I think that there is a lot of tension between the role of a modern high school and standardized test preparation. In the digital age, teachers and schools are becoming more aware that being able to read and understand novels and other forms of traditional writing is not enough to be literate anymore. Students need to know how to look at and understand all kinds of texts, including the Internet. When teachers have to focus so much on preparing students for standardized testing, I think that it is harder for them to keep this broader definition of literacy in their minds and involved in their classrooms. How is a teacher to incorporate multi-modal literacies into their classroom when they have to make sure students will pass the OGT? When I first thought about it, I literally could come up with nothing to combine the two. Because of this reason, I do not see standardized test preparation as something that could easily be merged with multi-modal literacies.
At Firestone this complication was seen. I am sure it is the same at most high schools. Students are given OGT packet after OGT packet and expected to answer the questions. The questions presented are ones that are not easily paired with multi-modal learning models. The kids read a story and answer the questions, over and over again. The boredom in their faces is not hard to detect and their boredom is followed closely by their detachment from the material at hand.
For this reason, it is extremely important to shake things up a little while preparing for the OGT. If we bore students to death everyday leading up to the actual test, I believe that they will have a huge chance of being burnt out when test time arrives. Including multi-modal aspects into test preparation would be very beneficial because the monotony of the preparation with packets would be alleviated, plus the broadening definition of literacy could still be addressed. The question is, how do we do this?
As a future teacher, I have several ideas for this that I could use in my future classroom. The first idea is online test preparation. While thinking about multi-modal literacies and test prep, I found a blog focusing solely on OGT test preparation. It is aimed towards school districts, high school curriculum directors, superintendents, teachers, and parents. Although the bloggers profile is kept confidential, by the professional nature and detailed knowledge about the test, I assume that the blogger is high up in the educational field. This blogger suggests using online test prep for the OGT. Her reasoning is this:
“In today’s times the lives of many students consist around the internet. Online learning is one on one instruction. Online practice test products give students another avenue for learning. Because the OGT is required to pass in order to get a high school diploma every thing that can help students to pass should be used.”
After giving reasons for preparing online she mentions a source that teachers can use. It is called IQ-ity. On this site, teachers can customize content for each student. The teacher and parents can then view the student’s progress and help the student in class and at home. Although the program is available nationwide,
“IQ-ity’s tool for online practice test help is completely aligned with Ohio’s state standards and benchmarks of the OGT. The tool was written by Ohio teachers that have years of online teaching experience. It also features a simulated OGT test that uses ODE tests blueprints. The test system can also be customized for schools. Students will also find study tips and test item strategies.”
Other software test preparations that can be used are programs such as Bright Education and Study Island. These also allow students the freedom to prepare for the test at home.
One thing to take into consideration when signing up for some of these programs is that many of them cost money. There are also several ways to prepare for the OGT multi-modally without any cost. One way that I thought of has already been discussed in class and in our textbook. That is blogs. In my classroom, I could put questions that I think the class would benefit from on the blog and have them answer online. This would get them in the digital community while still responding to traditional OGT questions. It would also be a break from the constant packets.
Another thing I thought of was to apply some of the tasks that the OGT asks students to preform in an alternative and multi-modal way. While doing this the teacher would still need to make sure that the students will be able to understand how to do the same thing traditionally on the OGT. I think that this kind of modification would be suited for the writing portion. One thing I thought would be interesting to do would be to write a letter to the editor on the website of a newspaper. This would be good because a lot of times on the OGT students are asked to write to an editor or superintendent of their school and state their opinion on an issue that is currently being debated. Writing to the editor of an online newspaper about a current issue would let them practice the format of such a letter. It would also let them be part of an online community and interact with others with similar or opposing opinions.
As I said before, fusing multi-modal literacy and standardized test preparation is not easy, but it can be done. Above are only a few examples of ways the two things can work together. To do so teachers need patience and creativity. Also, schools need to be open to alternative test prep and discontinue the constant packet work. Although standardized testing is not always a teacher’s favorite thing to prepare for, it needs to be known that it can be altered from the traditional ways and other skills besides how to pass the OGT can be learned from it.
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