Taming the End of Grade Test: Advice from Teacher of the Year
and Reading Specialist, Gregory Brown
Author of Playbook® story, Questionella and the Fairy Tale of Multiple Choices

When I was a kid I remember being really scared of two things: sleeping in total darkness and taking standardized tests. The first could easily be solved by any trusty nightlight. The second problem … well, there was just no easy solution for that one.
To some of us, taking a test is like jumping out of an airplane. We know we have a parachute (we’re familiar with the test content) and that should be enough. Still, we wonder if that parachute will open at the right time. We worry that the test will “win” and we will lose. It can really affect our ability to think and remember what we know. Add in the fact that many standardized tests have a certain time limit for completing, and you have just served up a very unhealthy dish for kids (and grown-ups) to swallow. How many students have I literally seen in tears on test day?

My sister, Kimberly Brown, and I have each taught school for twenty years. We have both witnessed that look of fright and uneasiness in the eyes of our students when EOG test time rolls around. It’s a teacher’s least favorite part of the job. Still, assessment is a very important part of education and it is not going to fade away. What is one to do?

Kim and I decided to pool our talents to help those kids. Using my knowledge as a reading specialist and my sister’s expertise in music education, we collaborated to create a Reader’s Theater script that would not only help students ease that very real test anxiety, but also teach them the skills they needed to be successful on any multiple choice test. Most standardized tests are in this format, and even though a student may be able to comprehend the material, he or she may not be able to select the best answer.

What began as a simple test-taking “role-play” with my Guided Reading students, turned into something special when Kim wrote an inspired "Multiple Choice Rap" to accompany the strategies. The resulting Reader’s Theater piece, Questionella and the Perfect Prince: A Fairytale of Multiple Choices is unlike any classroom activity that we’ve used or seen in our careers. We are very proud that schools are adopting it as their End of Grade test intervention. Students now have a chance to become fluent readers and confident test takers as they experience this script. With those important tests just a few months away, teachers and parents should do what they can to prepare those anxious minds … not only with course content, but with positive attitudes and test-taking skills as well!

News release on Questionella and the Perfect Prince....

View the Multiple Choice Rap and learn more....

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