Friday, February 28, 2014
Testing? What Are We Learning?
What do you notice about the TCAP statistical information, The Mountain Of Green Beans,
and other TCAP documents that we have read or written about in class this semester?
What do they measure? What strategies can we employ while TCAP testing
that demonstrate what we have learned about reading and writing this
semester? Please respond to this blog prompt in class today.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
30 comments:
One thing I have noticed about the TCAP readings we have read or written is that although they usually are short they have some type of message in them. For example,in "A Mountain of Green Beans" the character learns to take difficult things one step at a time and not be afraid of it. Most of the stories have a deeper lesson or meaning. Some strategies we could use while TCAP testing with a writing piece are annotating and analyzing the pieces. Annotating could help answer the questions after the story, and make writing about it easier.
I notice that the assignment form the TCAP test and other reading TCAP assignments aren't exactly enjoyable. At times the title doesn't connect to the story, it connects with the smaller story inside the reading assignment to prove a point that seems to drag on for hours. I feel that they measure your patience. No one likes to read the assignments on the TCAP, we like to read- if at all- our own personal choice books. If one has a lot of patience, able to first read the story, then comprehend the questions, then answer and look back, they have quite a bit of patience. All in all, it doesn't seem like much but it drains the life out of you. The strategies that we can use in the TCAP will be pretend you like it. As hard as it sounds, pretend to like it. The prompt will go by smoother and the procrastination level of trying to ignore the prompt will go down.
The TCAP documents that we have read in class measure how much the student was able to digest and understand. They try to test us to see how much we have learned on how to read correctly and effectively. We can try to read them slower and really understand them as a strategy. Another strategy would be to read the questions before you read the article so you know what you are looking for. Lastly TCAP writing demonstrates what we have learned because it shows how we can read and fully understand what we have read.
The TCAP readings that we have been going through all make you use the skill of reading comprehension. You have to read the story and understand what you are reading to answer the questions effectively.
I've noticed that most of the TCAP short stories have a deeper meaning within them. Like a secret message. In order to fully understand these stories, the reader has to carefully analyze and take notes on possible symbols, or foreshadowing.
During these readings I noticed that the people who grade it do not pay attention to the length of writing just the detail. Some strategies You can learn from this is try to focus more on the detail and explanation rather than the length of your writing. Another lesson is that you should try to put quotes or references from the article in your writing to make it look better.
What I think the TCAP documents measure is our reading comprehension, the ability to understand the reading more then just looking over it. Some strategies that we can employ during TCAP testing is when writing a response, make sure it relates to the story, article...etc. Plus it never hurts to use quotes from the document, even if it is not asked for.
We have read and reviewed example answers of many past TCAP assessments. In each assessment there is about a one and a half page story and a couple short answer questions after that. In each response TCAP wants to measure the students ability to read, understand the material. They ask them to analyze and use supporting details to tell meaning of the story. A usual three point response uses supporting details from the story, supports those details, and has a definite, clear answer. If we do those three things we can receive full points on our responses.
It is important to read the questions you will be asked to answer before you read the article/story because this way you can go through the passage with purpose; knowing what you are going to be asked to talk about or answer when you have finished. TCAP short answer questions measure the readers ability to find theme/explanation for the theme in the story/article. The question asked suggests that the test taker should explain and give specific details about the writing when answering the question. It's also important to explain a quote when you put it in one of your answers because this way there is reason behind your evidence. (This is the same if you are just listing evidence, there has to be reason behind it, in order to show the person scoring the test that you know why this is the answer to the question).
I notice they all have very detailed and very descriptive writing. They all were very similar in their writing. They all give detail in what is going on and what the story is about. I think they measure what can you read and write. I think some strategies are outlines and concept trees.
I notice a lot of things about all the TCAP documents. First is that they all have something to do with the future and most all of then are afraid of the future. Some ways that we can interpret the correct answers i s to read the questions, carefully at first. Then answer them later. Another way to find these answers is to thoroughly read the text or paragraphs every time question is asked.
The more effort you put into your response to the question the better TCAP score you get. With the more details leading up to your statement the better you do. If you do not put effort into your witting and just write down a bunch of meaningless words to fill up space the worse you get for a score.
While reading "The Mountain of Green Beans" I noticed it is like other TCAP practices we have done which has figurative language. Also some type of conflict and meaning can sometimes be easier or harder to understand depending on the article and what it is about. Strategies we can use is to read the questions when taking TCAP is before reading the article to help and found out what to look for, and annotate or underline when reading.
I have noticed that the TCAP stories are usually boring stories that none of us really enjoy, I have found that some of them have life lessons or little lessons in them. It makes it easier to understand and comprehend what is going on in the story if you try to enjoy it. Even if you you just have to pretend. When you enjoy what you are reading you have more interest and take in what the story is saying better.
The thing I noticed about TCAP readings and the things we are learning, I see that in TCAP you have to read an article or story and answer questions about theme and deeper meaning which we are doing in class with books such as the house on mango street.
I think that the main purpose of the TCAP readings is to make sure we can respond to any type of story or situation and that we can understand and analyze the reading. Some strategies that they use is to analyze or determine something in the reading which helps show how well the test taker can respond.
Something that I noticed about the TCAP readings is that they all tell a story that can be traced to a certain message. In "A Mountain Of Green Beans" the boy finally realizes that he just has to take on his "monster" one step at a time. A good strategy that we can use is looking for a deeper meaning in the writing, instead of just reading over it and wishing it to be over. If we annotate and analyze the deeper meaning, it would be easier to write about it because we have all of the information we could need from it.
The things that we learn while testing is how to cope with writing assignment given to you at hand. Even if the purpose is something you want to write about you find a way to make it interesting. These can turn an average writer into a great writer. Making the assignment interesting can make the difference from getting an A or a B.
Most of the TCAP documents are made to make us think. "The Mountain Of Green Beans" tells a story about a boys fears as a child and how they are different from his fears of the future. After reading this it made me think about my future and I was more interested in the story. The questions asked in TCAP documents make you look more into the article, understand it more, and usually most of the articles teach a lesson. I learned that if you go ahead and read the questions about the article first you are more willing to read the story, you have a purpose to read. I enjoy TCAP articles because they expand my knowledge of things.
They are trying to measure academic understanding. The only ting the state testing does is measure the amount of money the school gets from the state. The testing is silly and we should not do it. The test does not measure what a student knows it is too see what the school is teaching. So we should not take the test.
I have noticed that TCAP stories usually tell about a realistic event that happened. They make you think about the story, comprehend it, relate to it, and write about your perspective on it. They are fairly short but have a lot of meaning in life.
As I was reading the short story "The Mountain of Green Beans" I came to see that all of the stories the class has read this semester usually relate to us as student. These scenarios we can see ourselves in so it makes these stories more understandable. The TCAP tests help us to comprehend and receive information from understanding certain reading purposes within. Over the many years of taking TCAP I can see how I've improved in certain subjects or if I need to improve more. I think that TCAP is a pain but over all it helps the average student with their understanding of their growth as a student.
After reading the short story "The Mountain of Green Beans" and the responses, I noticed that some of the responses were not as good as they could have been. The testers could have tried harder so they get a better score overall.The TCAP test test on on how we respond to certain stories that give us different opinions. Most test takers don't want to take the test so they are already bored and don't care as much so they don't write to their full ability.
When I was reading the TCAP stories I realized that they usually have a lot of detail and they story usually has a life lesson hidden into it. Some strategies that I have used is to read the questions first and then read the story. I think that the harder you try at the TCAP tests the better you will do and they measure what you have learned over the years that you have been at school.
When I was reading the TCAP stuff. I saw that they have a lot of detail. They generally are talking about some study to which has a lesson. I have also noticed that they got more interesting as the years go on and that they become harder also.
I was absent this day but I have noticed a lot about the previous TCAP document that I have read and written about. Most of the time it is more beneficial to read the questions before starting the reading during TCAP. The TCAP readings usually have a deeper meaning or idea behind them and you usually have to dig to find it. There are questions that help you find these hidden meanings and sometimes questions help you answer others.
Something I've noticed about TCAP is that the writings and readings are kinda similar but are still pretty different. I noticed that while in class we had done a lot of annotating but than on TCAP there really wasn't that much annotating. The things that was on TCAP was a lot like the readings and writings in class. The class assignments were very helpful.
I have noticed that the reading are challenging and have a meaning that you have to take a second clance on it to fine out what the meaning is.
Post a Comment