MCAS BOOT CAMP Tips & Tricks for Success on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

MCAS BOOT CAMP: Before the test The road to MCAS success starts long before the actual day of testing. Try the following tips to get a strong start before the test even starts: 1. In the week leading up to the test, eat healthy foods and balanced meals. Get plenty of rest. Go to bed early, and shut your phone off for the night. 3. No screens (TV, computer, phone, IPad, etc.) for at least one hour before bedtime. 4. On the night before the test, lay out your clothes. Choose comfortable, loose-fitting clothing, and add an extra layer (sweatshirt, fleece, light jacket). You want to be comfortable!

X Actually, no! This is a terrible plan! It’s easy, right? MCAS BOOT CAMP: Taking the test X It’s easy, right? You read the passage. You answer the questions. You check your work (if you feel like it). Actually, no! This is a terrible plan!

PHASE 1: PREPARATION MCAS BOOT CAMP: Taking the test Let’s divide test taking process up into a three phase plan of PREPARATION, READING, and ANSWERING that you can follow for each individual section. PHASE 1: PREPARATION A: Read all the directions thoroughly. B: Read the italicized information before the excerpt/poem. Important clues will probably be hidden within to help you answer questions. C: Read all the questions! Let’s repeat that… READ ALL THE QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU READ THE EXCERPT/POEM. This will help you read with more purpose and direction. It will tell you what to look for in your reading.

PHASE 2: READING MCAS BOOT CAMP: Taking the test Let’s divide test taking process up into a three phase plan of PREPARATION, READING, and ANSWERING that you can follow for each individual section. PHASE 2: READING A: Actively read the selection. Underline important sections and take notes on each stanza/paragraph in the margins. B: Write down the MAIN IDEA at the bottom or end of the selection. C: Check again- does your MAIN IDEA make sense with what was described in the italics before the selection? Is it possible that you have misinterpreted the MAIN IDEA?

PHASE 2: READING MCAS BOOT CAMP: Taking the test Let’s divide test taking process up into a three phase plan of PREPARATION, READING, and ANSWERING that you can follow for each individual section. PHASE 2: READING D: When reading for the ORQ, mark up the passage for evidence you can use in your writing. HERE’S A CLUE: Test writers choose passages that contain 15-20 pieces of evidence that can be used in writing the ORQ. If you can spot 6-10, you’ll have a much, much easier time packing the ORQ with evidence that you can give explanation and insight to!!! HERE’S A CLUE: Test writers choose passages that contain 15-20 pieces of evidence that can be used in writing the ORQ. If you can spot 6-10, you’ll have a much, much easier time packing the ORQ with evidence that you can give explanation and insight to!!!

PHASE 3: ANSWERING MCAS BOOT CAMP: Taking the test Let’s divide test taking process up into a three phase plan of PREPARATION, READING, and ANSWERING that you can follow for each individual section. PHASE 3: ANSWERING A: Read each question slowly and carefully. B: If the question asks about a specific line, word, or paragraph, go back, reread, and then highlight that line, word, or paragraph. Read above and below the suggested lines to gather the context. B: If the question asks about a specific line, word, or paragraph, go back, reread, and then highlight that line, word, or paragraph. Read above and below the suggested lines to gather the context. highlight C: Read all possible answers. (Guess what, some answers may be designed to mislead you.) D: Eliminate obviously incorrect answers. Cross them right out. E: Choose the best answer according to the selection.

Here are a few things that you may not realize about the test: MCAS BOOT CAMP: General Tips Here are a few things that you may not realize about the test: MULTIPLE CHOICE: The questions tend to be in the order they appear in the selection. The MAIN IDEA is often in (or hinted at) in the italicized lead in before the selection, so don’t skip it. The first section they give you will often be a short, light hearted reading. They will save the longer sections for after a break. Don’t be discouraged by the longer sections. Often those longer sections have easier questions! Don’t leave answers blank! Wrong answers will not count against you. They won’t help your score, but they won’t hurt either.

MCAS BOOT CAMP: General Tips On the Open Response Question: 1. The test evaluators want to know if you understand what the author is saying and how s/he is saying it. 2. The test evaluators have already read the selection, so they are not interested in reading your simple summary of it. Again, they want to know that you understand. 3. If you are really struggling with the meaning, go back and look at the multiple choice questions. Often those questions will lay out a roadmap for the the ORQ. 4. Use the space! Fill the page! Short, clipped paragraphs show short, clipped thinking.

MCAS BOOT CAMP: General Tips On the Long Composition: 1. Do not summarize the work you are referencing. The test evaluators are looking for insight, not summary. 2. Spend time mapping out your composition before writing your first draft. Your teachers have taught you how to use graphic organizers, so use them as a model to organize your thoughts and plan your argument out. 3. Your thesis should haunt your entire composition. Every paragraph needs to connect directly back to your thesis. Imagine your thesis as a ghost whispering the words, “Remember me…” in your ear the whole time you’re writing.

MCAS BOOT CAMP: General Tips On the Long Composition: 4. In your closing paragraph, connect the subject of your composition to the larger world. What is the writer saying about the world? Show that you can make that connection. 5. Use the space! Fill the page! Short, clipped compositions show short, clipped thinking. 6. If you need the whole day, take the whole day. Do it right. Don’t cut corners, and don’t cut out early.

MCAS BOOT CAMP: Closing Thoughts WHAT DO YOU THINK? In the end, this process is about one thing and one thing only. You are being asked to answer the question: WHAT DO YOU THINK? Don’t take this question lightly. It’s a profound question that you will be answering for the rest of your life on topics great and small. Answering that you don’t know…or that you don’t care…or that you’re just not interested in putting the time in to formulate an answer…can define the person that you are.

PRIDE IN ACCOMPLISHMENT MCAS BOOT CAMP: Closing Thoughts HARD WORK brings SATISFACTION and PRIDE IN ACCOMPLISHMENT