When I was teaching eighth grade math I struggled with preparing for standardized tests. There are few materials out there that allow for students to practice with multiple choice math tests.
In addition it would be hard for me to find practice tests that covered the skills that my students needed to focus on.
I tried creating my own worksheets. However for this subject area, they were very tiresome and time consuming to create. Coming up with your own math questions (mostly Pre-Algebra) and four multiple choice answers for each question took time. I also found that computers often do not have the symbols needed to create more complicated math problems.
A couple of years after trying to work through this problem, I received a flyer in the mail for a computer program that generated multiple choice math tests. The details looked good but the program was too expensive to purchase out of my classroom funds. I discussed the troubles that I had had with my principal and she agreed to purchase the program.
When it arrived, it was wonderful! The program, Examgen, was set up so that multiple choice tests could be created and the teacher could choose the skills for the questions. I simply fell in love. All that I had to do was choose the number of questions and the skills that I wanted and the computer program choose the questions, the answers choices, and gave me an answer key.
After using the program the first year that I received it, I found that my test scores went up. I could assess my students and discover their areas of weakness. I then put those areas into the program and generated tests to give to the students. We discussed the tests and examined why they and where they were having trouble. The program allowed me to give the students more of my time rather than focusing it on finding teaching materials.
I would suggest all teachers to look to computer program resources to help aide their teaching.
How to Use Saxon Math Without Going Nutty! (Part 2)
How to Use Saxon Math Without Going Nutty!