state testing

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Home : 2003 : June : 21

state testing
By Cheryl

Frustrated,
I give a state test in March each year so I understand the pressure that you are under. When my tests are returned the teacher is given a list of areas where his/her specific kids were "weak." Although I've
only taught fourth for 2 years now, my first set of test results helped me tremendously to plan for this year. My test results for this year are not back yet so I'm uncertain about how much scores have improved (if at all.) Additionally this year I upped math teaching time to 90 minutes a day. I've organized it so that students work on skills (+, -, x, etc) then we do lessons from

the book. I'm hoping this extra time boosted scores. And two more observations--you can't depend on your students to have a good day. My principal had to take four of my students to his office this year to finish because they gave the test only half an effort. Also, my kids who made honors didn't quite match up with test results last year. This year I'll be looking at that closely--I'm wondering if I have been too lenient when I do grading. I imagined parents saying to themselves, "but he did so well on his report card ..." and I want to try to send out the message earlier in the year that a student will not "make the grade" based on the standards set by state tests. Best wishes. I do know that if your grade is responsible for tests you feel much more on the hot seat than any other teacher.