Statewide testing

Statewide testing is a pet peeve of mine. I am not going to use this blog as a platform for that. I would like to share 2 stories of students that have taken the test that I wish I would have had a video camera for to send to the state.

Year 1:

My first year of teaching we were taking ISTEP (our statewide test) closer to the beginning of the year. As a time reference, we were taking it the time of the county fair. Working in a small town local county fairs is a big deal. My students went to the county fair typically in the county that they lived in and the one just to the south as it was just 20 min away.

So, we started the day with testing. S. had been unusually quiet and not her normally bubbly self. I had figured she was tired because I knew she had been at the fair the night before. We got to the big writing prompt. (55 min to write to a specific topic) Read the directions and start time.

All of a sudden, S just starts crying and saying why do I have to do this, I just can’t do this. I’m thinking disability is kicking in as writing is not a strong point. Nope, I was SO wrong!! Turns out Mom and Dad were going through a nasty divorce and the night before at the fair Dad took his anger out on Mom by taking a big pick up truck and running over her multiple times in the parking lot. 

Needless to say mom was in the hospital in critical condition. S was a wreck because she was worried about mom. My solution for ISTEP: Write what ever you want, even if  its a letter to mom. Better than writing nothing

Mom did make a almost full recovery. Last I knew mom had the functioning of a 12 year old.

Year 6 Round 1 of 8th grade

By this time we were now taking ISTEP in the Spring to test what the kids learned that year. Makes sense right? In addition the state had just upped the riggor of the questions. There was much controversy over this. Not that we as teachers didn’t want a tougher test, but some of the questions, teachers had trouble answering  because of the wording of them.

So- we were working on the math section and it was the open ended section. (AKA show your work.) I was able to read the questions and remember thinking I didn’t know where to start on a few of them.

One of my students, who quite frankly could have been dismissed, he was doing that well, just starts rocking in his chair. I see tears running down his face  and he’s not making a sound. I go over to him and ask him whats wrong.

Ms. D – I know what the answer is, but I have no idea how to start it to get the answer so I can show my work.

Just try your best that’s all that I ask.