Originally published on the Macaroni Kid website

It’s the night before the big state exam, and your third grader is engulfed in fear. The test is new, harder, and computerized. He’s not sure how he will perform or whether he’ll even finish the test. He is about to take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC exams‎.

While past exams included more straight forward questions, a PARCC math question might look something like this:

Yes, these questions are hard – or harder, at least, than the traditional plug and solve types of questions that students answered on standardized exams of the past. Yet the English and Math PARCC tests are different – they involve more problem solving and critical thinking, and, unlike prior standardized exams,  are considered predictors of career and college readiness for students in grades 3-11.

Unlike the previously administered NJ ASK, which apparently identified students who were struggling but didn’t give enough information on which skills they hadn’t mastered‎, and the HSPA for high school students, given in 11th grade but assessing material learned in 8th and 9th grade, the PARCC exams are designed to be more interactive, efficient, and flexible measures of future success.

These exams have sparked great controversy with both parents and teachers, and many parents elected to have their child “opt out” from taking the test. However, for those who did take the exams in 2015, the results are finally in. ‎Many parents are not quite sure how to interpret the results. What exactly do these scores mean?

For starters,‎ parents should look at their child’s performance level on the report sent to them, given on a scale of 1-5, which indicates whether their child is meeting grade level expectations. Students who scored 4 or 5 are considered to be meeting expectations. Those who scored a 3 are approaching expectations, but don’t fret just yet – they still may be on track according to officials, despite this seemingly low score.

The previously administered NJ ASK tests gave students an individual score, which was compared to an average score, and placed into one of three groups: advanced, proficient, or partially proficient (in need of intervention). Because the PARCC tests are longer and assess a wide variety of skills, the report provides a more specific explanation to parents of the various skills tested and how their child performed in each one, compared to the school, state, district, and PARCC averages. Look closely at these reports: they are more detailed than the ones from previous state exams, elaborating on how students performed on specific skill sets. Based on these results, teachers can analyze which skills their class performed better or worse on and adjust their instruction accordingly.

Ultimately, with the help of the PARCC results, parents should be able to identify their child’s academic weaknesses and work in collaboration with teachers to better address any areas of concern. While the PARCC exams continue to spark controversy and are considered to be more challenging tests for most students, the results can provide helpful information that can be used to identify struggling kids and fine tune the classroom curriculum. By reading the results and understanding the specific strengths and weaknesses of your child within given skills, you can work with your child’s teacher to individualize and maximize ‎his education.

The post Interpreting Your Child’s PARCC Scores appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Tips and tricks to help visual learners capitalize on their strengths

In theory, visual learners should thrive on the Common Core standards. These standards emphasize skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking–areas that are typically strengths of visual learners–and place less emphasis on rote memorization and straightforward calculations. Yet while visual learners often ace  these “right-brain,” Common Core-like tasks, they tend to have difficulties with the more linear aspects of school, such as memorizing information, spelling words, and making lists. Despite the shifting trend in teaching, these “left-brain” tasks continue to be integral components of school instruction. Help your visual learner excel in school with the ideas detailed below:

Teach Visualization Techniques

When visual‎ learners read, they tend to process and remember information better when they can “see” or visualize it. ‎To teach this visualization skill, have your child read a basic sentence out loud, such as “Three boys sat at the campfire.” Ask him to try to form a picture of this sentence in his mind, then ask prompting question to help him elaborate upons his image, such as: Who? What? Where? What color(s)? How many? How big/small?‎ You can also ask your own elaboration questions, such as, in this case, where he thinks the boys were and how they knew each other. You can ask him to describe the colors and sounds in his image, what the boys were doing at the campfire (Roasting marshmallows? Telling ghost stories?), and perhaps ask him to describe physical descriptions of each boy. The more vivid an image he can create in his mind, the more likely he will be to remember the information. Later, try this same exercise with full paragraphs and stories.

Highlight Information

To further help your child process information, encourage her to use color-coded highlighting techniques when reading both expository and narrative texts. For example, for expository text, teach her to highlight the topic (one, two, or three words describing the passage) in blue, the main idea (what the author is saying about the passage) in green, and the important details (important information describing the main idea) in yellow. She should read the passage first, then go back and highlight the key information. For narrative text, create a color-coded key before she reads, which correlates story elements to specific colors, then have her highlight new characters in, say, orange, new places in yellow, and plot events in pink. This organized, color-coded highlighting system will help her to learn and retain information that she reads.

Color Code Belongings

To help your visual learner better organize‎ his belongings, help him create a color-coded system for his school materials. For instance, he might choose green for science and use a green folder, green notebook, and green index tab in his binder, all for science. He can even use green flash cards for studying science. Likewise, he may choose blue for math, yellow for English, and so on.‎ The key is consistency.

‎Learn Vocab!

As students read, they inevitably come across vocabulary words they may not know. ‎Rather than skipping over or guessing at these unknown words, try this visual-based flash card strategy. To start, have him write the word on the front of the card and the definition (in his own words) on the back. Under the definition on the back side, he should draw a picture to help him remember the meaning.  For example, if the word is pinnacle, he can write the word on the front and the definition on the back, and then perhaps draw a picture of a mountain with a pin sticking out of it at the top. Alternatively, he can look for photos in magazines that represent the word, like benevolent (he finds a picture of someone acting sympathetic and friendly) or collaborate (he finds a picture of two people working together).

Visual Note-taking

Teach your child to create visual diagrams for both independent and in-class note-taking. To do so, for independent note-taking, first have him identify the topic of the passage he will be reading about (i.e., Word War I). Have him draw a circle in the middle of a sheet of paper and write “World War I” inside the circle. Next, have him identify the important details describing the topic and write them in his own words inside circles that branch out from the topic. Then he can create sub-branches, or circles that branch out of the important detail circles, containing information that supports the important details. He should continue creating this type of visual “tree” until he has finished reading the passage or textbook section. He can then color code the topic bubble in the middle using one colored highlighter, the important details using a second colored highlighter, and the supporting details using a third color. He can use this same type of visual note-taking diagram for taking in-class notes.

Visual learners often bear many strengths–they are typically creative, artistic, and perceptive. Yet, in school, lessons are not always catered to visual learners. Teach your child these strategies and encourage her to use them consistently; she will soon become a confident and successful student.

The post Help Your Visual Learner Succeed In School appeared first on EBL Coaching.