5 Reading Test Tips for Kids

Help your students make the grade with these comprehension-boosting reading strategies.

Reading comprehension skills can help students across subjects, grades, and many other areas of their lives. So how can you set them up for success? Help them demonstrate an understanding of critical skills on test day with sound strategies that can help boost their performance. Here are five simple reading test tips for kids to incorporate in your classroom:

1. Review the questions first
2. Read directions carefully
3. Work with the answers
4. Skip and come back to tricky questions
5. Look for context clues

Keep reading to learn more about each of these comprehension-boosting reading strategies.

1. Review the questions first 

One reading test strategy is to review the exam questions before reading the passage. This front-end approach will allow students to focus on the information they need to look for as they read and make it easier for them to pick up on that information, without having to re-read several times.

2. Read directions carefully

One of the most common reasons students make mistakes on tests is because they read the directions wrong – or don’t read them at all. Set your students up for success by focusing on the instructions long before the test. Help them to look for different types of questions, such as “choose the best answer” or find a synonym or antonym to the word, so they can easily identify the goal of each question.

3. Work with the answers

Another reading strategy for kids is to work with the answers provided on multiple choice questions. Instruct your students to start by crossing out any answers that they know are clearly wrong. This approach will allow students to narrow down their options and make it easier to identify the correct one. Answers that are very similar, but appear lightly reworded, are common tricks on tests, as well as ones that use strong words such as “always” or “never.” Go over common incorrect answers with your students before test time so they don’t get duped.

4. Skip and come back to tricky questions 

Because most reading tests are timed, it is often best for students to skip thorny questions and come back to them at the end. Encourage students to focus first on the questions that are easier and quicker for them to answer. When trying to answer difficult questions, instruct them to narrow down the choices, as explained in our previous tip, and make an educated guess based on their knowledge of the subject matter and common sense.   

5. Look for context clues  

If they get stumped on a question, consider what the other adjectives, verbs, or nouns in the sentence tell them. Practice using context clues with your students to puzzle out the possible correct test answer. The sentence immediately before and after the passage can provide clues that can help point them in the right direction.

These reading test tips can help students succeed inside and outside the classroom. To help the children in your life who struggle with reading or speech, shop our affordable Toobaloo whisper phones collection online or call our customer service team at 877.819.2541. For more tools, tips, and tricks, continue reading our blog.

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