This week I have my students only a little tiny bit for class, because they have to take their state tests. The tests take all morning and so they miss out on many of their regular classes. It is beyond me why we have to have students take these tests, they take so long, and they just make me nervous thinking about them, and I know they cause the students a lot of anxiety, or at least some of the students. I wish there was another way to figure out how we are all doing academically compared to other people in the state, and country, but there hasn't been a way to do it better than what they have figured out up to this point. At least, now, students have as much time as they need to do the best that they can.
I was an anxious student and I didn't do well on any tests at all. I was lucky to go to a school that didn't put a great deal of stock in these tests, so they didn't use them (as they often did) to put me in a lower track. I managed to show my ability and intelligence in so many different ways, and I am hoping that the tests are being written now to help students who have diverse learning styles show what they can do in many ways, not just one way.
I resent that we miss our time with our students for these tests, but I also see what is essential to the larger picture. I am hoping this makes them all more resilient, more focused, and able to do any type of test in the end.
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