How To (Finally) Make Class Tests Worth Your Time

...and turn them into a valuable teaching opportunity.

Quality is never an accident: it is always the result of intelligent effort - John Ruskin, celebrated writer, lecturer and philanthropist.

One of the biggest myths in teaching is this:
Standardised testing doesn’t teach children anything.

The reality?
Standardised testing can teach children something - with the right teacher.

And, if not actively teach, it can at least help refine pre-taught skills.

I teach Year 6 in the UK, where my students face the first major testing period of their lives: SATs. These are an end-of-an-era snapshot of their academic performance. They dominate the year, like so many end-of-year exams.

And, like me, I’m sure you hate them.

Why?

• They only cover numeracy and literacy.
  These tests often make children with dyslexia or dyscalculia feel inadequate because they don’t highlight strengths beyond these areas. I’ve taught brilliant thinkers who didn’t pass their SATs but excel in ways the education system fails to recognize.

• SATs dominate school evaluations.
  Ofsted reports and SATs results are often the sole measure of a school’s quality. This narrows the focus, leaving out other valuable aspects of education. Parents then rely on these flawed metrics to decide if a school is right for their child.

• Test performance at 10 or 11 is unreliable.
  Stress, health, anxiety, and mood on the day all impact results, making these tests a poor measure of a child’s abilities or a school’s effectiveness.

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The Bigger Picture

Is the system flawed? Absolutely. SATs results overshadow creativity, play, and mental health, among other crucial aspects of education. But testing doesn’t have to be meaningless. With the right approach, it can prepare students for future challenges and teach valuable skills.

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Using Tests Effectively

The Research

In my Master’s dissertation, I leaned on research by Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black [1], who emphasised formative assessments as a way to provide actionable feedback that drives improvement. Tests, by contrast, are typically summative - offering only a snapshot of a child’s performance.

By reframing summative tests as formative tools, you can unlock their potential as effective learning aids. With thoughtful strategies, they can become powerful teaching moments.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Fulfilling important admin during tests. Many of us use independent tasks like tests to get some admin done - and I can’t argue with that - but it does mean missing out on a potentially valuable moment to give students feedback.

• Giving overly explicit instructions. Allowing students to struggle within their “discomfort zone” promotes deeper learning and effort [2].

• Focusing on scores. Test scores alone don’t guide teaching. Instead, analyse the questions to identify class-wide challenges (questions most get wrong) or individual intervention needs (questions only a small number get wrong).

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How to Turn Tests into Learning Opportunities

Here’s my three-step process:

1. Before the Test:

• Teach students to highlight key instructions like “circle” or “underline” to ensure they follow directions correctly. This step helps them develop precision and careful reading habits, which extend beyond testing situations.

2. During the Test:

• Sit with one student and observe their independent work. Step in only when they’ve completed a question incorrectly, using questions to guide them toward the correct answer rather than providing it outright. This approach corrects errors while fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

3. After the Test:

• Guide students through their marked papers as a class. With a visualiser projecting one student’s copy, I demonstrate corrections and methods for solving challenging questions on the screen at the front of the class. This interactive review transforms mistakes into collaborative learning moments and means I can reteach skills they fall short on.

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Mythbusting

Tests like SATs are often dismissed as worthless snapshots of children’s abilities - and for good reason. But testing has a role in preparing students for future environments.

With the right approach, it becomes more than just a metric; it’s an opportunity to teach problem-solving, resilience, and critical thinking.

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Case Study: Joan of Arc

This week, I sat with a student I’ll call Joan of Arc (fierce and strong, as her nickname suggests). Here is her arithmetic paper from this past week:

While Joan achieved an excellent score - 15/19 - they initially struggled with division questions, making the same mistake twice with division (questions 6 and 14) before correcting them with my input.

Her error? On question 14, they exchanged the wrong digit (a 1 instead of a 5), resulting in the wrong answer. Once I’d seen this error, I encouraged them to think again by asking, “How many 6s fit into 17?” They answered correctly: 2. I then followed up with, “And how much is left over?” A smile crept across their face as she realised her mistake, corrected it, and solved the problem.

I left them to fix question 6 independently and they succeeded.

They also initially added instead of subtracted on two other questions (7 and 15). You may see that they actually changed the subtraction symbol on question 15 and, when they noticed their mistake, quipped, “I wasn’t wrong - the question was!”

This process of independent struggle, guided questioning, and corrective feedback helped Joan of Arc master the skill. By next week’s test, I expect they’ll confidently handle similar questions. In fact, I’ll update this post and show you how they did.

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The Takeaway

Standardised testing isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be pointless. With every test they conquer, students build not just skills but the confidence to face future challenges head-on. By reframing tests as opportunities for growth, you can make them valuable tools for teaching and learning.

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More from How to be a Teacher

Using tests in this way takes time. So, how about my favourite time-saving tip: kitchen timers.

Read below to find out how you can use them to condense your day effectively and magic more time out of literal thin air.

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[1] Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. [Online]. Available at: https://www.gla.ac.uk/t4/learningandteaching/files/PGCTHE/BlackandWiliam1998.pdf

[2] Klagge, J. (2021). Struggling: A Pathway to Learning. [Online]. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.16008.34563