Teachers can leverage standardized testing data to improve their students’ knowledge and learning in the classroom in a variety of different ways. Savvy teachers will analyze the data to help their students perform better and identify any apparent knowledge gaps.
Here are 3 ways that teachers can leverage standardized testing results to improve classroom performance.
Leverage Standardised Testing Results
- Conducting In-Classroom Practice Tests
It’s important that students get accustomed to completing standardized tests early in their learning process. For this reason, many teachers help their students by conducting short in-classroom practice tests that mimic standardized testing.
This gets students used to completing tests and takes away the stress that they may otherwise have about standardized testing. Everyone knows that practice makes perfect and with each practice test, the students become more comfortable with the process of completing them.
There’s also the option of discussing the results of the in-classroom tests so that everyone understands the process and how well they performed. In addition, it familiarises students with the testing format and encourages more logical thinking.
- Teachers Can Identify Knowledge Gaps
By closely analyzing the results from standardized tests, teachers can easily identify if their students have any knowledge gaps in the major areas of maths, English, and science.
Some teachers may find that their lesson plans failed to cover one particular topic in enough detail for the students to grasp the information fully. These teachers can then look at their lesson plans more closely and readjust them to help their students to understand any particular topic more fully.
Teachers may also find that while some of their students have grasped the information fully, there may be others who are lagging behind. This opens up the avenue of putting their students into different groups. Those who understand a topic can be encouraged to learn advanced skills while those who are missing some of the information can be given additional assistance and learning materials.
- Teachers Can Utilise A Variety Of Methods To Help Students Learn
Once teachers can see the data available from standardized testing, they can formulate different methods to help their students learn better. This could include fun games and quizzes that students are keen to partake in.
Savvy teachers understand that learning can be achieved in many different ways and it’s up to them to encourage their students to learn in ways that are fun and involve collaboration.
Turning learning into a game can help involve all the students in the classroom and make learning a more pleasurable experience. Many teachers also use certain incentives to motivate their students to learn all they can about the subject being taught.
In Summary
Standardized testing data can be used by teachers in a variety of ways to help them improve their teaching in the classroom. Many teachers use short in-classroom tests in order to familiarise their students with the testing process.
It’s also useful for teachers to identify knowledge gaps within their students and to incorporate different teaching techniques in order to make learning more fun in the classroom.