Help set your students up for academic success with this packet of test-taking tips, test preparation strategies, and practice test questions to get them ready for standardized tests.
These test prep tips and worksheets with practice questions are designed for upper elementary and middle school grades. The different strategies cover different approaches for multiple choice and free response questions for math and ELA, as well as general tips and advice to help students cope with test anxiety and make the most of their study time.
How to Use This Test Prep Packet
This packet is intended to support students with developing good study habits and help them feel more prepared for standardized tests. The activities and worksheets can be used for in-class study sessions, included in study guides for students to take home, or for review sessions and study groups. It might also be helpful to have your students make a study plan or study schedule to go alongside their test prep activities.
Test-Taking Strategies and Tools in This Packet
These test-taking strategies cover different types of questions in the standardized tests and include opportunities to practice the approaches shown.
- Strategies for mastering multiple choice math problems: Students learn how to approach math questions with multiple answer choices, including how to eliminate wrong answers and choose the correct answer, even when they’re not sure how to do the problem.
- Strategies for mastering free response math problems: Students go through 5 steps for answering math problems, showing their work, and writing answers clearly.
- Strategies for mastering multiple choice ELA questions: Students learn the best ways to approach ELA questions with multiple answer choices. Includes tips for testing, substituting, and eliminating wrong answers, and approaches for understanding the reading passage.
- Strategies for mastering free response ELA questions (grades 3-5): Students are shown how to make use of Venn Diagrams and mindmaps to compare and contrast, and learn what it means to summarize or explain in their writing responses.
- Strategies for mastering free response ELA questions (grades 4-8): Students learn how to approach different types of questions, and what it means to infer, summarize or persuade in their writing responses.
- General test-taking tips and tricks: Helpful test day tips, including eating well and easing test anxiety beforehand, taking a deep breath and approaching questions the right way, and what to do at the end of the test.
Looking for more study skills and test preparation resources? Your students might like these study strategies, or these 10 test-taking tips for students.
