Tuesday, May 29, 2018

At the End

After a beautiful LONG weekend, I head to work this morning to begin the THIRD week of standardized testing.  As I might have mentioned, I HATE testing with every fiber of my being.  So the fact that my students have already spent almost 14 hours on taking tests since May 14 makes me sad and furious all at the same time.  That's not even to mention the three make up sessions (about 6 more hours) that have taken place for absent students or students who have needed more time.  We have three more tests to give this week (at least 6 more hours), and if all goes well my class will be done by Thursday.  Twenty hours (or more) of testing in three weeks time...there's got to be something better to do.
Fourteen more days left people!

11 comments:

  1. You're still testing at this point in the year?? I'm amazed they expect the kids to be able to concentrate on something like that this close to summer break! The last day for classes here was last Wednesday, I think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! Still in school! Three more weeks! We have 3 weeks at winter and 2 weeks at spring...which is great then, but at the end of the year it’s killer!!

      Delete
  2. Hang in there! The last day for us is this Friday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was just rereading this and got to thinking. In our state, they give the standardized tests not long after they get back from Christmas break. Usually in February when it is really cold and bleak outside. I wonder if this is why our state does well on those tests. The kids would rather be taking them than being outside in the cold!

      Delete
    2. Could be! And they aren't so tired like they are the last month of school! But I'm torn. On the other hand, in February it's hard to test kids on all the standards they are supposed to know by the end of the year when there are still 3 1/2 months of school to go. I've got a solution though...how about we let the teacher be responsible for assessing and grading an elementary school child rather than rely on a test not written by educators. But that would make too much freaking sense!

      Delete
  3. Why are they testing under 10s as if they are ending a year at uni FFS. I knew the testing was over arduous but this smacks of a degree of torture. What is it they are really trying to achieve. I know education in Ireland has gotten to the point of destroying the confidence of many, some for a lifetime.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My kids hate school most of the time. When we do test prep, it’s worse! Once again, we continue to do the exact oppposite of what those countries who are succeeding do to succeed. It’s maddening.

      Delete
    2. Oh, and thanks for the concern over my mom. The post went to my spam and I just saw it last night. Sorry about that.
      She is ok. On the other side of the island, thankfully. They’re dealing with a little “vog” which has made the air quality a bit of concern, but most of the time the winds are blowing things away from them. Sadly tourism has dropped due to the news making it sound like the whole island is on fire.

      Delete
    3. Glad to see this since I've wondered, too.

      Delete
  4. I asked about Hawaii before I knew it was at 5 oclock to Kona's 10. I noted that it was an estate of very big homes that made the news. No mention at all of the village down the road a bit who's denizens mightn't have a second place to decamp for the duration.

    ReplyDelete