A TAKSing Tale
My journey into the new TAKS testing begins the
summer of 2002 at the 3rd grade reading academy sponsored by the
state of Texas. Supposedly we were given all the tools necessary for teaching 3rd
graders to read successfully. I have taught 3rd grade for twelve
years and before that taught Kindergarten and 1st grade so felt like
I knew how to teach reading to even the most reluctant reader. In previous years my students have
performed in the 90% range and above on the TAAS test so I wasn't too worried.
The
TEKS were introduced several years back and we were told that in the coming
years a test would be developed to measure these skills. They seemed fairly
straight forward; in fact they were much more logical and presented in a much
easier fashion than the old EE's (essential elements) we had become comfortable
with. The only unknown was what format the new test would take.
In the spring of 2002, I was lucky enough to get to
field test the reading portion of the new 3rd grade test. After looking
over the test and analyzing the format I begin to see where some of my strategies
needed to be updated, that's where the 3rd Grade Academy came in. They
did an excellent job of providing new ideas and updated ways of presenting the
material that covered the 3rd grade TEKS.
My panic didn't arrive until after the first two
weeks of school this fall. I pre-assessed my new class and to my horror found
only one student reading at a 3rd grade level and most read between the
1.8 and 2.4 level. How was I ever going to get them prepared for a test that
was to be written on a 3.9 level? Every trick in the book has been pulled out
this year to prepare my ill equipped 3rd graders. We have 15 minutes
of skill lessons first thing in the morning, then we break into three reading
groups (I was lucky enough to get two aids during that time period so all three
groups can meet at the same time), followed by whole group reading instruction
(more skills), and then in the afternoon we buddy read for 45 minutes with the
4th grade. Some time during the day I find time for fluency practice
with some, while others listen to recorded tapes and read individually to me or
an aid. I definitely have changed how I taught 3rd grade; instead of
proportionally teaching all subjects this class has received 75% reading
instruction and 25% all other subject matter combined. Is this good for
students? I don't think so, but I had one objective in mind and that was 100%
of the 3rd grade passing to the 4th grade.
At one
time during the fall I went to visit some other elementary schools to get an
idea if the bigger schools were using anything I was not aware of, but the only
thing I found was the use of an internet site called Study Island that could be
purchased for a year and offered reading and math practice geared for the new
TAKS test. I purchased this for my students and encouraged them to use this
site any time during the day they were finished with other work; it is also accessible
from home. Several of my students have taken advantage of this tool. This gave
me a start in searching the internet for materials to use with the new TAKS
test. There are not many since the state has kept such tight reins over the
content of the test, but on the following page you will find the sites I found
useful.
The
conclusion to this tale is that the 1st test was given and the results are in. All but two of my
students passed the test, one was already in the process of being tested for
Special Education and the other is Dyslexic. I guess they were right, if you
teach to the TEKS you will cover the TAKS.
Web
sites I found useful for the 3rd Grade TAKS test:
http://www.mhschool.com/reading
http://www.harcourtschool.com/elab