Nor does picking out a pleasing arrangement of letters in multiple choice questions--you know, "I already used 'b' three times. The next answer is probably a or d."

My job is tutoring kids on TAKS as we get close to test time.  You would be amazed at how many students don't know how to unravel test taking.

     "Joe, why did you choose that answer?" 

     "I don't know. It looked good."

     He was much more interested in the girl across the table than in reading his test.

     "Miss, why do we have to be here?  Why do we have to do this?  I'll just take my chance on TAKS."

     Ah, yes, the magic method of rolling the dice and hoping, by some good angel's grace, the multiple choice questions will miraculously line up correctly a la slot machine. It was all I could do not to point out that I had gulped my own cottage cheese and salad (not that I would have lingered long, anyway) and braced myself for test practice.

     Little Suzy told me today, "It just comes out better if I guess."  That's okay if 40% is as high as you're shooting.

     Why are the kids having so much trouble?  The answers are multiple.  The antidote is sometimes a bit obscure.  I worked with a student today who could read the words separately, but got tangled in unfamiliar figures of speech. Our students need lots of practice and exposure to vocabulary.

     Pictures help!  Especially with verbs. Do you remember how many of our English verbs are irregular? Can you imagine how nonsensical that seems to the new English speaker? First we teach them to put "ed" on any verb to make it past tense. Then we say that it doesn't work for buy, think, put, and a host of other common words.

     Another problem is confidence and the lack of it. It's like the old joke about the Sunday School teacher's questions. "Johnny, who made the world in the beginning?"

   "That would be God, Miz Phelps."

   "And who was born and laid in a manger, because there were no bedrooms in the inn?"

    "Jesus."

    "What is little and furry, likes nuts, and has a fluffy tail?"

    "Mmmm....the Holy Spirit?"

    "Now, Johnny, think! Since when does the Holy Spirit have a long, fluffy tail?"

     "I know, Miz Phelps. It sounds like a squirrel to me, but since this is Sunday School, I'm gonna go with Holy Spirit. I already used God and Jesus."

     Our students often look everywhere but to their common sense. Talking them through questions until they believe they can figure out tricky questions is helpful.

More ways to attack a test:

   "Read all the choices. Which sound crazy?  Which might be correct? Which are true , but don't necessarily answer the question?"

     Here's the biggest apparently unknown strategy: The answers are mostly in the text!

A few answers they'll draw by inference, but for the most part, they can turn back the page and reread. The answer will be right there! It will contain some of the words that are in the question.

Truly, I'm not being sarcastic. This is a daunting proposition for  students with test anxiety. They need lots of practice in short doses.

For all those students out there who pass with a yawn, God bless you. Count yourself fortunate.