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Whether it’s a unit test at the end of the month or state testing next semester, there’s always a test on the horizon for middle schoolers. That’s not such a big deal when they feel confident and prepared for test day, but it can cause real issues if they don’t know how to navigate the test format itself.
We’ve talked to expert teachers for their best test-taking strategies for middle school, including ways to avoid test anxiety and equip students for testing success. Once you’ve brought these tips and resources to class, test days will feel like any other school days to even the most nervous middle schoolers.
1. Make studying a classroom routine
Many middle schoolers arrive in your classroom without the skills to study, making test preparation feel nearly impossible. But teaching study skills for middle school doesn’t need to take up a huge piece of your class period. “5 minutes a day keeps the panic away,” says Laura from The Fancy Counselor. “I advise my students to spend 5 minutes per day reviewing class notes or assignments, regardless of whether or not there is a test to study for.”
Laura also sees the value of studying as a part of the classroom structure. “Middle schoolers rely on structure rather than self-discipline,” she continues. “When you get them into a routine or a habit loop, tests and assignment material feel familiar instead of intimidating. You’re helping them build familiarity with material, and familiarity lowers stress and increases confidence.”
Reinforce study skills for every subject
Work simple study skills into each class period, ensuring that students learn test-taking strategies for middle school for every class in their schedule.
8th science state test prep test taking strategies middle school study skills
By Adventures in ISTEM
Grades: 6th-8th
Subjects: General Science, Physical Science
Standards: NGSS MS-LS2-2, LS4-3, LS4-1, LS1-1, LS2-1, LS1-6; PS2-3, PS3-2
Use a resource aligned to NGSS for middle school science to teach students discrete skills they’ll use all year long. A selection of practice problems reinforces important test-taking strategies, such as analyzing graphs, interpreting diagrams, and pulling out information from the text, helping students to prepare for upcoming unit and state tests.
Test Taking Strategies Middle School Context Clues Worksheets Study Skills Vocab
By Teacher in the Rye
Grades: 6th-8th
Subjects: ELA Test Prep, Reading Strategies
Standards: CCSS L.7.4, L.7.4a, L.8.4, L.8.4a, L.9-10.4, L.9-10.a
This set of CCSS-aligned ELA resources covers several context clues strategies for students preparing for a test, including comparison and contrast, making inferences, and definition or restatement.
2. Get students familiar with the format
Studies find a correlation between test anxiety and test scores, making it even more important to get students familiar with the format of an upcoming test. That’s why practice tests, including full multiple-choice tests, short-answer bell ringers, reading analysis assignments, and true-and-false exit tickets, are effective ways to get students used to seeing relevant types of test questions.
Kristin from Teaching Muse advises working practice test questions and activities into your everyday curriculum.
“Have students regularly practice with short, test-style tasks, so those formats feel familiar long before state testing season. Focus on making your practice questions look and sound like what they’ll actually see on the test, but use them for teaching and discussion, not just grading.”
-Kristen from Teaching Muse
Equip students with multiple-choice strategies
Answering multiple-choice questions is more involved than just choosing A, B, C, or D. Teach middle schoolers how to narrow the correct answer down with test-taking strategies for middle schoolers to master the multiple-choice format.
Spanish Test Prep – Test Taking Strategies PPT Multiple Choice Middle School
By La Misi de Espanol
Grades: 6th-10th
Subject: Spanish
Help Spanish students score their best on upcoming standardized tests with a resource featuring five strategies for answering multiple-choice questions correctly. A 37-slide presentation takes students through exercises and examples for each test strategy, as well as the reasoning behind each answer and more performance tips for middle schoolers.
3. Focus on growth over performance
Often, students feel nervous about testing because it feels like an indictment of them as a person. But in the best cases, testing is more than just performance: It’s an assessment of student growth. Reinforce a growth mindset perspective in your classroom by lowering the stakes of your assessments and guiding students toward analyzing their progress.
“Empower students to look at test success as achieving their personal best. I used to coach track, and my athletes were always trying to achieve a PR (personal record). Testing is similar: a great measure of learning and growth. Approaching testing as a temperature check and a tool to inform learning is empowering.”
-Emily from Read It, Write It, Learn It
Motivate middle school test-takers with bulletin boards
Middle schoolers aren’t known for listening to every word their teachers say, but they can be excellent observers of their environment. Use this skill with posters that feature test-taking strategies for middle schoolers to study, even on days when there’s no test on the calendar.
State Testing Tips Posters and Activities Test Taking Strategies Middle School
By Delightful Deslgns- Alissa Cook
Grades: 4th-7th
Subjects: ELA Test Prep, School Counseling
Inspire middle school students to do their best on an upcoming test with a set of posters featuring different testing strategies. With easy-to-remember slogans and tips that students can take to heart on test day, the resource also includes cloze notes for students to process their most important testing strategies.
Test Taking Strategies Bulletin Board Math Test Prep Middle School High School
By Algebra Made Simple
Grades: 6th-9th
Subjects: Algebra, Math Test Prep
You can’t complete a job without the proper tools! Equip middle schoolers with the tools they’ll need for an upcoming math test with a bulletin board set of 12 math test-taking strategies. The resource includes tips for multiple-choice questions, questions with graphs and charts, word problems, and more.
No matter what students score on their exams, they’re trying to tell you something. High scores may mean that they’ve mastered the material, while lower scores indicate that they’re struggling — either with the subject matter or the test form itself. So how can you tell the difference, especially when the new unit starts right after the last one ends?
Take advantage of this form of student-teacher communication by adding a “Notes” section to your test. Ask students how they felt about the test, how they think they scored, and what they’d like a little more practice on before the next test. Incorporate participation in this section into their test grade to encourage them to answer, and decide which test-taking strategies you’ll need to address before state or standardized district tests.
5. Identify students’ learning (and testing) styles
The term “standardized test” means that students are all tested the same way, but they don’t all learn the same way. Help middle schoolers discover the way they learn, which can determine the most effective test-taking strategies and skills they should focus on for future exams.
For example, if students discover they are visual learners, they can work on making flashcards and visual clues to master subject matter. Auditory learners may benefit from rhymes or mnemonics that help them retain knowledge, while kinesthetic and physical learners may study with manipulatives or physical representations of knowledge before taking a test.
Create study guides that help each student
Study guides are the most helpful when students have a part in creating them. Help middle schoolers create their own study guides with resources that consider differentiation, learning styles, and testing goals in their design.
Testing Taking Strategies Doodle Notes – Test Prep for Middle School ELA
By ELA Content Hub
Grades: 5th-8th
Subjects: ELA Test Prep, Writing
A picture’s worth a thousand words — even when it comes to standardized testing! This test-taking strategy resource includes multiple versions of illustrated notes for students to reference, including fill-in-the-blank worksheets, coloring pages with the information filled in, and blank pages for students to add the most important details.
6. Bring in study groups and partners
Studying doesn’t have to be a solitary activity! Help students connect and prepare for future tests with standing study groups or partners in class. You’ll improve classroom culture, help students share resources, and incorporate strong study skills all in the same class period.
Set up study groups at the beginning of the year, either assigning group members or allowing students to choose their own groups. After teaching a specific middle school test-taking strategy earlier in the week, give groups a chance to work together for an upcoming quiz or test in your curriculum. By the time state testing comes around, they’ll have a solid group of study partners to prepare with.
7. Provide feedback before test day begins
A final grade doesn’t have to be the only feedback you give students when it comes to testing. Even though you can’t give them feedback during the test itself, you can set up a supportive environment to let them practice their test-taking skills and to give them formative feedback to guide them toward success.
“Provide opportunities for students to write in a practice zone and not a performance zone, meaning not a summative assessment to a text or unit. This works well because students know that they are able to make mistakes, and that I will provide specific feedback.”
-Jen from The Transformational Classroom
Test-Taking Strategies for Middle Schoolers on Test Day
You’ve done the work throughout the year to prepare for test day, and now it’s here. Use these test-taking strategies for middle school that they can tap into during the actual test, once they’ve mastered the right attitude.
- Eliminate the wrong answers. Multiple-choice questions often have one obviously incorrect answer and two possibly incorrect answers. Encourage students to identify the wrong ones before they settle on the “most correct” answer.
- Use scratch paper. If the test rules allow it, scratch paper can be an excellent resource for visual learners who struggle to process their thoughts quickly, and for electronic testing settings where students can’t write.
- Annotate reading passages. Many electronic testing systems include annotation tools for students to highlight or note elements of a reading passage.
- Eat a healthy breakfast. Brainstorm parts of a nutritious breakfast with your class, taking time to note which options aren’t the best choices for a test-day meal (such as sugar or caffeine).
- Look for keywords in the question. Go over academic language, such as “examine” or “compare and contrast,” and practice finding these words in each test question.
- Take your time. Reinforce that testing isn’t a race, and no one wins a prize for finishing first! If they still have time after their classmates are finished, they should use it.
A healthy mindset leads to higher test scores
While many test-taking strategies for middle school focus on what to do on the test itself, many of the most valuable strategies are about building learning practices and routines throughout the entire school year. Incorporating middle school test-taking resources is an excellent way to build these skills and student confidence at the same time, properly preparing them for success moving forward.