Non-Negotiable Skills

Cambridge’s Test DeMystifier Professional Development gives teachers a thorough understanding of standardised tests. Teachers learn about test mechanics including the test structure and format; timing of each subject test – Reading, Writing and Language, English, Math, and Science; tested content and skills within each subject and in what proportion; and analysis of the new Essay, including the passage, prompt, and expectations. With practice problems in Reading, Writing and Language, English, Math, and Science teachers learn high-value test-taking strategies for items most frequently encountered on the test; how different forms of “data” are integrated throughout the tests; how to address student-produced response questions, and about evidence-based questions. Teachers also gain insight into the scoring of the tests and the aligned scale scores for any suite of exams.

Cambridge’s Introduction to Testing Readiness provides teachers with a thorough understanding of how to effectively prepare students using any one of Cambridge’s test preparation materials including Non-Negotiable Skills texts. Led by a Cambridge Master teacher and customized for your implementation model your teachers will analyze the Cambridge Course Concept Outline, understand the instructional layout and progression of the Cambridge materials, consider different course structures and timings, learn how to target instruction based on ability levels while incorporating building basic skills into your program, review applicable Item Indexes and Crosswalks to Standards, explore the mechanics of the applicable test in terms of test structure, timing, content, frequency and skills for each section of the test (e.g. Writing, Language, Reading, Math, and Science), learn best practices for implementing and differentiating instruction, and gain insight into question types, concepts tested, common distractors, and assigning homework.  This professional development assumes use of Cambridge materials for a skill building or test preparation program.

Teachers will take a dive into their own students’ data to understand how to effectively use the Cambridge data reports (reports may include Student Summary and Item Analysis, Instructor Summary, Error Analysis, Content Distribution, Formative Connection, Lesson Plans, and others) to more effectively address skill gaps and target instruction. Topics include the pre-assessment process and the importance of timely and accurate feedback, linking assessment items to instructional objectives and differentiating among learners to drive score increases across the spectrum of achievement. Teachers will also learn powerful test-taking strategies to incorporate in the classroom.