About over the hurdle
I believe test literacy is a skill.
And that matters when you’ve been treating every failed exam as evidence that you simply need to know more.
I’m Keona Roberts, former educator and founder of Over the Hurdle.
After years of working in education, I became increasingly interested in a group of aspiring teachers we don’t talk about enough: people who know their field, are capable of becoming strong educators — and keep getting stopped by a standardized test.
For repeat test takers, the advice is often the same:
Study harder.Buy another resource.Take more practice tests.
But that advice assumes the problem is always content.
It isn’t.
Why I created Over the Hurdle
Over the Hurdle was created to help aspiring Illinois educators become more strategic test takers.
My work focuses on test literacy: understanding how to interpret your performance, recognize what a question requires, evaluate answer choices, manage your approach and make better decisions under testing conditions.
I don’t teach every subject covered on every ILTS exam. That’s intentional.
My expertise is helping you determine whether content is actually the problem — and what strategy needs to change when it isn’t.
The Test Literacy Method™
I developed the Test Literacy Method™ around four steps: Diagnose → Decode → Develop → Demonstrate.
Instead of starting with another study resource, we start by asking: why are you actually losing points?
From there, we can determine whether you have a Strategy, Content, Study or Performance Gap and choose your next steps accordingly. That means less random preparation and a more intentional plan for your next attempt.
Over the Hurdle is for you if…
- You’ve taken an Illinois teacher licensure exam multiple times.
- You’ve been studying but aren’t seeing consistent improvement.
- You’re overwhelmed by the amount of study advice and resources available.
- You don’t know whether you need more content knowledge or a different testing strategy.
And most importantly: you’re ready to stop approaching every retake exactly like the one before it.
If you’re looking for a content tutor to reteach an entire subject area, Over the Hurdle may not be the right resource.
If you’re ready to understand how you test and build a more strategic approach, you’re in the right place.