Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Testing

My school is doing standardized testing this week. Sometimes it feels more like a test of patience than a test of ability. Our school chooses to do our testing online, so we receive the scoring right away, which is a great idea.... IF technology was more reliable. My poor second graders sat so patiently waiting for their turn to have my attention and figure out what the problem was. All I could do was try and hold in my frustration and do my best to curb theirs as their computers crashed, froze or lost internet connection at various points during the testing. It took an hour just to get all of the students up and running, and things finally calmed down, for about a second! Then the questions start and I can see the panic hit their faces. 'There's multiplication on this test, we haven't learned that yet?!' 'What is this word? I don't understand what they mean!' 'I don't know any of this!' I would challenge anyone who thinks that standardized testing is a good thing to come and see my class during this marathon of tests. Don't get me wrong, they are necessary, but are very rarely an accurate depiction of student ability. If we manage to make it through without tears this week will be deemed a great success. Wish us luck!

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