MEA testing Monday

Hello,

I got a little frustrated watching the testing today. It was due to a lack of effort. I know that I don't put any pressure on my class when it comes to these tests, but I want them to try their best. I feel like I make myself clear on that point.

Today, I had a student finish a one hour test in less than three minutes.  I immediately went up to them and the student looked me in the eye and said that they had done their best.  They even went as far to say that they had checked their answers. Their words were untrue and their actions were not acceptable. I was very disappointed.

I know a lot of this testing has been a political hot topic. Are kids tested too much?  How else can we tell if teachers are doing their jobs? If we give different tests, how can we compare teachers? Districts are trying to figure out all of this.  How much should test scores be a part of teacher evaluations is a big question with no easy answer. Many districts in the United States tie test scores with teacher pay. Oh, that would have made for a really bad day for me today.

I tried to take the long view. I wasn't happy with a few student performances.  So, some kids had a rough Monday and just couldn't/didn't focus on the tasks at hand. Oh well. Not easy to take, but none of us would want to be judged based on our worst day.

Tomorrow will give us another chance.  I need to see more effort, but if not, then I at least need them to be more forthcoming.  Take some responsibility for their actions. The dishonesty hurts more than the lethargy. No test questions for that.

I'm not a teach to the test kind of guy. I feel like if I do my job, my kids will do just fine on these things. But just like a teacher not being able to teach someone who doesn't want to learn, a test can't measure the abilities of someone who doesn't show what they know.


I don't have any answers here.  It was just a rough day.  Tomorrow we'll get another chance. We'll do better.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea