Supporting Teachers and Students During Testing Season

Like it or not, standardized testing is a part of our education system. This article is not to debate whether standardized testing is good or bad – but instead to focus on what we, as librarians, can do to support the teachers and students during this stressful time of the year. Although we aren’t teaching a tested subject area, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a positive impact during testing season. Here are 6 practical ways you can help your campus in the days and weeks leading up to standardized testing.

1. Help with Review

In the weeks leading up to the testing season, teachers everywhere are building in lots of review to their already busy class schedules. Offer to help with that process. If you see these classes for a set time each week or month, play a review game during your library time.

As a reader and librarian, you are an expert with a variety of important reading skills and strategies that your students need. There are so many reading strategies you can review with picture books. These make great lessons for library time and can serve as important reviews too!

This doesn’t have to mean extra prep for your already long prep list. Ask the teachers if there is a specific skill that the entire grade level could use extra practice with. Then use the same activity with all of your classes for that grade. And. . . if it is a general skill like figurative language, you can likely use the same activity for multiple grade levels. A great example is this Figurative Language PowerPoint Game! It could easily be used for third, fourth, and fifth grade classes.

Many teachers also have ready-to-use games that they made on sites like Kahoot! Playing the game with the students during library time frees up a little class time while still providing the teacher with valuable student information.

2. Offer Your Help with Intervention

The testing season brings with it so many things that teachers must balance. There’s whole class review that must be balanced with targeted intervention for students struggling with specific skills or concepts. Offer your services with one-on-one or small group intervention or tutoring.

Many librarians have time in their day when they do not have a class in the library to teach. Although the library is open and students can come in on their own, by this time of the year the students know the library expectations and don’t need a lot of guidance. That makes this the perfect time to work with a few students.

Create a schedule of available times and offer your services for small group intervention work. Ask teachers to sign-up for a designated time and to provide you with the activity in advance. Then create a space where you can work with students and still see what’s going on in the library.

3. Teach Test Taking Skills

As adults, we have been through our fair share of tests. We know from experience that taking a test is more than just answering questions. But for many of our students, they are very early in their test-taking journey. Learning some practical test-taking skills will help them not only in the current testing season, but also for years to come.

4. Offer Yourself as a Reward

During this time of year, many teachers add extra incentives to their classroom management systems. Offer yourself as a reward that students can earn. Lunch in the library or being a library helper are two rewards that students will work for! Let the teachers in your building know that you are available and willing to help out in this way.

You could also run your own contest. Choose a target goal that supports teachers with test prep and let students enter when they complete the goal. If teachers send test prep reviews as homework, completed assignments can be dropped into a large box as an entry. If teachers are encouraging students to show their work when completing math problems, then students can earn a ticket when they show their work on an assignment. Ask the teachers in your building for something that could use a little extra incentive and start your own contest. Then draw a couple of winners and reward them with a 15 minute library party or library helper for a week.

5. Turn the Library into a Cheerleader

In many schools around the country, the library is centrally located in the school building. Often, it has multiple windows that connect with the main hallways. Fill those windows with posters or displays that cheer on students for their hard work. As students are walking the halls, they will see the encouraging messages.

To do this, use already made posters, or find some inspiration on Pinterest. A little butcher paper can go a long way toward turning your door and windows into encouraging billboards for your students.

6. Spend Some Time Focusing on Social-Emotional Learning

Your library is filled with books about real-life people who have overcome challenges. Choose some of these people, and their stories, to share with your students. Then talk about those people and some practical, everyday actions your students can do to help them overcome challenges too! Connecting these real-life overcomes to testing season inspires your students and encourages them.

There are also tons of books that you can use to teach students about stress and anxiety. By focusing on these topics students learn valuable strategies for coping with stress and anxiety. They also learn that it is okay to talk about these things and support one another. This blog post is filled with strategies you can teach to help students cope with stress.

BONUS IDEA: Chocolate!

Want those teachers in your building to know you are thinking about them during this stressful time? Let them know you’ve got the ultimate stress-buster . . . chocolate! Keep a stocked candy bowl in your office and let teachers know it is there for them! It’s sure to make testing season a little sweeter.

You Can Play a Big Part

As a librarian, it is easy to feel a little disconnected when it comes to things like testing. However, with a little thought and some creative thinking you can become a valuable support to both the teachers and students during testing season. You can play a big part in helping with test prep, encouraging students, and supporting teachers. You are a part of the team – don’t be afraid to let others know you want to help!

Save These Testing Season Ideas

Save these testing season ideas to your favorite library Pinterest board so you can come back the next time you want to support teachers and students during testing season.