The 2008 New York State Tests in English Language Arts will administered in Janaury. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are important literacy skills and a major part of the Andes academic program. 
Last year, we saw great improvements in our ELA testing scores. With everybody working hard, we anticipate continued improvements this January. 
To prepare our students for the tests, our program needs to consider our student’s ability to read various genres of text, answer multiple choice questions in response to a reading passage, complete constructed response prompts related to a reading passage, and write coherent essays addressing questions about the topics or themes of a reading selection. The editing ability of our students is also assessed. 
At the lower grade levels, (grades 3 and 4) students are many times asked to answer questions using details stated in the reading passages. Questions posed to students in higher grades require youngsters to consider story details and make predictions or answer questions requiring the use of inferences. Vocabulary always appears in context, with passages from the story provided, and children asked to determine the “most likely” meaning of a targeted word. Youngsters are often asked to select the “best” answer from a group of related choices or use story details to determine the “most likely” prediction or make the “most likely” inference. 
Students in grades three, five, and seven complete constructed response tasks requiring them to answer short question prompts or use story details to take notes and complete graphic organizers, outlines or other visual aides. Students at these grade levels complete an editing task that requires them to identify errors found in a provided writing sample. 
Youngsters in grades four, six, and eight will complete similar constructed response tasks. But, these youngsters must write essays addressing a statement or question related to a central theme found in the reading passage. The editing skills of students at these grade levels are gleaned from their essay writing samples. 
Providing evidence that uses details from the reading passage when answering constructed response tasks or supporting an essay thesis is critical.  
Parents can do several things to assist their child’s ELA development. First, encourage your child to increase their personal reading. Students who do large amounts of personal reading expand their world-view, understand story language, improve their reading fluency, and vastly increase their vocabularies. Second, talk with your child about the stories they read. Discussing story themes helps youngsters use the thinking asked in completing critical thinking questions or using inferences to answer questions like those that appear on State tests. 
The most important thing parents can do to provide support for their students ELA development does not involve reading or writing. Parents who set strong expectations about the importance of learning and schooling and who expect their child to work seriously on State tests and not give up provide their child with a performance edge over children whose parents do not. 
 
 

Posted by: John Bernhardt