The following link connects
to the state Department of Education SOL website:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/sol.html
Quick Tips
For Parents
Helping
Your Children do their Best on SOL Assessments
Display a positive attitude about the SOL tests.
Review your child's curriculum and/or the SOL Blueprints - talk
to your child about what he or she is learning. Help your child learn.
Make sure your child understands the value you place on his or
her achievement.
Encourage your child to stay relaxed and calm during the SOL
tests.
Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep and eats a good
breakfast. (PROVIDED FOR FREE AT TES THE MORNINGS OF THE TESTS!)
Remind your child to bring his or her glasses to school on all
of the testing days.
Make sure your child is at school on time so that he or she
won't feel rushed on the testing days.
Encourage your child to try hard and do his or her best every
day in school.
Quick Tips
for Students:
Test-Taking
Tips to do Your Best on SOL Assessments
PREPARATION
AND PRACTICE
·
The key to doing well on SOL and other tests is
being prepared to take the test coupled with practice in test format.
·
Preparation means that you study and learn the
district's curriculum, which includes the SOL items. Work hard in
class. Do your homework. Do your best in School every day.
Study regularly and learn the material well.
·
Use strategies that help you learn information.
(Remember, you don't have to have your teacher show you how to learn
everything - there's much you can learn on your own.) Use flash
cards. Make up memory games to help you remember words. Study
with a friend or a study group. Make graphic organizers of information
you are studying.
·
Every time your teacher gives you a test in
class, practice good test-taking techniques. (Listed Below)
TIPS FOR
ANY PART OF THE SOL TESTS
·
Relax! Your brain need to be in a relaxed
state to do its best work. Remind yourself that you CAN do a good job
on the test.
·
Listen carefully to all instructions.
·
Ask questions when you do not understand the
directions.
·
Read all of the directions carefully.
·
Do your best on sample test items.
·
When the test begins, use your scratch paper to
write down anything you think you might forget- formulas, multiplication
tables, important dates.
TIPS FOR
MULTIPLE CHOICE SOL TESTS
·
Answer what you know first! Go through the
test and answer all of the questions you know. (Remember that the SOL
test is NOT timed, so take your time to think about the answers.) Read
the question. Think of the answer before you look at the choices.
Look to see if your answer matches any of the choices. If you don't know
the answer, try to eliminate those you're pretty sure are wrong - and then
make your choice from what's left. Finally, make a check mark or a
bullet next to any questions you can't answer - so you will remember to come
back to them.
·
Next, go through the test to work on the questions
you haven't yet answered. If the question seems difficult for you, try
crossing out the answers that you're pretty sure are wrong. Try to
think out the correct answer.
·
Every question matters! If you're sure you
don't know the answer, make a guess. Every question matters on the SOL
test and there is no penalty for guessing. Remember, your test score
will be based on how many questions you get right. So, at least give
the question a try!
·
Trust your first hunch. When you answer a
question, go with the first hunch- don't change your answer unless you're
absolutely sure you're right!
·
Carefully review your response sheet to make
sure that you marked your answers correctly.
Tips For the Direct Writing Test (Grades 5, 8,
and 11)
Relax! The direct writing test is not timed, so TAKE YOUR
TIME!!!!!
Have a plan for writing. In other words, don't sit down
and just begin writing. Use a graphic organizer to quickly brainstorm
your ideas onto a scratch sheet of paper. ( You will get a scratch
sheet of paper and a dictionary during the direct writing portion of the SOL test.
Use the scratch paper to write a draft of your response. Then transfer
your writing to the answer sheet.
Write neatly and legibly on your final piece of writing.
Write to the prompt. Read the prompt carefully and write
your entire paper to it.
Make sure you have one central idea with details that really
tell about the idea.
Support the central idea with details that really tell about the
idea.
Make your writing interesting - use vivid words to help create
images about your topic.
Make
your writing even more interesting by varying the length of your sentences.
Use an appropriate tone - are you writing something funny? Sad?
Silly? Informative? Let the tome of your paper show.
Make your paper technically accurate - use capitalization and
punctuation correctly. Spell words correctly. Write good
sentences - free of fragments, run-ons, and excessive coordination.
Indent your paragraphs!
Remember to revise if you need to. Double check to make
sure your writing is clear, crisp, and clean. Make sure your writing is
logically organized and that all of your sentences make sense.
LET THE GREAT WRITER IN YOU SHINE!!!!