I've entered a new world like Narnia style. That's how different it feels in there. And the understairs closet is so much more functional now. Maybe I'll post some pics in our stores.

Yeah, do it's a good transformation.

Anyway, you probably aren't listening from Utah right now. But if you are I love Cozy Home Organizing for tackling big organizational projects, and I'll put a link to them in the show notes. They have a great Instagram account, even if you're not local that will give you some inspiration. Where are you giving credit to Heidi?

My extra credit goes to Harry Wong. Oh, I was really sad to hear that he passed away last month. He was someone I think a lot of us teachers were introduced to early in our teaching careers. So it kind of feels like he's been along with us for the whole ride. He taught me so much about the importance of consistent routines.

My first attention signal was the Give Me Five prompts straight from his book. And I think he had such a knack for pinpointing the small changes that can have a really big impact in the classroom. But even though he had so much focus on the little details, he never lost sight of the big picture, and the importance of being a teacher.

I love this quote from the book, the First Six Weeks of School that he wrote with his wife, Rosemary. "There is no greater gift, one human being given other than the opportunity to learn and grow in a loving and nurturing learning environment." And I just think he's given us all such a great gift. So thank you, Harry.

Thank you, Harry.

That's it for today's episode. Hopefully you got some good ideas for how you can thrive as a teacher and as a human during this testing season.