CRCT Prep a Challenge for Overburdened Teachers

March 15, 2011 - PRLog -- If you have kids, you know that CRCT testing is around the corner, and come April, Georgia students will be gripping No. 2 pencils and putting to paper what they’ve learned during the 2010-2011 school year.  

The CRCT is designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge described in the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), and assessments yield information on academic achievement at the student, class, school, system and state levels.  There is much pressure on Georgia teachers to ‘make the grade’ each year in producing impressive CRCT scores.

With much at stake for all, CRCT testing can be extremely stressful for students, as they realize their destiny lies in what they put down on paper during the CRCTs.  The pressure to perform is at an all-time high, at the same time teachers are faced with growing class sizes, fewer resources, dwindling budgets and layoffs. They need some help.

And their students need some reassurance.  Just about any article you read on ‘test anxiety’ will reveal that the number-one way to alleviate anxiety is to be prepared. This is easier said than done for some who aren’t sure where to begin in their studying, and daunting for teachers who now lack manpower to adequately prepare their students.  Students are being forced to be much more independent now.

If Georgia educators are teaching the state-mandated curriculum, then everything a student needs to prepare for the CRCT should be in his or her own backpack.  But how does a student transfer math and language arts facts into one easy place from which to study?

That’s what Atlanta mom, Julie Wilson, wanted to know when she began seeking a way to help her son and daughter improve their grades and not become nervous each time they had a test to take, including the CRCT.  Every study aide she located online was either costly or not reflective of what her son was studying.  After failed searches, Julie created her own online study tool.  The site she designed – Qwizzy’s World -- allowed her children to create tests in a variety of formats, store the tests and take them as many times as necessary.  

Julie’s children’s grades consistently improved, and she launched Qwizzy’s World in 2008 as a business, because she knew it could help other students, too.  Initially debuting in Georgia, Michigan and Texas, QW -- now a worldwide study tool -- offers several features that enhance the studying experience and guide students of all grade levels, who now must study more independently.

The ‘Buddyshare’ feature allows students to share tests with one another, which can make studying more efficient.  The ‘Ultimate Quiz’ allows a user to combine previous tests into one big test, which is great for mid-terms, exams, bench marks and the CRCT.  

‘Knowledge Nook,’ one of the newer features, is a library of tests created and shared by educators, and students can view, take and copy them to their personal accounts for studying.  

‘Just Logical’ is a multiple choice quizzing system that allows a learner immediate feedback when answering questions; and ‘Just Keep Writing’ helps students become more confident and effective writers, and it demystifies the writing process in easy-to-follow phases.

QW has provided teachers much-needed relief as well, because they can create and share tests with their students in the classroom or even after hours. Teaching teams can use the ‘Buddyshare’ tool to share tests, saving time and creating consistency in lesson plans.  

For parents seeking resources to supplement their student’s learning and to streamline study time, QW offers a viable alternative to the one-on-one teacher time that is diminishing and an opportunity to prepare confidently for the CRCT and other critical tests.  

QW also has two sister sites.  Cram Stoppers is patterned after QW but designed specifically for high school and college students, and Quiz Infinity is a test creation site exclusively for educators.    

To learn more about Qwizzy’s World, visit www.qwizzysworld.com.  For more information on Cram Stoppers and Quiz Infinity, visit www.cramstoppers.com and www.quizinfinity.com.  

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