Document Type

Research Project

Majors

Secondary Education

English

Completion Date

5-9-2012

Abstract

As educators, it is our responsibility to help students in their journey to academic growth and discovery. Being such, many teachers find themselves struggling for that perfect balance between making students more comfortable and pushing them outside of their comfort zones. Many Language Arts teachers, if asked, would likely state that when they hold test preparation activities, the class is run in a relatively similar manner as it might be on any other given day. Yes, the reading material and subsequent questions might have been acquired from a test preparation booklet appropriate to the students’ grade level, but most other circumstances remain stable, unchanged. Students are often only expected to complete one reading and one coinciding set of questions with minimal limitations on where and from whom they might attain assistance when a problem occurs. The material is test preparation-worthy but the situation is not.

Biographical Sketch

I am a senior English and Secondary Education major from Davenport, Iowa. I am currently student teaching at Portage High School in Portage, Indiana. I hope to move to a big city following graduation, and I am adopting a dog the minute that my "no pets allowed" lease expires in May.

Research Question(s)

Many students struggle with standardized testing not because they do not understand the material but rather because they do not have the proper background in testing. Under this assumption, students who do not pass standardized tests are likely struggling because they have rarely been introduced to true-to-situational testing circumstances. This study aims to prove that more frequent exposure to real testing restrictions results in higher standardized test scores.

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