Teachers: Prepare YOURSELF for Testing Season

Yes, believe it or not, your human nature is not suspended just because it’s time for assessments. And you know that deep down you won’t be on top of your game unless you’re taking care of yourself. So, educators, here are a few healthy reminders to help you stay sane through another testing season.

1. Prepare your class early

Being the ever-prepared, organized educator that you are, you probably already have a good idea of what assessment day will look like at your school. If you’re back in the classroom, maybe you have to cover up or remove all your decorations from the walls, bring students to a designated testing space, or swap classes with another teacher to proctor their students. One way or another, it’s more than likely that testing day will break from your regular daily routine, which could really throw off your students. After all, how would you feel if you’d had the same instructor in a classroom you knew every inch of teaching you everything you needed to know for a test, only to be put in an unfamiliar room with a different teacher on the day of that exam? It’s easy to see how this could be a little jarring.

Avoid throwing everyone off the morning of test day by easing yourself and your class into things. If you already know you need to change your seating arrangement for testing, do so as soon as you can. The same goes for if you need to take down any decorations or cover any bulletin boards. Start doing this at least a week before testing so your students have time to understand why the walls have changed. If you know your students will need to be proctored by another teacher during testing, or that you will need to proctor another teacher’s class, arrange time in the week prior to testing where you can swap classes for a little while, so your students have time to adjust to someone new, and can feel comfortable testing with that teacher in the room. Taking all these steps in advance will not only help your students to feel more relaxed on assessment day but also remove any last-minute stresses over preparing your room the night before.

2. Practice self-care

It’s not just a trend—it’s a real thing and it’s important. Self-care is any activity done to deliberately tend to our mental, physical, and emotional health. The key to self-care is that it must be something you actively plan, not something that just happens. In the weeks leading up to assessments, when you really start to feel stressed out, schedule in little breaks for your favorite hobbies. Even doing something as simple as going for a walk, planning a favorite meal, or blocking off some time to speak to a friend can help you feel calmer and more in tune with yourself.

No matter how hectic things might get during testing season, there is no reason why you should not be able to take an hour to do a little something you enjoy every day. Making this a priority helps to center yourself so you can be on top of your game for your students. After all, as you probably know by now, your students feed off your energy in the classroom. When you’re taking care of yourself and coming in each morning energized, you’re inspiring them to do the same.

3. Keep yourself healthy

If you are back in the classroom for assessments, you’re probably already doing everything humanly possible to keep your classroom a germ-free zone, but it never hurts to keep disinfectant wipes and an extra bottle of hand sanitizer around, and have another talk about hygiene with your students. Not only do you not want kids off sick, but you also don’t want to become unwell yourself.

Just to be safe, you should also probably revisit your sub-folder or back-up plan in case something unexpected comes up, so you can feel comfortable knowing you’ve left things in good hands.

4. Ensure you’re over prepared

There are certain unavoidable things in life and you can almost bet that someone will not have a pencil with a functioning eraser on assessment day. At least a week before testing, stock up on extra scratch paper, pencils with good erasers, a few boxes of granola bars, and any other supplies that would be useful. If you normally keep a supply of back-up testing necessities in the classroom, make sure it is well stocked and ready to go. You don’t want to find yourself making a late-night run to grab an extra box of pencils only to find out every other teacher in your area has had the exact same idea! The more you can do in advance to prepare yourself for assessments, the less stressed you’ll feel when the testing day comes.

5. Spread out reminders

Keeping parents and students in the loop about testing schedules and procedures makes a big difference. But, just like cramming for a test the night before doesn’t work, reminding your students and their caregivers of test times, what-to-bring-lists, and question strategies the night before an exam won’t give them enough time to really digest the information. Instead, send home any pre-testing literature several weeks (or more!) early, and provide occasional reminders after that. Then, consistently reserve a few minutes during morning class announcements or before the end of the day to review testing info with students. Consistently exposing your students to this information can really help them feel more confident and focused by the time test day comes around.

It might also be helpful to engage with your class about how they are feeling and what their stress levels are like around assessment time. Some students, especially younger ones, might feel nervous or anxious taking a larger exam for the first time. Other students might not see what all the fuss is about. If you have students in your class who are majorly stressing out, there are a few things you can do to help them cope with test anxiety. Remind your students that you are proud of them for all the hard work they’ve done over the school year, and give yourself a pat on the back for all you’ve accomplished, too.