Teachers play such an important role in making sure students feel prepared for end-of-year exams, without feeling overwhelmed by review and the stress of performing well. Taking the time to plan an effective review season will ensure that students (and you!) feel ready to tackle exams with confidence!

Planning

Determine what review will look like in your class. Consider planning for the following: 

• Re-teach Calendar: Use Edcite’s Reports from previous exams to determine where to focus your re-teach in the weeks leading up to testing. Make a calendar that lays out when you will review each standard, re-asses student learning, and track progress.
• JOY: Picking a theme for review can bring so much joy to the process. I’ve seen teachers decorate their classrooms, create new trackers, and even create student prizes that all align to a theme like “In our Mastery Era,” or  “Out of this World” (think everything space). 

Re-teach

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Nothing changes if nothing changes!” Plan re-teach lessons that go beyond simply re-stating the standard and having students practice in the same way as the first lesson. Instead, use Edcite’s Item Analysis to plan your re-teaches for previously low objectives in a new way that meets the specific needs of your students.  

Re-assess and Track

After each re-teach, re-assess to ensure students no longer have the same misconceptions for important standards. Giving students formative assessments on Edcite will ensure you have data to compare to earlier assessments. Consider using Edcite’s Performance Band Report to track how students are doing on review assessments. 

Celebrate!

Take time to celebrate all that you and your students have accomplished this year! Plan celebrations as often as you’re able to and make sure everyone knows that review is hard work, but it pays off.  Check out this blog for some specific ways to celebrate students. 

Review season doesn’t have to be a series of “drill and kill” worksheets that leave everyone feeling drained and panicky. Using the data within your Edcite account to plan for a purposeful and fun review will bring everyone to test day feeling confident and calm!