Test Savviness
Session 1
Yonkers School District, March 11, 2025
Presenter: John Sasko
Please make a name tent.
Welcome & Introductions
What do you NOTICE? What do you WONDER?
76, 3, 22
Norms for Productivity
These following norms will help us manage our time
- Let’s do our best to limit distractions.
* We will take a short break about half-way through the session.
Overview
Future Sessions
- GOAL: To provide teachers with strategies to share with students when preparing students for the mathematics exam; Teaching students to be savvy test-takers.
Session 1
Break
Wrap Up and Reflection
Access to Resources
We will be using the linked resources available on CKingEd.com/yonkers site.
Test-Savviness with John Sasko
CBT Challenges (from Yonkers Pilot Study)
We are going to read through this chart/document and highlight the challenges that are the biggest ones for us, and the ways to address them that sound interesting to us.
CBT Testing Tips
Scratch Paper Guidelines
Reference
Sheets
Gr 5-8
Constructed Responses
1 Credit Qs | ONLY the final answer is scored |
2 Credit Qs | Student must complete task AND show their work |
3 Credit Q | Student must show their work in completing two or more tasks or a more extensive problem. MAY assess student reasoning and the ability to critique the reasoning of others |
Review before Submitting
SMP 3
SMP 2
Scoring Policies
In the Educator Guide; Educator Guide to the 2025 Grades 3-8 Mathematics Tests
Examples: Measuring an angle with a protractor, there is an allowed deviation of exact measurement by +/- 5 degrees (except if there is a straight angle to use.)
In questions that call for a number sentence or equation, the answer must be written horizontally.
WATCH for students who write “strings.” They are not correct, although there are some examples in scoring manuals that do not deduct for a “string.”
This is a string: 9 x 2 = 18 + 7 = 25 WRONG!
Students should separate into two equations: 9 x 2 = 18 ; 18 + 7 = 25
Translations Deepen Understanding
What Have We Taught?
We’re going to do some planning.
Work with a grade-level, school colleague if possible.
Use the tabs along the bottom to find the grade you need.
MAKE A COPY of the sheet for yourself.
SAVE IT with your NAME.
Post-Test Standards
Post Test Standards
Grade 4
From 3rd
Post Test Standards EXAMPLE
GRADE 5
Grade 5 can include Grade 4’s POST-Test Standards
From
4th
S T R E T C H Break - “take 5”
What Have We Taught?
We’re going to do some planning.
Work with a grade-level, school colleague if possible.
Use the tabs along the bottom to find the grade you need.
MAKE A COPY of the sheet for yourself.
SAVE IT with your NAME.
Strategy
SKETCHING
Making a visual to help make meaning and organize one’s thinking.
Visualization is essential to learning
“Just as proficient readers use visualization to make meaning as they read, proficient mathematicians employ visualization as they work to understand concepts and solve problems.”
– Laney Sammons
Sketching is
NOT Drawing
I may not be able to draw…
but I can always sketch
Use lines or dashes
Use symbols
Symbols can be shapes that are labeled, and they can also be letters used to present an object and/or quantity.
Use proportional reasoning
Part of the purpose of doing a mathematical sketch is to see and understand the proportional relationships of the quantities to each other and to the whole.
Use labels
Use your organization skills
Have a GO! Teacher Tasks
Gr 3: “Pancake Breakfast” Sampler 4, Q 10
Gr 4: “Chairs” Sampler 3, Q 10
Gr 5: Sampler 3, Q 10
Additional Resources
Two resources that John shared with one group as they were planning:
Tasks from Mine the Gap (John SanGiovanni’s books). These do not reference the NGLS standards, but if you scan the big ideas, you will find many open-ended, quality tasks that you can use as diagnostic tasks or to see what the students are able to do within a given content area.
K-2: Number Relationships and Comparison | Online Resources
3-5: Student Resources
Wrap Up / Preview next session
Next session: The strategies will focus on multiple-choice questions.
We will also dive into the CBT tools that students will need to navigate.
Continue Planning “What Have I Taught”
Feel free to reach out with questions:
Reflection
THANK YOU!
Feel free to reach out with questions or requests.
www.ckinged.com/yonkers