Aside from the content knowledge, confidence level has appeared to be a big obstacle for some of my students. They know the content, but the thought of taking a state assessment panics them. This is even more so these days as the emphasis on testing keeps growing in our culture. Our state allows up to three attempts on most state assessments, so some students can have a lot of testing. As 7th graders they have up to three attempts for reading, up to three attempts for math, one attempt for writing, and if they are qualified as an English Language Learner, they have the two portions of the ELPA assessment. All of these assessments span multiple days. Imagine all of these testing days if you have test anxiety or a low confidence level.
We talk to our students about remaining calm in testing situations, and we also try to have them do Brain Gym activities prior to their testing sessions. Something new that we are trying to build confidence in genral is an after school program that is fairly brief in duration with problem solving team builders. One of my colleagues is running the program, and he is the perfect person to do it. He participated in a summer leadership program for years. The one year I was able to go we were co-leaders on the team, and he led many of the problem-solving team builder activities. Since he is running the group right next door to my classroom, I could often hear the laughter, along side his motivational talks to limit their frustration while working through different activities and to debrief each activity.
I love that this new piece will not only help students to remain calm while testing, but it also serves a bigger purpose of having a life skill to limit frustrations while problem solving and to keep trying rather than giving up if the first plan does not work out.
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