Bilingual Education Specialists
Bilingual Education Specialists is a
specialized standardized test preparation
service that is based primarily on the Texas
curriculum but that also incorporates skills
tested by other national tests similar to
Stanford and Aprenda. Being Web-based
allows Bilingual Education Specialists to
very quickly update to the changes made to
the curriculum by any testing entities. With
a combined total of seventeen years of
teaching experience in the test-taking
grades, we understand the frustration of
preparing students for a test with almost no
materials. It is especially difficult to
find materials in Spanish for our students
in Bilingual or Dual Language programs. We
realize that our students deserve better.
They deserve quality, grammatically correct
test preparation material that is both
interesting and exciting for them to work
with.
Our
Preparation Materials
We
have created an interactive learning program
that prepares students for standardized
tests in the most effective manner possible.
Most test prep materials teach the
objectives individually, but when the
teacher wants to test only a particular
objective, there are no materials that test
that objective by itself. From the start,
we realized that each objective must be
taught individually and tested
individually. That is why we have developed
a method that assesses each particular
objective with ten to fifteen questions*
using the different variations of questions
for that objective that students would
normally find in the official test. In this
manner, a teacher is able to have a much
clearer idea as to the proficiency of his or
her students as far as that objective is
concerned. In reading, for example, each
passage has ten to fifteen questions that
deal with word meaning, ten to fifteen
questions that deal with sequence, and so on
for all the objectives that are applicable
to that passage. We want to make sure that
our students practice each objective
thoroughly so that they understand the
concepts completely when they take the test.
Test-taking Strategies for All Objectives
We
have developed a complete learning program
that covers all areas of the curriculum:
reading, math and writing. All of the
objectives are covered with a large number
of questions dealing with each particular
objective. Test taking strategies for
individual objectives are available at the
click of a button for students (and
teachers) as they prepare to conquer
standardized tests.
On-line
Assessment and Testing
One of
our most exciting features, as far as
teachers are concerned, is our on-line
testing. Members may log on at any time and
have their students practice their
objectives and take the tests. But what is
really remarkable is that teachers will no
longer have to do any grading. The test
scores and detailed results will be
automatically mailed directly to the teacher
via e-mail. The moment a student clicks on
the submit button, he or she will receive a
score with a list of all the incorrectly
answered questions. The student can print
out this list and use it as a study guide to
master the objective that is being tested.
At the same time, the teacher is being sent
an email with the same results along with
the correct answers to the questions that
the student missed. Teachers can then print
these results for their records. They can
also drop them into an Excel worksheet and
keep track of their students' progress
throughout the year with very little
effort. .
Some
teachers have little or no access to
computers or printers in their classrooms.
Our membership entitles teachers to print
out the testing and study materials that
they need for their classroom.
Fun, Interactive
Stories with an On-line Dictionary
One of
the most difficult aspects of standardized
testing preparation is keeping the students
interested in studying for the test. Most
teachers have problems in this area simply
because studying for standardized tests is
both difficult and boring, especially for
those students who have difficulty with
reading. We have developed our materials
specifically to attack both of these
problems. We created high-interest stories
and passages with plots and subject matter
that appeal to students. The fact that a
student is able to do all the work on a
computer is an added plus. Students love to
use the computer and to be in charge of
their learning environment.
We
have provided an added feature to help those
students who have problems with reading.
Many students don't like to read simply
because they do not understand the
vocabulary and they feel embarrassed to ask
the meaning of the words that they do not
understand. All our stories have vocabulary
words linked to a
Spanish-Spanish/Spanish-English dictionary.
Students merely have to click on the word
that they do not understand and they will be
taken directly to the meaning of the word in
Spanish and in English.
Bilingual Education Specialists
PowerPoint Presentation
*In
mathematics up to twenty questions are used to
assess one objective. |
