TESTS, TESTS, and MORE TESTS!!!!!


Hi all!
We were very busy on Friday taking several different tests. We won't always have our social studies tests on Friday, but it happened to be that way this week.

Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Test: We will usually take the Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Grammar on the laptops in our room, but this past week, we took them paper and pencil. On these tests coming home on Monday, I have only put how many they missed. Some of the 2nd grade tests only have 10 or even less questions, so I don't want to put a percentage if they missed 2 out of 10 questions. **We will take a reading comprehension test each week. We will take a vocabulary test in addition to this on weeks 1 and 3 of our reading unit. We will take a grammar test in addition to the comprehension test on weeks 2 and 4 of the reading unit. The Reach for Reading units are each 4 weeks long. Sooooo, expect a breakdown like this for tests:

Week 1: Comprehension and Vocabulary
Week 2: Comprehension and Grammar
Week 3: Comprehension and Vocabulary
Week 4: Comprehension and Grammar

Please note that you can find all of the vocabulary words listed in students' green folders in the middle section.





Spelling Test and Dictation: We will take spelling tests once per week. Students will be tested on their 10 spelling words and their 8 high frequency words. Students will always bring home these words on Monday. When we take the spelling test, it will always be out of 18 points. Then, on the back, students are given a sentence that they have to write exactly how I say it. I use the words from their spelling list that week to make up a sentence. This sentence can vary in terms of how many points it is out of. Each word is worth a point, capitalization at the beginning is worth a point, and any punctuation needed is worth a point. This week, the sentence was worth 8 points. Other weeks it may be different depending on the number of words, capital letters, and punctuation marks in the sentence. 

Social Studies Test: This will have a total number they missed on the top, but there is actually 2 parts of the test. There are the comprehension questions, which usually have somewhere between 8 to 12 questions. Then there is a part on the last page that is called the "Show You Know" part. It is more of a writing and picture part of the test. This part is out of 5 points and there is a rubric on how it is scored at the bottom of the writing portion of the test. You will notice when the tests come home next week that we jumped from Unit 1 to Unit 13. A little crazy, but we are going to follow in the Social Studies book to follow the Units in our REACH for Reading program. (We will rotate through out the year between Social Studies and Science.)


Whew! That's a lot of info! So you might be thinking: "Thanks for the explanation, but now what?!?" Great question! Here is my suggestion to you...take some time to go through each test with your child. Talk to them about the problems they did well on, as well as the problems they missed. This reteaching that you can do with them at home will help them tremendously when we take our next tests. Ask them questions like the following:

What part did you feel like you knew the best?

What part was the hardest for you?

Did you really take your time on that part, or did you make a silly mistake? 

 Let's see if we can try it again and see if you can get it this time.
Did you read this story carefully? 

What should you do if you are not sure which answer to pick (for multiple choice questions). 

What will you do next time to help you get a better score?

When you take the time with your child to review their tests, it shows them a LOT of things. It shows them that their score is not just a number but rather a reflection of how well they understood the information. It shows them that YOU CARE about how they are doing at school. It shows them that you are on their side and want to help them improve. So, if you each could take even 10 minutes some time this week and talk with your child, I would be forever grateful! 

Remember, we are in this together! We share the same end goal, which is to help them reach their highest potential! Thanks!!