The first step to improving performance on New Jersey's state tests, and to improving instruction overall, is to assure that all educators have a clear understanding of the NJCCCS and the Test Specifications.

The manner in which the holistic items are scored has significant implications for instruction. For instance, for the writing prompts, the reader first "anchors" the prompt using the elements of Content and Organization alone. Then the reader "adjusts" the score holistically using the elements of Sentence Construction, Mechanics Usage. In this process, the "anchored" elements are more important to the student's score. Therefore, instruction should focus primarily on the elements within Content and Organization (single focus, transitional ideas, and opening and closing).

This workshop is geared to the secondary level. When every teacher contributes to the students' success on the middle school and high school state tests, students tend to perform at their personal best. During this workshop, all of the school's instructors participate in an hour-long workshop that describes some of the challenges that students experience when taking the state tests. During the next hour, each department gathers to construct activities within their curricula that assist students on the state tests. Lastly, at the end of the workshop, each department provides a brief overview of the specific activity (or activities) that they will implement, explaining when they will implement the activity and how they will assess and communicate student proficiency. The point of the workshop is to elicit support from every instructor who has an impact on the students' education. The philosophy of the workshop reflects the perspective that it takes a village (of teachers) to assure our students' success.

Your curriculum support staff and instructors learn how to utilize district materials to produce state test-like assessments. At the conclusion of this 2-3 hour workshop, your staff will know how to:

The purpose of this workshop is to train curriculum support staff and teachers how to analyze student products at different times of the year. At the conclusion of this 2-3 hour workshop, your staff will know how to review and analyze students' Writing Prompts, Reading Items and Mathematics Items.

The purpose of this workshop is for K-6 teachers to gain a better understanding of mathematical concepts. At the conclusion of this 2-3 hour workshop, your math teachers know how to:

The best form of test preparation is an integrated approach where instructors implement the Board-approved curricula AND prepare students for the challenges of taking the state tests. During this workshop, instructors are taught how to map their goals for test preparation and align their plan with their district curricula. By the end of the workshop, instructors have identified which lessons they can be integrated as an activity or as a whole lesson. Additionally, instructors practice creating valid and reliable assessments that incorporate the state test specifications.

During this workshop, instructors gain a clear understanding of the format and content for a persuasive analytical essay. A focus of the workshop is the use of various forms of arguments and evidence that improve the quality of the students' essays. This hands-on workshop displays many techniques and activities that instructors can use in their classrooms such as debate, color-coded elements, and simple-to-make classroom bulletin boards that display the forms of arguments and evidence used for persuasive analytical essays.

For classrooms that already display proficiency, this workshop helps teachers take students to a new level by displaying instructional methods teachers can employ to attain advanced proficiency. Instructors learn how to teach the use of anecdotes and imagery to establish students' thesis. Participants learn how to elicit higher-order transitions from their students. Instructors consider methods to hone students' abilities to apply reasonable statistics and quotations. By the end of the workshop, participants know how to teach students to apply alternative proposals as a method to summarize their essays.

After participating in this workshop, instructors know how to attain all the required elements for a proficient Explanatory Prompt, as well as an advanced-proficient one. Instructors learn a process that provides students with an easy-to-implement template. Following the introduction, instructors learn how to assist students with revising their essays (without exceeding the 30 minutes provided) and incorporating powerful openings, dialogue, figurative language, higher-order transitions, personal connections, higher-order descriptive words and stronger voice.

Many districts find that their lowest cluster in reading is analyzing and critiquing text. The items associated with this cluster require students to think beyond the text. This workshop shows educators how they can use collaborative methods and the Socratic approach to elicit higher-order thinking skills from their students.

With so many calculators on the market and in our classrooms, it is often difficult for instructors to keep up with the tools' functions. This workshop better familiarizes instructors with their school's calculator. Additionally, instructors learn about the most common errors that students make when using the specific school calculator.

This workshop is intended to inspire instructors to consider their approach to analysis. Are they providing pertinent feedback? Do the instructor's comments inspire students to write literature that reflects their personal best? During this workshop instructors hone their knowledge of the state-test reading skills, the criteria associated with the writing tasks, and various methods for evaluating student products.