Testing: Day 2

Today is reading.

I am so glad that I am not held accountable to a script every day of teaching. Do you know how bored and frustrated kids get during a script? First I felt their attention drift. Then despondence settles in as all they want to do is get to testing, not listen to me talk. This deepens until I can feel each pair of eye staring daggers into me and my script. The near hate for the whole process is palpable by the end of those 15 minutes.

Now imagine that times three and you would have my life if every class was like testing. Yuck.

No one has quit today. Yet. I have had temper tantrums, like when J. hit a passage he felt was too long after all the other reading he'd done. He's in the back corner cursing to himself as our state auditor walks in. And what am I supposed to do - kick him out for being legitimately frustrated? Not gonna happen. So I break protocol and whisper him down. Just a couple sentences is enough. "You can do this. Take a deep breath. Just keep going." Tick tick tick on the auditor's clipboard.

Another student has been pulling at his hair since he started his test. At one point I look over at him and he's pulled himself a pencil-eraser sized bald spot on the side of his head. So I make him a tape ball out of masking tape and hand it to him. Better to keep his fingers busy with the smooth and sticky tape ball than pull out all the hair on the left side of his head. He has severe attention deficit problems, and being made to sit still for four hours is enough to stress this kid out - before you even ask him to read on grade-level.

In the end, Tape-ball Kid doesn't make it all the way through and circles random answers for his second to last passage, and J. has another meltdown when he finishes before the others, only to find that he has to sit quietly, bored, for the next 45 or 50 minutes it takes for all his testing classmates to finish as well. This time I have to ditch my proctor and pull him in the hall to get him back from the brink of punching something. It probably doesn't help that J. doesn't seem to like me in the first place, and has repeatedly made it known that he would rather be anywhere than in a classroom with me. Maybe he could sit quietly for Mr. N.

Oh testing. I can't believe I get to deal with you for three more days. [Grimace.]

Kids say the darndest things, part 2

I think someone has a crush...

Student: "Ms. Lewis, you tried to look good today, didn't you?"

Me: "What, do I normally look like I just roll out of bed and come to work?"

Student: "Yup. [pause, while I chuckle and act hurt and student fumbles for something to say] But really Ms. Lewis you is one of the most beautifulest women out here."

What made this even better, was my shirt, shoes and pants did not match yesterday. So much for looking good.

CAUTION!

End of Year Testing may cause:

In students - anxiety, unexplained absence, truancy, tardiness, panic attacks, melt downs, hangovers, increase in misbehavior, such as defiance, disrespect and name calling.

In teachers - excessive drinking, smoking, staying up to very late hours, constant insistance that they do not care about students, administration or test scores, worrying, heartburn, chest pain, ulcers, hangovers, philosophical discussions until late-night hours.

In general - increased lack of appreciation for social norms, such as bedtimes, cursing, politeness, intoxication, good or healthy vs. bad or unhealthy habits, overeating, showering, other personal hygiene, etc.

Use caution when administering End of Year Tests and have in place safety measures to address aforementioned side-effects.

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Consuming End-of-Year Tests may be detrimental to your health. Do not use End-of-Year Tests when you are pregnant or may become pregnant, or if you have anxiety disorders or high blood pressure as this may result in negative health effects.

Welcome to Testing

EOG! EOG! EOG!

It is finally upon us. Did they learn? Did they master grade level content knowledge and reading skills? Have we accomplished in this year what our kids have failed to do for many years previously? Are we ready to pass our EOGs?

The short answer - God I hope so. Insh'allah.

We are planning for remediation, as though they are not going to pass, but we are crossing our fingers, pulling out the good-luck charms, and praying like mad that they do. Also, putting on a front of confidence and nonchalance and telling the kids we have no doubt in the world that they can all pass this test.

Oh what tangled webs we weave. I guess that's not really that tangled. But it kind of looks like it on paper.

Insh'allah, insh'allah, insh'allah. Padre nuestro que estas en el cielo santificado sea tu nombre...

Along with testing today, I'm also discussing current events with my kids. This week's topics come from past lessons. All the kids learned about the oil spill two weeks ago, and today the MSers are doing a follow-up - what's been tried, what worked, what didn't work, what's being planned for the future. The HSers really latched on to the protests in Thailand, and were the ones who alerted me to Seh Daeng being shot last week. (Possibly one of the coolest things to happen - my kids being excited by a current event that they looked at the news on their own and connected back to class. Awesome.) Seh Daeng died earlier today and Bangkok has become increasingly chaotic and uncontrolled and we are going to check-in with that situation via the NYT.

I love current events. As the kids have become better critical thinkers, our discussions get increasingly more interesting and run more smoothly. Perhaps this is the best anecdotal evidence I have that shows my kids have learned. In the fall, they couldn't string two words together based on a news report. Now, they dissect the motives behind BPs various approaches to addressing the oil leak.

But will that transfer to an achievement level on a standardized test? I don't know. And unfortunately, that's the evidence that matters.

Little Victories

My kids just turned afternoon assembly into a revival: "... I am too smart (echo) to waste today (echo), tomorrow (echo), or my future (or my future) [normal] AMEN! (echo) I said can I get an amen! (echo - AAAMMMEEENNNNNN!!!!) [revival]"

We're heading full throttle into EOGs, meaning this is possibly the last week I have with my kids. They're working on a project in which they create their own country. They pick the geography, the government, the economy, and create a timeline that explains how their country gained independence, or how their government took power.

Today during my second block of 8th graders I had to step into the hallway. Normally when I do this it's because I'm so frustrated and angry that I want to hit somebody. Today it was the exact opposite. The kids were doing SO WELL with their projects - thinking critically, showing mastery of the content, understanding different forms of government, drawing features on a map - and HAVING FUN while doing it. I started to tear up and could feel my chest tightening. I didn't want to cry for joy (or any reason really) in front of my kids, so I stepped into the hall to collect myself. I was in the middle of a happy dance when our janitor walked by and asked if I was okay. It was so great to say YES.