Testing Time!

[Joan]

We are taking the test in 2 weeks. I am at a school that is in Corrective Action year 2 (or 3) and this year is it. If we don't make it, or safe harbor, we go into planning for restructuring. I'm stressed! Anybody else?

[javamomma]

We finished the Iowa before spring break and will be taking state bench marks 2 weeks after spring break! Yuck!

[teach1027]

My school is in the same situation right now. All of the teachers are stressed 3 of them have already quit, so now we are short staffed too. I am very stressed.

[merrynl]

We just got our test scores back from October. Scores improved, but we won't find out if they improved enough until at least February. The staff here is hopeful, but still very nervous.

[Chef Dave]

We are taking the test in 2 weeks. I am at a school that is in Corrective Action year 2 (or 3) and this year is it. If we don't make it, or safe harbor, we go into planning for restructuring. I'm stressed! Anybody else?

I was in a similar situation 7 years ago. I wish I could tell you that we worked hard and were able to turn the schoool around by the skin of our teeth. Unfortunately, despite all of our hard work (which included mandatory Saturday workshops), our efforts failed. The students were simply too deficient and although they made great progress, they were not prepared to take a grade level skills test.

A few teachers were able to transfer within the district. Others, like me, left the field of elementary education. (I am now back in education as a high school chef instructor). Those teachers who did not have contingency plans unfortunately lost their jobs. The school I worked at became a charter school.

I know you may not want to hear this, but having been through your experience, I think you should plan for the worst possible outcome.

What will happen if the school is taken over? Has your district assured you that they will find a job for you at another school? If not, you should update your resume and begin the process of finding a new job.

I have noted that you're in Hawaii and if memory serves, Hawaii is basically one large public school district, right?

Since there are no other districts to apply to, you could begin looking at private schools. They won't pay as well but you also won't have to worry about annual testing.

Best wishes,

David

[teach1027]

We are in the restructering phase right now, so we aare really stressed.

[mopar]

What does the reconstructing phase entail? My school is headed there I think and would really like to know what I can expect in the years to come.

[kingrichie]

Our school is also headed for school improvement if our scores don't improve this year. I think it's so unfair because we have no control over the students we get. Our school has a very high transiency rate. We might have a kid for 9 months, then leaves the day before testing. Or we might get one that knows no English the day testing begins. How does that figure?

[Chef Dave]

The people who thought up NCLB were most likely all from upper middle class or upper class backgrounds. How many of them have ever been in an inner-city school? How many of them have ever known hunger or cold or hopelessness?

It's easy to sit in an ivory tower and to come up with ideas to "reform" America's schools - but the reality is that public education is not a level playing field. Despite all of the millions of dollars provided by federal, state, and county funding, educators have no control over the home environments of our children.

We have no way of ensuring that the children are fed nutritious meals ... that they sleep in clean warm beds in safe neighborhoods ... that they have appropriate levels of health care ... an adult who actually cares for them ... etc.

When I was an elementary teacher, I once taught a homeless child. Every day the school secretary would come over the intercom to tell the student where she needed to go to spend the night.

The student wasn't interested in studying. She spent her day worrying whether she'd have anyplace warm to sleep that night. She worried over whether or not she'd have a warm meal to fill her tummy. She worried over whether her meager possessions would be safe from theft.

How can we expect a child like this to successfully compete against a kid from a stable middle class family who has all of his/her needs met?

[mopar]

I agree. Many students struggle with focusing in class because they have life problems to worry about. Some of my students have struggled with staying attentive because they are worried about a family member or constantly thinking of the physical abuse awaiting them at home. The state doesn't look at case by case issues or even think that some schools have more students fitting these examples than other schools.

[ginger11]

My school is headed for school improvement, there is no doubt about it.

[busbus]

Many of the schools in my district who had not made AYP were taken over by For Profit Organizations. Now, with a new budget coming up, the question is whether these organization have fulfilled their promise to turn the schools around. There has been a lot a debate going on. I think that a few of these organizations have gone by the wayside; the few that are left have some very strong lobbyists. Millions of dollars have been turned over to these organizations and much of the feeling is that they haven't done much better than the schools that stayed under the District's charge. These For Profit Organizations are now, more than ever, being placed under the microscope.

From my knowledge, no teacher at a school has lost his/her job because of this kind of takeover. However, many principals lost their jobs, that is, reassigned to another school or a "place in waiting." (Union issues abound!)

Regardless of whose in charge, between the Benchmarks and the State's standardized testing, DO WE REALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO REALLY TEACH? :rolleyes:

[Boxcar]

Regardless of whose in charge, between the Benchmarks and the State's standardized testing, DO WE REALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO REALLY TEACH?

That is a very valid point!

[EngSoph]

The recent CAHSEE essay prompt devastated many of my students, especially my EL studnets. The demography of students in my district were dealt to respond to an event mentioned in the essay prompt that is entirely foreign. Students from a larger city have a better chance of addressing the prompt appropriately due to their somewhat familiar of the event mentioned in the essay prompt. What are we teaching students these days? What kind of message are we sending students by instructing them to respond to high-stake questions that has no connection to their reality.

[Boxcar]

What was the prompt about? Can you say or no?

I'm glad my age group doesn't have to take tests. There is pressure to have them reading at 3 and doing multiplication at 5, but it isn't a requirement.

I thought tests were supposed to be moving twoard more general questions. This was intended to help with a diverse population. For example, essays might ask about planning a trip, going to the store, or problem-solving a common classroom issue. To a wide range of students, these would be assesible subject area. A trip might be a vacation, a long drive to an appointment, or even going over to a friend's house. Going to the store could be the mall, a farmer's market, or a small street stand. All the children would be in the classroom, if they were testing, so they could address that prompt with a degree of comfort.

[Bananas]

I'm glad my age group doesn't have to take tests. There is pressure to have them reading at 3 and doing multiplication at 5, but it isn't a requirement.

Well, hey, why don't we just expect our little darlings to be toilet trained by 5 weeks of age? :rolleyes: :eek:

[Boxcar]

lol.

Well, some parents actually do!

That is part of Elimination Communication.

[Hermione]

Thankfully, my district (and all five schools) has met AYP for the past 4 years. But our surrounding counties haven't been as lucky. NCLB is so unfair, but I know I'm preaching to the choir. I don't mind being tested. Test me! But don't make it my entire focus for the year.

Good luck to everyone this year. We begin testing in April.

[MsCoffeeLover]

Legislation in SC has proposed a bill do get rid of the traditional standardized testing in lieu of new diagnostic tests that can give immediate feedback to teachers and more details regarding individual skills.

We have tests that our students take three times a year. Those scores help determine how students would perform (roughly) on standardized tests if they put that same energy into it. It is a rough indicator. However, the standardized tests here give you scores, but they don't offer the different areas where students may excel or have a weakness nor do we get to see the scores until the follow year. It is an end of the year assessment, and we can't do anything about it.

Diagnostic tests we have measure things much better, at least the ones they offer at my school. Even though I teach Science and Social Studies, there are tests for that, but the weight is still primarily Math and Language Arts. I actually look at my kids scores to see any improvements in reading or language usage or math as well as the different areas. Some kids may have better written skills but poor conventions or something. Some kids have awesome math scores, but the reading scores are low. This is data that I consult on a regular basis, and teachers can use that information right away.

I am hoping the diagnostic testing is the way our state is going to go.

[Hermione]

We also give diagnostic tests 3 times a year. They are a great tool and provide results within weeks. We receive results for each child and where strengths and weaknesses were found, divided into the same content levels as our state tests. They only take about 35 minutes to administer and cover all assessed skills. I highly recommend them.

Also, the same company offers online "Practice Probes" which you can design by grade level, picking and choosing which skills your students need to practice. They are instant feedback for the kids and for me. I'm not sure I can give the name of the site (I'm afraid it'd be considered advertising), but if it's allowed, let me know and I'll be happy to share.