Preparing Students for Testing and Doing Better in School

Dr. Rona Flippo, currently on the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association 2012-2015, has taught in public schools and has been a professor of reading and study strategy education at various colleges and universities in the United States, including Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts. She is currently Professor of Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston in the College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Flippo has been a consultant for Educational Testing Services (ETS) and the Georgia Department of Education. Additionally, she has served on various Editorial Boards, on the Board of Directors of the College Reading Association (CRA/ALER), on various committees of the International Reading Association (IRA) and most currently on the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association (IRA) 2012-2015. She has published 15 other books and over 100 chapters and articles in prestigious professional books and journals; many of these publications have been on study and test-taking research and strategies. Dr. Flippo has worked extensively with elementary, middle school, high school, community college, and university students and their teachers to develop students' study and test strategies. Thousands of students and teachers have learned how to become "Prepared" for tests and for doing better in school under Dr. Flippo's tutelage.

Foreword by P. David Pearson Acknowledgments About the Author How to Use This Book Note to the Teacher Note to the Student Introduction Part I. Doing Better in School 1. How to Avoid Test Panic Preparing Mentally and Physically Organizing Your Course Content Chapter Summary 2. How to Develop a Game Plan Master Test Schedule for the Term Planning for Each Test Test Analysis Study Schedules for Each Test Planning Test-Study Time Game Plan Checklist Chapter Summary Part II. Preparing for All Tests 3. Strategies for Test-Study Memorizing Organizing Resources Making Study Notes Condensing Study Notes Memorization Techniques Chapter Summary 4. Preparing for Essay Questions and Tests Predicting Questions Short-Answer Questions Long-Answe "Trace" Questions Long-Answer "Compare and Contrast" Questions Long-Answer "Discuss" Questions Practicing Answers Improving Answers With Library Research Chapter Summary 5. Preparing for Objective Questions and Tests Practicing Multiple-Choice Questions Practicing Matching Questions Practicing True/False Question Practicing Completion Questions Group Study for Objective Tests Standardized Tests Chapter Summary Part III. Taking Tests and Doing Better 6. Getting It Together on Test Day On the Way In the Test Room Before Starting to Answer Chapter Summary 7. Taking the Essay Test Budgeting Time Reading the Question Carefully Outlining the Answer Writing Out the Answer Re-Reading Answers Making a Final Check Chapter Summary 8. Taking the Objective Test Test-Taking Steps Test Question Cues Answering Multiple-Choice Questions Answering Matching Questions Answering True/False Questions Answering Completion Questions When and How to Guess Chapter Summary A Final Word Resources Appendix A: A Preparing Students Final Test, Answers to Test Prep Exercises, and Answers to Final Test Appendix B: Forms for Test Preparation and Study Appendix C: Resources for Additional Test Preparation Assistance Appendix D: Glossary References Index

"Teachers will want to run-not walk-to get a copy of this book to help students do better in school. Test preparation is an important real-life skill, and this book provides step-by-step guidance to help students learn how to prepare for tests and demonstrate what they know." -- Linda B. Gambrell, Distinguished Professor of Education "All teachers and parents should read this book! It is timely and important and includes powerful, research-based strategies that will help students learn more and succeed on tests throughout the challenging years of middle school, high school, and college. Each chapter reveals superb, practical tips that every student should know, including ways to avoid test panic and to prepare for every kind of test imaginable. This is one of the best books I've read about practical approaches to test-taking and studying in the current high-stakes testing era." -- Rosalie Fink, Professor of Literacy "If you want to help students become test-smart, this is the book for you. Rona Flippo is masterful at making a potentially difficult task-taking tests-easy to teach. She provides teachers with an instructional road map that will not only help students get organized for test-taking, but will also show them how to study for and answer essay and objective questions." -- Richard T. Vacca, Professor Emeritus "While written for teachers, this book contains much practical knowledge on how students can adequately prepare for and successfully complete the many different types of assessments they face each day in school." -- Richard Robinson, Professor "Testing is an important part of school life. Some students do not do well on tests-not because they don't know the subject matter, but because they don't know how to effectively take or study for the test. This book will help with both of those problems. You can count on the author's solid advice." -- Ed Fry, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University "Rona Flippo has done it again-given teachers and students a wonderful gift in the form of a book that demystifies this phenomenon we call testing! We should all be grateful that Flippo cares as much as she does about the plight of students and the goals of teachers committed to helping them become the type of students they would like to be." -- From the Foreword by P. David Pearson