I recently sat down with my fourth-grader to go over some of his graded work. He had gotten a pretty abysmal score on a reading comprehension test and as I pulled it out to sign it (school policy) and go over with him (my policy), he cried. Once he pulled himself together, he said, “I hate reading!” After I picked up the pieces of my heart that had shattered all over the floor, I said, “Son, this is NOT reading. Reading is fun. Reading is when you get lost in a story and you see a movie playing in your mind. This is detective work. This is searching for evidence and eliminating false implications. It is NOT reading.”
So today we are going to talk about how to help our kids succeed with standardized reading comprehension tests so that they see the difference between these assignments and the beauty and wonder of true pleasure reading. Because the two are are very very different.
It’s Not a Memory Test
When students are presented with a short reading passage followed by a series of questions, many commonly believe that this is a test of their memories. They will read the story through one time and then try their best to answer each question without looking back at the passage. To see what they remember This is the opposite of what is intended.
Help your student understand that the whole point of these exercises is to have students go BACK to the passage to find the answer. It’s like a treasure hunt or detective work. Use the simile that will work best with your child. This particular child of mine is very interested in spies and detectives, so that was my angle of choice. I explained that there are a few simple steps to follow when you are answering each question that follows a passage in a standardized test.
Step 1-
Read the passage. Look for important details and be sure you understand what is happening or what information is being shared. When you have finished reading, you can think to yourself or write at the bottom of the passage one sentence that sums up what the passage was about.
Step 2-
Read the first question. Without looking at the answers, go back to the text and see if you can find the answer. Underline what you find.
Step 3-
Return to the question and read the choices provided. If the answer choice is completely wrong, cross it out. If you have more than one possible correct answer, go back to the text and decide which of your possible answers is the MOST correct. Do not imply something that isn’t specifically stated in the article unless the question asks you to. For example, if the boy wants a pet and lives in an apartment, you shouldn’t assume that he can’t have a cat or dog just because he lives in an apartment unless it specifically says so in the passage.
Step 4-
Once you have chosen the MOST correct answer, move on to the next question. Start again by reading the question and returning to find the answer in the passage before reading the choices.
Step 5-
Go back to the question, read the choices and eliminate the ones that are obviously wrong. If you have more than one remaining choice, go back to the passage again and see if you can find any clues that will help you choose the answer that is most correct.
Step 6-
Repeat steps 4-5 until you finish all of the questions related to that passage.
This form of “comprehension” questioning is prevalent on standardized tests beginning in 3rd grade and continuing through all standardized tests (SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.). If we can help our children see these as something completely different from cozying up with a good book, we will ease the battle as they continue to be exposed to these types of questions for the remainder of their educational careers. Because actual reading is fun!
