State Testing Season: Holding the Line When the Pressure Is Real

Leading with what we know works is the best test prep there is.

State testing season brings pressure. There is no way around that.

As an administrator, I feel it too. Every winter, the same internal conversation starts playing in my head. Should we be doing more? Should we shift instruction? Should we add practice? Should we pull out packets and start drilling, just in case?

Right now, my district is in the middle of rolling out a new literacy program. It is a program I believe in deeply. One I have studied, invested in, and asked teachers to trust. At the core of who I am as a literacy leader, I know this instruction builds strong readers. I know it prepares students for the state test.

And still, if I am being honest, there is a part of me that wants to rip out the packets and start practicing.

That tension is real. And I know I am not alone in it.

The Pull Toward Practicing the Test

When the stakes feel high, the instinct to practice the test itself is strong. Practice passages. Released questions. Strategy drills.

Shanahan addresses this impulse directly in his writing on test prep, and his conclusion is clear. Practicing test questions does not meaningfully improve reading achievement. Students do not struggle on reading assessments because they are unfamiliar with question formats. They struggle because they have difficulty understanding complex text. Repeated exposure to test questions does not fix that problem.

Shanahan explains that test prep often creates short-term familiarity without building transferable reading ability. Students may get better at recognizing question patterns, but that skill does not carry over to new texts or new assessments. In some cases, excessive test prep actually reduces reading growth because it replaces time that should be spent reading and writing.

Practicing questions is not the same as improving comprehension.

Why “Question Analysis” Feels So Right

In many districts, reading comprehension has been taught this way for years.

After an assessment, teams of teachers gather to complete a question analysis. They examine which questions students missed. They group errors by standard. They plan instruction around those question types.

It sounds data-driven. It feels precise. It gives adults something concrete to respond to. And in many subject areas, (like math) this approach makes sense.

But reading does not work that way.

When students miss comprehension questions, it is rarely because they lack a discrete skill tied to that question. More often, they struggled to understand the text itself. Weak vocabulary. Limited background knowledge. Difficulty tracking meaning across sentences. Lack of stamina. Shallow processing.

Question analysis pulls instruction away from the text and toward the question. Instead of strengthening reading, we end up teaching main idea lessons, inference drills, or context clue practice in isolation.

So when teachers are asked, especially close to the state test, to step away from skill-and-drill and question dissection, panic is understandable.

This is not resistance. It is habit.

For many educators, this is what they have been taught counts as data-driven instruction. Letting go can feel like letting go of control.

The Desire to Do More Never Goes Away

Even when we believe in the instruction, the urge to add test prep does not disappear. Pressure has a way of resurfacing doubt. Pretending the test does not exist is unrealistic. But abandoning instruction in favor of packets is not the answer either. There is a responsible middle ground.

Reading on a Screen Is Different

One reality we cannot ignore is that the state assessment is computer-based. Reading on a screen is different from reading in a book. Research from Maryanne Wolf reminds us that digital reading can encourage skimming and reduced depth unless students are explicitly taught how to slow down and monitor comprehension. Students often move too quickly on screens, reread less, and disengage sooner. This is not about test prep. It is about teaching students how to read in digital spaces.

That means intentionally giving students opportunities to read texts on a screen, naming how it feels different, and teaching them to pause, reread, and check for understanding. It also means helping students become comfortable with basic tools such as scrolling and highlighting without turning instruction into test rehearsal.

This kind of preparation strengthens reading. It does not replace it.

So What Can Teachers Do?

If practicing state test questions is not the answer, then this is the most important question.

What should teachers be doing in the weeks leading up to the test?

In my district, this is where WIN time, What I Need, matters most.

During WIN, our students with the greatest needs continue to receive exactly what the research tells us they require. Explicit instruction in decoding, encoding, and fluency. These foundational skills do not suddenly stop mattering in March. For many students, this is when they matter most.

At the same time, our Tier 1 and Tier 2 students are grouped intentionally to strengthen the skills that support comprehension across any text. Close reading procedures. Writing in response to reading. Vocabulary development. Fluency with grade-level material.

This is not test prep. This is reading instruction.

Rather than chasing question types, we focus on strengthening the abilities students draw on when they encounter any complex text, including the state assessment.

To support this work, I have created short units built around grade-level passages with tailored lessons that target close reading, writing, vocabulary, and fluency. These units are designed to fit naturally into WIN or intervention blocks without disrupting core instruction.

If this would be helpful to you or your team, you are welcome to sign

up, and I will send you one.

Holding the Line When It Matters Most

State testing will come and go in a few hours in April. It will produce numbers, headlines, and conversations that feel heavy in the moment.

What will not fade is the impact of the instruction students experienced every day leading up to it.

As Shanahan reminds us, the way to improve reading test scores is not to practice the test. It is to teach students how to read.

This is the season when leadership matters most. Not because the pressure is higher, but because the temptation to panic is stronger.

Teaching students how to read deeply, thoughtfully, and confidently is not a risk. It is the most responsible decision we can make.

When we resist narrowing instruction and trust what the research tells us, we prepare students not just for a test in April, but for reading that lasts long after it is over.

When we know better, we teach better.

See you next Sunday!

References

Shanahan, T. (2015, December 22). ’Tis the season of test prep: Bah humbug! Shanahan on Literacy.https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/tis-the-season-of-test-prep-bah-humbug

Shanahan, T. (2020). What we talk about when we talk about reading curriculum. Shanahan on Literacy.https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-reading-curriculum

Wolf, M. (2018). Reader, come home: The reading brain in a digital world. Harper.

Wolf, M., & Barzillai, M. (2009). The importance of deep reading. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 32–37.