Transcript Super QAR for Test-wise Students, 11-2002

Super QAR
for Test-wise Students
Taffy Raphael & Kathryn Au
Senior Authors
Why the World Needs
Super QAR. . .
Increasing Accountability
Pressures
No child left untested!
 Mandated federal testing, grades 3-8
 Testing related to state and district
standards

The Challenge

To meet two goals
– Prepare students to perform well on tests
– Keep quality of education high
• Higher level thinking
• Reading comprehension
• Rich Content
Higher Level Thinking
Importance in the Global Community
 Rising Standards
 Most recent evidence: changes in the
SAT (June 27, 2002 newspapers)

SAT Revision for 2005

25-minute essay question to be added
– Plus multiple choice grammar / usage items

Verbal section renamed “critical reading”
– Drop analogies section
– Add short prose passages to test reading

Math section
– Add questions from 3rd year high school algebra
Concern for Students
Present emphasis on basic skills
 All students can also benefit from
instruction in higher level thinking
 In general, students of diverse
backgrounds have few opportunities for
such instruction

QAR - Question Answer
Relationships
Research-based
 A strategy to promote higher order
thinking
 An approach to test preparation
 A language for talking about questioning
activities

In the Book
Right There:
A “detail” type of
question, where words
used to form the question
and words that answer the
question are often “right
there” in the same
sentence.
Think & Search:
The answer is in the text,
but readers have to “think
& search” to find the
answer; sometimes within a
paragraph, across
paragraphs, or even
chapters.
In My Head
Author and Me:
The information to
answer the question
comes from my
background knowledge,
but to even make sense
of the question, I’d need
to have read and
understood the text.
On My Own:
The question relates to the text,
but I could probably answer
this one even if I had never read
the text. All the ideas and
information come from my
background knowledge.
QAR: A Development Model
In the Book
In My Head
Right There Think & Search Author & Me On My Own
Explanation
Compare/Contrast
Cause/Effect
Research-Based
• Studies published in leading refereed journals
•
•
•
•
Raphael, T. E., (1986). Teaching question-and-answer-relationships, revisited. Reading
Teacher, 39(6), 516-522.
Raphael, T. E. & Wonnacott, C. A. (1985). Heightening 4th grade students' sensitivity
to sources of information for answering comprehension questions. Reading Research
Quarterly, 20(3), 282-296.
Raphael, T. E. & Pearson, P. D. (1985). Increasing students' awareness of sources of
information for answering questions. American Educational Research Journal, 22,
217-236.
Raphael, T. E., & McKinney, J. (1983). An examination of 5th and 8th grade
children's question answering behavior: An instructional study in metacognition.
Journal of Reading Behavior, 15, 67-86.
• Referenced in all major reading textbooks
• Described in numerous professional resources
Program Content

Comprehension strategy focus
– Fiction and nonfiction across the curriculum
– Metacognition

Preparation for all test formats
– Multiple choice
– Short answer
– Extended response

Activities for partners, groups, whole class
Teacher Resource Books
Program Content
•Formal lessons
•Concept
•Booster
•Extension activities
•Tips for just before the
test
Phases of Instruction

Phase 1: Concept Lessons teach students QAR.
– Grade 1 = 10
– Grades 2 - 8 = 5

Phase 2: Booster Lessons promote
application
– Grade 1 = 5
– Grades 2 - 8 = 8
Lesson Plan
Set the purpose
 Model (includes thinking aloud)
 Coach
 Build Independence
 Reflect

Overhead Transparencies
Phases of Instruction

Phase 1: Concept Lessons teach students
QAR.
– ..Grade 1 = 10
– Grades 2-8 = 5

Phase 2: Booster Lessons promote
application.
– Grade 1 = 5
– Grades 2-8 = 8
Lesson Plan
Set the Purpose
 Model (includes thinking aloud)
 Coach
 Build Independence
 Reflect

Student Activity Book

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Texts of different genres, subject areas
Space for writing questions, reflection, group work
Sample test items
Student Book
Strategy Posters
Grade 3
Grade 6
Student Bookmarks
Grade 2
Big Books -- Grade 1
Why Use QARs?
Leads to quality instruction in core
comprehension skills
 Builds confidence among students in
question-asking and questionanswering situations
 Provides a language to talk about
comprehension strategies
 Provides a language to talk about test
requirements
