Today's standards require more rigorous learning and are accompanied by more rigorous assessments. Learn practical strategies for preparing students to be successful on high stakes tests by aligning your classroom assessments to the same expectations. You will no longer need to spend weeks before major assessments doing test preparation. Learn how to integrate testing skills all year.

With Extended Reading Passages and Test Fluency you will learn to how to replicate the rigor of high stakes assessments by embedding the same types of items in your own assessments. You will examine the major shifts in high stakes testing and learn strategies for helping students be successful with Higher Order Thinking questions, extended reading passages and constructing writing responses. Rather than being separate from instruction, assessment fluency is developed as a regular part of instruction.

Preparing students for high-stakes assessments is not a last-minute event but a yearlong process grounded in intentional practice and strategic alignment. This learning experience equips educators to embed extended reading practice and assessment fluency into regular instruction—ensuring students are not only familiar with the demands of standardized tests, but confident and capable in meeting them.

Explore how to analyze assessment expectations, align classroom tasks to performance-based requirements, and design extended reading opportunities that build both comprehension and stamina. Emphasis is placed on replicating the rigor and structure of high-stakes assessments through well-crafted lessons and ongoing student practice.

 

With this Extended Reading Passages and Test Fluency professional learning, you will be able to…

•Explain the purpose and benefits of extended reading and test preparation practices.

•Analyze state and national assessment requirements.

•Design classroom tasks that reflect the format, rigor, and cognitive demands of high-stakes assessments.

•Create extended reading opportunities that promote stamina and comprehension.

•Support students in justifying answers with evidence and responding to constructed-response tasks.

•Develop a yearlong pacing plan that builds student fluency and confidence in reading and writing.