Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Worst Time of Year For a Teacher


The time of year that most teachers dread has arrived. What time of year is that?  Testing time, of course.  Here in Arkanasas every student 1st-8th grade has to be tested.  High school students have to take an End of Course exam for some classes.  Students doing well on this these tests has become the goal for all teachers during the school year.  If we dwell too much on it, the testing can take the joy out of teaching.

I think the creators of these tests have lost sight of who has to take them.  These students are still children andd a lot is being asked of them.  This year, I am testing a small group of fifth graders.  For various reasons they get accommodations during testing, which is why I only have 5 students in my testing group.  We have complete 3 out of the 5 days of testing so far.  Every morning we get started around 8:30 and have tested until anywhere between 11:30 and 1:00.  In my opinion, that is a lot to expect 11 year olds.

I am so proud of how hard they have worked, but it breaks my heart to see how tired and frustrated they are at the end of testing. During the breaks I try to encourage and praise them for all of their hard work.  I also just try to remind them to try their best.  We just have a couple more days to go and then it will all be over for another year.  This test doesn't always show what our students know and are capable of doing.  There are many things that this test can't measure.  I tell my students that there is so much more to them than their test scores.  This, too, shall pass and we will get to move on to more fun things soon! 

The other good new: only 30 more school days until summer! Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but there is always something so exciting about an impending break!

1 comment:

  1. We don't have it in every grade here, but it is SO tedious for those that do have it. I feel for you. Hang in there!

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