Some may say that standardized testing for 9-11 year olds is just a test of basic skills. But is it really? What is really behind the standardized testing veil?
This article will cover the reading component of standardized testing for grades 3-6.
If you believe that reading is basically fundamental, why do so many children miss the mark?
Reading, as you know, is more than just attacking words strung together in a complete sentence. For many elementary students this is a task mastered.
However, there is a component of reading that offers a huge challenge for children in this age group - it is called comprehension.
Under the umbrella of reading comprehension there are many skills that must be mastered. One of those skills is called "inference". Inference is a highly tested skill on the elementary standardized reading assessment. If your child is missing the mark in reading, this is probably one skill that could be the culprit.
The definition of inference states:
Inference -conclusions drawn from factual information that could
include experiences, images, words, numbers; plausible based upon
careful thought and knowledge about the world; directly connect to
the observations of facts and details
Let's take the story of Little Red Riding Hood. On the standardized test your child may see a question that reads like this.
As Red Riding Hood traveled the forest to see her grandmother what do you think the weather was like? Give a detail from the story to explain your answer.
Seems like a easy question? Here is an example of an answer that would receive full credit.
The weather was probably a little chilly and it could look like rain. It could not be hot because in the story it says that Red had on a cape with a hood. If it was a hot day she would not wear a cape over her clothes. She would use her hood for the rain.
The student answered the first part of the question about the weather. A detail from the story was used to explain why the weather would be a little chilly and why it could look like rain. It did not say explicitly in the story that it was a chilly day but, the student relied on experience and details (clues) from the story to arrive at the right answer.
These questions are especially difficult for students because the answer is never stated anywhere in the story. The story may not ever mention the weather at all. You, as the reader must look for clues. Clues found in the story. Not from facts learned from Disney or the History channel, but directly from the story. For instance here is an answer that would not receive full credit.
Wrong answer:
The weather was probably chilly because forests are usually shady and chilly.
This is probably in fact true but the question states use details from the story
Here is another inference question your child might find on the standardized test.
There is a picture of two children building a sand castle on the beach on a sunny day.
The question reads.
Why is the setting important in this picture? (setting will be discussed in a later series)
Answer:
The setting is important because you need sand to build a sand castle and the beach is the only place where there is sand.
Here is one last example of an inference question. It is generally known as a sub-set skill of inference called drawing conclusions.
In a reading passage it talks of two girls finding a snake in their back yard. One girl wants to keep the snake as a pet. The other girl moves away from the snake and replies "snakes are not good pets"
Question: How do the two girls feel about the snake? Give details from the story to explain your answer.
Answer:
One girl likes the snake because in the story it says she wants to make the snake her pet. The other girl does not like the snake because in the story it says she moves away from the snake and says snakes are not good pets.
Again, in the story, it does not explicitly say how either of the girls felt about the snake. The answer lies in the details written in the story,
For the elementary student this type of questioning can be quite difficult because a right answer depends on a child's own experience and how they themselves would connect with the details. Although these questions are difficult this is what is expected of your child on standardized testing. This is a test of your child's high order thinking skills.
So how can we, as parents, help our children to prepare for these types of questions? Here are some suggestions.
Teach your child to notice details at home. Instruct them to interpret body language from family members, when someone speaks and when they do not speak. A look from you can mean many things to your child. Have your child verbally interpret your looks. Look at pictures and ask your child to draw conclusions about what is happening in those pictures.
Here is a game you can play with your elementary child.
Make up index cards with feeling words written on them; for example, happy, sad, angry, scared etc. Tape one card on your child's back, but do not let your child see what the card says. As other family members participate give clues about the word. For example - you felt this way when __________________. You looked this way when ______________________. Give many clues until your child can guess which emotion is on their back.
As your child gets good at this game they will learn to clarify their own feelings and also make better inferences
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