How to Help Teenagers Improve Reading Comprehension Scores on Standardized Tests

Improving Reading Skills

• 1

  Encourage your teen to spend time each day reading. Although many youngsters typically begin to lose interest in recreational reading as they enter adolescence, the National Endowment for the Arts found a positive correlation between the amount of time spent reading and level of test scores. It might help if you explain to your teen that building reading skills is similar to building physical muscles. Regular practice strengthens both.

• 2

  Supply your teen with a variety of reading materials. They need not all be books. High interest material will increase your teen's motivation to keep reading, so provide magazines, graphic novels or even how-to manuals. All of them will help enhance your teen's reading skills.

• 3

  Engage your teen in conversation about what he has read. Comprehension demands higher-order thinking skills and asking your teen to summarize the reading passage will enhance this skill.

• 4

  Ask further questions to enhance your teen's understanding of the reading material. Probe for details by asking your teen to remember some of the facts he read. For example, If he read a magazine article about his favorite sport star's recent divorce, ask him to recall how long the marriage had lasted, the age or gender of any children or the reasons given for the breakup.

• 5

  Suggest that your teen read with a dictionary nearby and encourage him to look up the meaning of words he's uncertain about. Vocabulary is a critical part of comprehension, so increasing his understanding of the words will increase his understanding of the passage. Teens love technology, so, if possible, consider investing in an e-reader with a built-in dictionary to encourage your teen to look up new words.

• 6

  Consider limiting the amount of time you allow your teen to watch TV or play video games so he'll have more time to read. But proceed with caution -- it's probably best not to take an extremely heavy-handed approach that could backfire and cause resentment towards reading. Using incentives such as an allowance increase or a slightly later curfew might be more effective.

Improving Test-Taking Skills

• 7

  Help your teen anticipate the questions that are usually asked on standardized reading comprehension tests. Some of these questions usually revolve around the thesis statement or the main argument of the reading passage. Practicing to identify thesis statements will help.

• 8

  Familiarize your teen with the types of questions usually asked on these tests. In addition to identifying thesis statements, test questions usually focus on things such as making inferences and identifying the author's tone and purpose.

• 9

  Build your teen's confidence by focusing on one type of question at a time until your teen has mastered it before moving on to the next type. Building familiarity with how these questions are structured means your teen will be able to recognize the type of question at test-taking time and will be more prepared to provide the correct answer.

• 10

  Talk to your teen's school to determine whether it gives practice tests to familiarize the students with the test-taking conditions. If not, consider setting up a simulation at home. There are many online sites that sell sample tests. They are also available for free on the tests' websites. Practice workbooks are also available at bookstores and libraries.

• 11

  Practice some relaxation techniques with your teen. Deep breathing exercises can help ease the tension and stress that testing often creates.

• 12

  Stress the importance of getting a good night's sleep the night before the test. Being well-rested will help your teen's concentration.

• 13

  Make sure your teen eats breakfast the day of the test. Good nutrition enhances clear thinking.