One key test-taking strategy that teachers can incorporate in the classroom is building confidence in their students. Teachers may find it helpful to spend some time on counterbalancing all of the negative input your students have heard about themselves, their school and the test.
Have your students write words of encouragement for themselves or their peers. They can write lines such as, “fear is the only thing that is feeding the test’s power over the students” or “I will enter school ready and prepared like a cowboy in a showdown.”
The point is to encourage students to take the test and not to let the test take them. Remember, when it comes to testing strategies there is no single way to prepare students. Many strategies are based on the classroom and the student’s individual goals.