Tips for Teachers
Assessment Home
Answering Multiple Choice Questions
- Read all the directions carefully. Note whether you are to choose the correct, incorrect, best answer or the answer that does not belong to the group with the other choices.
- Read the question or statement and try to answer or complete it before looking at the answer choices. If the answer you have given is among the choices mark it.
- If you cannot answer the question, read each choice carefully. Eliminate obvious incorrect choices to narrow down the correct possibilities.
- If there is a passage to read, research shows that reading the question and answer choices before reading the passage can be beneficial. Remember, usually, the answer to the question will be in the reading passage.
- Go through the test section and answer all the questions you can with out taking a lot of time.
- If you can't answer a question, leave it blank for now and go on to the next question.
- After you have gone through all of the test section, come back to those questions you left blank.
Open Response Questions Assessment Home
- Students need practice responding to open response questions.
- Students need practice responding within the one-page limit.
- Students should practice with the one-page grid for math and science.
- If students restate the question they must do so briefly. (They do not receive points for restating the question.)
- Students should review their responses to be sure they have responded to all parts of the item.
- Students should show their work/procedure (as required for math).
- Students should be prepared to provide explanations for justification for their responses, if the item requires it.
- Writing activities should be included as a regular part of instruction.
- Use both released and teacher-developed items.
- Provide feedback to students on the practice items.
- Encourage the use of peer review using scoring guides.
- Focus practice items on material covered in the Core Content for Assessment
- Encourage the development of complete responses (providing thorough descriptions, details, or justification for their responses).
- Use the "Student Performance Level Descriptions" for each content area as a helpful tool to analyze student work. These descriptions detail the difference between novice, apprentice, proficient, and distinguished work.