A Typical Day

The following post first appeared here at History Is Elementary in September, 2006 and is titled A Typical Day. This particular post was picked up and printed in its entirety for a USA Today article regarding teachers who blog.

This post deals with testing and how testing weeks can turn a school upside down…..how a typical day can become anything but typical.

The picture posted here is my classroom as it appeared in 2006. Today, a lovely friend of mine has custody of MY room, and I’m glad she’s the one keeping watch over it.

So if you came to my classroom this week or next would you see a typical day in Elementaryhistoryteacher’s classroom?

Unfortunately you would miss out.

It simply wouldn’t happen. My school has entered the realm of CRAZY SCHOOL which is a parallel universe created by all of the education stakeholders across America. CRAZY SCHOOL is where you take a smooth running machine that has been in operation for some five weeks and throw it to the four winds. The result is a faculty and staff that are so incredibly flexible they can be described as Gumby look-alikes along with a slightly bewildered student body that from one day to the next has a completely different schedule.

It’s not normal for my nine year olds to sit still for three hours while they show me what they know or don’t know compared to other students across our fair nation. It’s not normal for me to be in my office, (yes, that’s how I think of it) for three hours as the designated time keeper and gopher for Kleenex, sharpened pencils, and plastic baggies for that stubborn tooth that decides to pop out between answer bubbles. The burden of test security and protocols alone is extremely daunting and psychologically exhausting to my colleagues and me.

Gee, one wrong move and I might as well tear up my certificate.

Once the testing period is over we begin an abbreviated schedule so that we can still have the majority of our day for academics.

Remember academics?

The reason why we’re there in the first place……In twenty-first century education, however, an abbreviated schedule for some 5-600 kids is easier said than done when a large majority of them have individual needs and requirements and are tracked more ways than Atlanta has Peachtree Streets. An abbreviated schedule means you’re going to end up with a few kids you aren’t supposed have that class period, you’re going to not have some kids you need, and somehow or another your personal potty break doesn’t happen until 4:30 p.m. You figure out it is lunch time but you don’t have the normal group you take to lunch so you take the group you’re with, but then someone forgets and picks up the group they always pick up which means a group gets left behind.

The result?

CRAZY SCHOOL!

Keep smiling, stay flexible and tread that water! Testing time is almost half over.

So, let’s pretend it’s not CRAZY SCHOOL time. Let’s pretend you have come to visit when it’s a normal, routine school day. What would you see? Well, first of all you would see students sitting in mixed gender and ability groups. Students would be busy completing several different planned activities based on content we would have gone over a day or two before.

Generally my fourth grade students receive new American History content through one to two days of teacher-directed instruction heavily infused with questioning strategies, opportunities for predictions, and discussion.

Yes, you CAN discuss history with a nine year old.

Since this is the first opportunity for most of my students to learn about American History and since they are still developing their non-fiction reading skills I rely on the text, teacher-prepared notes, short trade books, videos, and teacher-created power point presentations to deliver content. A few “oh-by-the-way” type stories don’t hurt either. During our study of World War I, my fifth graders always perked up when I discussed the nastiness of trench foot. Ick!

Once students have content in a holding pattern in their dear little heads I follow up with three to four days of intense individual and group work where students rotate through a series of activities to hone textbook skills locating and recalling information, reproducing diagrams and maps, and writing creatively. Students also create vocabulary flashcards with the definition on the front and an illustration on the back. Students keep their flashcards on a metal ring and consider it a symbol of honor when they can show off a full ring of cards at the end of the year. I guess you could call it a ring of history.

Student extend the content by reading a related set of Accelerated Reader titles, reviewing a list of web sites I have created, or a selection of Kids Discover magazines that I have grouped together for the unit. Groups also work on a reading skill for each text lesson and have opportunities to work with content through crossword puzzles, cloze activities, and various graphic organizers.

I generally move around the room from group to group checking for understanding, asking more questions, and observing any holes I might have in my instruction. I also identify core skill weaknesses students might have. The noise level can get out of hand and off task behavior is a risk, but I have found that by being among the children I can help students by re-directing them when necessary.

So that’s what you would see most days in my classroom, but not this week.

CRAZY SCHOOL is the norm for this week.

Yes, this is the season of the mulligan……a series of past posts I’m republishing for your reading pleasure……and explanation was posted HERE

Testing Tornados

It’s testing time here in the sunny, warm south. That means it’s time for the memos to begin a-flyin’ regarding “the test” and those ever so important ….insert fake echo effect here…”TESTING PROCEDURES”.

I do not think it is any coincidence whatsoever that the testing window in Georgia opens about the same time as our tornado season begins. It can certainly add a little more confusion to the chaos that CAN be created because it’s testing time.

While the follow is a good piece of satire regarding the atmosphere surrounding “the test” it isn’t too far off the mark regarding just how serious….and I mean ser-ri-ous things have become.

Hang on….here we go:

Please do not look out the window to watch for approaching tornadoes. You must monitor the students at all times. To do otherwise would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

Should students notice an approaching tornado and begin to cry, please make every effort to protect their testing materials from the flow of tears and sinus drainage.

Should a flying object come through your window during testing, please make every effort to ensure that it does not land on a testing booklet or an answer sheet. Please make sure to soften the landing of the flying object so that it will not disturb the students while testing.

Should shards of glass from a broken window come flying into the room, have the students use their bodies to shield their testing materials so that they will not be damaged. Have plenty of gauze on hand to ensure that no one accidentally bleeds on the answer
documents. Damaged answer sheets will not scan properly.

Should gale force winds ensue, please have everyone stuff their test booklets and answer sheets into their shirts being very careful not to bend them because bent answer documents will not scan properly.

If any student gets sucked into the vortex of the funnel cloud, please make sure they mark at least one answer before departing and of course make sure they leave their answer sheets and test booklets behind. You will have to account for those.

Should a funnel cloud pick you, the test administrator, up and take you flying over the rainbow, you will still be required to account for all of your testing materials when you land so please take extra precautions. Remember, once you have checked them out, they should
never leave our hands.

When rescue workers arrive to dig you out of the rubble, please make sure that they do not, at any time, look at or handle the testing materials. Once you have been treated for your injuries, you will still be responsible for checking your materials back in. Search dogs will not be allowed to sift through the rubble for lost tests. Unless of course they have been through standardized test training.

Please do not pray should a severe weather situation arise. Your priority is to actively monitor the test and a student might mark in the wrong section if you are praying instead of monitoring. I'm sure God will put war, world hunger, crime, and the piracy on hold until
testing is over. He knows how important this test is.

Yes, testing time is important. Yes, testing time is serious. So serious you have to laugh sometimes to keep from crying.

The sound you hear now is me……heavily sighing.

An Empty Retention Policy

An article from the Atlanta Journal last week states, Georgia's high-stakes testing program isn't so high-stakes after all. A state law aimed at stopping so-called "social promotion" says students in grades 3, 5 and 8 should repeat the year when they fail certain standardized tests.

But school districts are promoting the vast majority of those students anyway, even if they fail a second-chance retest, or blow it off altogether, an analysis of 2006 and 2007 state data by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals.

Gee, media folks….what took you so long? It’s been that way from my vantage point for the last six years, at least. I guess it just took 46,000 8th graders failing the math portion statewide this year for others to begin to see a pattern.

Of course, here in the Peach state it isn’t just one portion of the test that MIGHT keep a student in the 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade from advancing. The student has to fail the math and the language arts portions to be considered a candidate for retention in the 5th and 8th grades while reading MIGHT hold you back in the 3rd.

I use the word MIGHT because it is rare to have a meeting with parents and administrators regarding a student who failed the test and the student actually be retained. The procedures state that all stakeholders….administrator, teachers, and parents must be in agreement regarding the outcome of an evaluation meeting following failing test scores. Sometimes the parent objects so strongly the administrator relents. Other times….and this is what I normally see…..the administrator comes to the team of teachers prior to the parent meeting and advises that unless the student has excessive absences he or she will be passed along no matter what. In other words we are to play the game, talk the child up, and pass him or her along. While the procedures indicate that school officials take into account all data regarding whether the child is retained or not the data is often ignored or glossed over with platitudes such as, “Well, little Jimmy didn’t have a good a year because of this, that or the other, but with a little focus he’s going to have a great year in the next grade.”

This makes me physically ill.

I’m tired of retention language worded in such a way that everyone has an out….”might”, “could be”, “can be”. What about “will be”?

Unfortunately classroom teachers aren’t given much of a choice in the matter. I’m gong to endure the ire of an administrator by speaking my mind when I have been told privately we won’t be retaining a certain group of students no matter what? I’m going to run the risk of suddenly not having a contract or suddenly finding myself in a different school due to a county mandated transfer? When teachers do question this practice administrators generally state they are following directives from the county. Hmmmm….and I wonder who the county receives their directives from?

Over the last few years I’ve watched children progress to the next grade who rarely turned in assignments, children who rarely opened a book, children with a majority of Fs on their report card, children whose parents have been literally begged to come in and work with us on creating a plan for their student’s success (always a no show), or children who only succeeded during the school day by disrupting every lesson in some form or fashion.

These are the same children who finished each 60 question test within 15 minutes of the start time though they had 45 to 60 minutes to carefully think about their answers, and they refused to check their work when asked. The two week testing window was merely an elongated nap period where during the more lucid moments the child could create pretty designs by coloring in patterns with the answer sheet bubbles.

Yes, he should have scored at least a 300 on this test, unfortunately he only scored a 98. He did bubble in his name correctly, however. Enjoy the next grade level!

I understand the research that shows retention very rarely ever cures the problem, and personally within the small group of students I’ve ever been allowed to retain only one made any real turn-around or progress during the year they repeated with me.

However, are we really solving our problems by allowing students to progress to the next grade when they are clearly not ready?

Most of the children I have seen in this predicament didnt' suddenly have a bad year in 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade. They have had a myriad of problems from day one....from first grade or even before.

[In the article, State Superintendent Kathy Cox defends] schools' use of the appeal process, which allows promotion if the principal, parent and teacher agree. When she worked on the bill as a state representative, she said, she believed it would be used mainly to identify and help struggling students — not to retain large numbers of them. She said retention "should be a last resort."

Legislators and government types are confused, however, and who can blame them? Their intent with the retention portion of the law was to stop the process of advancing children and pushing them along before they were ready for the next grade.

The Atlanta Journal was also able to uncover that since the law went into effect, the state education department has not looked yearly at how many students were retained because of the tests.

Excuse me? I’m required to keep all sorts of classroom data from textbook information, my own test scores over a period of time, personal data on every student including all of their test scores since day one of their school career so I can analyze it myself to produce a program of action to help the student achieve, analyze noticeable trends and problem areas in my teaching and yet the Georgia Department of Education isn’t tracking how many students are retained each year who don’t pass muster on “the test”?

In their own examination The Atlanta Journal was able to uncover that during the years 2006 and 2007 10 to 20 percent of students failed on their first try with “the test.” Of that 10 to 20 percent only 2.5 percent of eighth-grade testers, 1.7 percent of fifth-grade testers, and 2.9 percent third-grade testers were ultimately retained.

It has been widely reported that over 46,000 eighth graders failed the math portion of the CRCT this past spring. This is a dismal, dismal statistic that clearly indicates problems with the standards, problems with “the test”, problems with the teaching, and problems with the students.

However, even in 2007 the total number of eighth graders who failed the math porton was 9,500…..While better than 46,000 it still is not anything to write home about. Unfortunately The Atlanta Journal discovered that of those 9,500 students a whopping 92 percent were able to progress on to high school even though they did not pass “the test.”

Is it any wonder our high schools have to add so many remedial math courses? After high school the cycle continues with colleges having to add more and more remedial math classes.

When are we going to admit that our “one-size-fits-all” test isn’t working as a true measure of student success….or even more importantly when are we going to admit that the damned test, as I lovingly refer to it, isn’t working as a true measure of student failure either?

It's the Teachers, Stupid!

As many of you know I began another blog sometime ago that is focused solely on my homestate of Georgia and blogs authored by folks from the Peach State. Recently the 38th Carnival for Georgia Bloggers posted at Georgia on My Mind, and one post in particular stood out for me on a personal level.

Ethan over at Never Clever Whatsoever has just completed the 8th grade and has just survived Georgia’s mandated CRCT testing. While many education-types have opined their opinion regarding why approximately 70% of Georgia’s sixth and seventh graders failed the social studies section Ethan has articulated in his words another rant about Georgia's CRCT Scores that is in strong contrast to the same educrat excuse of, “Well, we rolled out these new standards…..”

I left two rather long comments for Ethan, and he decided others should see our conversation, so he posted replies to my first and second comments where he recreates my comments and his responses.

I strongly encourage educators to take a moment and head over there and let Ethan know what you think.

While I have never been one to outwardly criticize a colleague regarding his or her teaching style I cannot fathom an 8th grade student taking the CRCT and not knowing why the names Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson are attached to one of the busiest airports in the world!

Yes, as I mentioned in my comments there are many, many reasons why students would do poorly on an assessment, but Ethan doesn’t appear to be the kind of student we would dread to have in our classrooms.

The 8th grade Georgia standards that were in effect during Ethan’s school year can be found here. Standard number SS8H10 states the student will evaluate key post-WWII development of Georgia from 1945 through 1970 with element b. going a bit futher to state explain how the development of Atlanta, including the roles of mayors William B. Hartsfield and Ivan Allen, Jr., and major league sports, contributed to the growth of Georgia. State standard SS8H11 states the student will evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil rights era with element b mentioning the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta. Gee, isn’t that clear as a bell? Wouldn’t these men and their actions be at the forefront of your lessons regarding this time period?

There it is…..current standards every 8th teacher should have in their possession and mentioned by name are two individuals students should know. If that’s not enough to convince a teacher to mention these two men state standard SS8G2 mentions the role of the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and its impact on the state’s economy. Wouldn't this standard be a great opportunity to reinforce who Hartsfield and Jackson were?

Since the 1960s and 70s are usually taught later in the year it would be easy to say that Ethan’s teacher just simply ran out of time. We all do that, and we all say that’s the reason students did poorly on a state test, but Ethan also brought up the name Mary Musgrove in Georgia history, and she would have been taught early in the year and yes…..the standard involved (SS8H2a) mentions her by name and asks the student to explain her importance.

Ethan’s experience bothers me greatly. While we as educators can sit around the table and plan units and lessons, while we state we have an understanding of the standards and have included all of them in our plans, and while we have the standards clearly referenced in our plan books for any observer to check off when they stop by the classroom clearly some of us are walking the walk, but not talking the talk. Now I can understand a colleague blowing off things like various required teaching strategies from time to time, but blowing off the standards where it is very clear what students need to know for that grade level I can't even fathom. Aren't the standards the foundation of every lesson? Don't we start with the standards?

Clearly…when the door is closed something else is going on, and it’s not teaching the standards. What’s it going to take? Weekly visits to the classroom to listen to lessons, to interview the students, to actually hand some teachers a scripted lesson plan to make sure the standards are taught?

My title is a bit harsh. I know there are a myriad number of reasons why the damn tests don't work, but here we have a student who knows he wasn't taught specific key material to the subject matter, and there simply is no excuse.

Assessment Methods: Easy For You or Best For Them

Do you remember watching the television show Make a Wish? For awhile, it was televised on Saturday, but I mainly remember seeing it if we played hooky from church on Sunday. The star of the show was Tom Chapin. One site reminds my cobwebbed covered mind that Chapin would introduce the topic of the show like this – “I think a snake is what I’ll be. Imagine all the possibilities.” After that there would be a sort of free association featuring stock footage, animation, and Chapin’s music and voiceover commentary. You can see the opening and closing for the show here.

The show was a great example of getting kids to be creative with their thoughts by thinking outside the box.

Well, Tom got older. I grew up, and got older myself. By 1976 the show had been cancelled and replaced with something else. Sadly, Tom’s brother, Harry, died far too soon as many seemed to do in the 70s and early 80s. Tom kept being creative, however, and his latest efforts can be seen here:



Tom’s explanation about the song and the full lyrics can be found here. Tom relates how he appreciates the job teachers do and states that anything that excites a student, opens their eyes, and hearts and minds is a positive that makes a child invest in school. He states that music, art, drama, and sports kept him involved in school and laments that many of these have been and are in the process of being cut in various districts across the United States due to standardized testing.

Chapin states, “Now we are teaching by rote again – where the test, and only the test, becomes the reason to teach and study.”

Finally, and I think my old Sunday morning friend, Tom, makes a very valid point when he states, “It’s no secret that American industry has outsourced most factory jobs to other countries to take advantage of cheaper labor costs. So why are we putting so much effort into a form of education in which there is no creativity? This is the time that our youth should be taught to think ”out of the box,” not be put into a tighter one!

Every year we use those all important test scores to make a judgement regarding where students are in their reading ability. Far too often I find the test score that determines the placement is a poor picture of what the child can actually do or not do – yet we are told repeatedly this is what we must measure by.

There are too many variables that can cause an incorrect view of a child’s ability based on one number – the child bubbles haphazadly because he/she is bored, the child just happens to luck up and choose the right answer, the child is sick, the child is thinking about going to mall or the playground, the child and his/her mother were kicked out of their home the night before, or the scores are undermined by certain formulas and other machinations by the state department of education that causes student to appear to be meeting grade level standards when they are actually performing far below standards.

All the above results in too many students placed in remedial reading programs or too many remedial kids NOT placed within the programs they need. After a period of several weeks to even months most kids eventually get to the right situation for them, but by then precious time has elapsed.

It just seems to me that instead of basing need for particular services on one test score it would better serve the child to maintain and use portfolios that contain student work samples from across the content areas. When samples are taken on an ongoing basis, when a school system has created a system wide procedure for the creation and mantenance of a portfolio, and when periodic reviews are completed of the samples by the grade level team it is almost always glaringly clear where the student resides academically. Problem areas leap out at you from particular content areas to strengths and weaknesses across the curriculum. From this information a game plan to tackle certain problems can be forumulated, and time is not wasted on areas where no help is needed.

But what do I know? I’m just the teacher – the teacher who is with the child every day observing him or her, making notes, strategizing with team members, setting goals with the child, and gathering input from parents.

Many of my colleagues are quick to state that portfolios are time consuming, and that they place too much burden on the backs of teachers, but I ask you to think about this...who are we there in the classroom to serve? Are we there to make things easier for us, or are we there to serve the best interest for each and every student?

Testing a Foundation of Knowledge

There is a large amount of information to transfer to young brains during our look at exploration. Students must be given a point of focus regarding the state of Europe, Africa, and Asia in the 1400s to understand the motivation behind exploration, and they must keep track of four different countries---Portugal, Spain, France, and England---regarding various expeditions. Who sailed? Why did they sail? What were their accomplishments? How did the new knowledge that was gathered change various relationships between countries? How did the arrival of Europeans change the lives of Native Americans?

Suddenly my elementary students find themselves exposed to a bit of world history and are attempting to pronounce words such as Renaissance, place names like Constantinople and Songhai and over twenty-five various names like Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca.

We have fun with the content by mapping various journeys and playing matching games with names of explorers and their accomplishments. We explore online, watch videos to gain visual images, I provide students with opportunities to uncover content independently, and I get to tell a few great stories as well. However, the bottom line that lurks behind the scene is six months from now my young students will be judged on how well they know the content and I will be judged on how well I teach based on the state test. Students must recall the hit parade of explorers, their accomplishments, and the details regarding country interaction from the 1400s through the 1600s by answering approximately 60 multiple-choice questions spanning exploration content as well as details learned about ancient Native Americans and historical events during the 1700s to the mid-1800s.

Should a nine year old student be required to recall this sort of information several months later? Is this really developmentally appropriate for the majority of students?

In my own experience I feel a large section of my students are are too immature and lack any sort of foundational knowledge to connect with the standards I teach as preparation for the type of test the state gives. At fourth grade educators and parents are still dealing with many students who have difficulty reading the textbook because the text tends to be a year or two above the actual grade level, and students lack knowledge regarding textbook construction. Many of my students are still struggling with mastering math facts and spelling patterns. Is it really realistic thinking that a great number of my students can also recall historical minutiae when taking a multiple choice test as I have described six months after the fact?

The content I teach as well as the content that is taught in the fifth grade is intended to be foundational knowledge. Any builder who really cares about the integrity of their creation would never test the building’s foundation without making sure a firm foundation existed. I love the way the state of Georgia introduces American History to students in fourth and fifth grade, and don’t want to change that. What I would like to see is a state test where students use the historical content to show they have mastered key Social Studies skills.

Examples of released questions can be seen here and here.

Rather than judging little Bobby or Sue by giving them a description of a an explorer and his accomplishments and asking him/her to choose the correct name from a field of four choices I feel it would be much more reasonable and appropriate at the fourth grade level to focus on skills rather than content memorization. For example, I would love to see several test questions centered around a matrix chart that contains information concerning explorers. Information would include from what country they sailed for, what country they hailed from, their goal, problems they encountered, and accomplishments. Questions would ask the student to locate information on the chart and make analytical decisions based on comparing and contrasting bits of information.

I would also like to see maps on the state test where students are asked questions concerning various voyages including route and general direction. Timelines would be appropriate, as well, especially parallel time lines regarding the exploration efforts of Spain, France, and England. Even various questions involving key vocabulary would be appropriate such as “An expedition is-----“.

While these types of questions do appear now and then on the test they are woefully presented in small numbers, and it is clear I'm not alone in thinking Georgi'a state test needs more work. Questions that require students to remember relatively small details in the scheme of things still abound though in great numbers and they result in a poor judgement regarding what my students really know and understand concerning knowledge that serves as a foundation for Social Studies.

A related post---The Realities of Testing

13 Episodes I Handled Today..Can You Figure Out Why I Had a Good Cry?

As soon as the last student left my room today I grabbed my things and escaped. I left before I should have. I left fifteen minutes early, but I had to leave. I could not stand the classroom one more minute. I sprinted to my car and got in, left the parking lot, and was well on my way home when I began to cry. It had been a very wacky, crazy, stressful day of testing, very little learning, and I had had my fair share of nine year old hormones to deal with. Here are 13 of the many, many episodes I handled today.

1. Before our last day of testing began I shooed kids to the restroom with the age old adage, “Go try!” I stood in the doorway so I was available to kids in each direction to keep everyone on track and calm. Unfortunately I had to duck back in the room to persuade one young lady to put her soccer ball in the back of the room. I had already asked three times. It’s amazing what proximity will do to urge a student to finally comply with a simple direction. As I went back to the doorway a young man returning from the restroom came to me, “Elementaryhistoryteacher, D. called me a N. (rhymes with digger).” That’s strange. The young man is white and the person using the word is black. “Ok, I’ll handle it,”I said. As the young lady was returning from the restroom I stopped her and spoke with her in the hallway. I said, “Do you know why I want to talk with you?” She told me she did and confirmed the reason. I like to do things this way so we don’t play the ‘no I didn’t do it’ game. She told me she doesn’t see anything wrong with it and she can say it at home. “How would you feel if one of these white kids around here called you that?” She told me she wouldn’t like it. “Exactly,” I told her, “He didn’t like it either.” The young man was just as offended. I explained to the young lady that she can use that word all she wants to at home if it is allowed, however, at school she has to abide by my rules and I don’t allow it to be spoken….EVER.

2. My loud talker talked more than normal today. I could hear him coming up the hall after breakfast. and at the end of the day I heard him all the back down the hall. He began his day in my room with two pennies. He thought it would so cool to take those pennies and flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip…..them on the table-top. I asked him to stop. Flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip. I asked him to stop again or I would have to take them. “You can’t take them, their mine. My Dad says so. You take anything of mine and you’ll have a problem.” Flip, flip, flip….I took them. They are on my desk as we speak. I hope Dad shows up.:)

3. You could tell it was the last day of testing. Everyone is tired of it and everyone is tired of a strange schedule. I had several finished within 20 minutes... a test that should at least take them 40 minutes to finish. Instead of reading after they finished most everyone opted for mouthing at a friend across the room while I constantly leaned down and told them stop, don’t, please don’t, you need to read, I’m not going to tell you again, no, stop, don’t, put it away……Heavy sigh.

4. This year it was someone’s great idea to allow them to have a little snack in the middle of the two test sections. Look up brain based learning and you’ll understand why. I’m not against it….it just doesn’t always work out like it should. My proctor and I had been so proactive in taking up all the test materials after the first section before handing out any food or drink. Today’s snack selection was a 10 ounce bottle of water, a few goldfish and a few animal crackers. After a few minutes I told them to finish up so we could get started on the second section of the test. I told students not to drink all the water in their bottle. They could cap it and place in their desk for later. On no, my direction makes too much sense. Nine year olds are not about what makes sense. Most turned up their bottles and guzzled them down. Except for two young men who decided they would hold their water in their mouths and then spit it at each other just when I happened to walk by. Ick was what I thought when I felt a big, warm splash of water mixed with spit on my foot. Reminder to self…..shower immediately upon entering the house.

5. Once all of the water bottles were empty we had quite a little chorus going on of water bottle orchestra. Seems once they were empty the bottles made “cute” little crinkly noises. Yes, YES, let’s all try. Ms. Procter and I couldn’t get the trash can around fast enough. Crinkle, pop, crinkle, pop, crinkle, pop, crinkle, pop, crinkle, po, crinkle, p, crink, cri, c, finally silence……for about 20 seconds.

6. About midway through the second section of the test I noticed many of the kids were squirming in their seats. Knees were moving in and out, legs were jiggling, and some had tortured looks on their faces. You guessed it…..10 ounces of water in and some will want to flow back out. Nope….can’t go. We are testing. Sorry. Cross your legs. Finish up. Sorry. I can’t let you out yet. We were finally done and after taking “the tests” up to the office so they could be under lock and key I allowed my students out of the room one at a time so they could finally get rid of their 10 ounces of water. It was too early and I was chancing a much dreaded TESTING VIOLATION, but when ya’ gotta go…..ya’ gotta go.

7. About 10 minutes into the second section I positioned myself over by my classroom door. We are required to walk the room during testing and try not to hover, but I mean really……the kids feel our presence. I tend to lean on my stool some and walk the room some as well. The test police be damned. I was standing close to my door in order to peer across the hallway into another fourth grade room to see where they were at the process. Were we ahead of them or were we behind the group? Suddenly, a person appeared at my door. That’s unusual because no one is allowed in the hallways during testing. It was a mom, though I didn’t recognize which one. I try but I don’t see them that often and there are 85 of them. She beckoned for me to open the door. I waved my hands back and forth and mouthed “NO, WE ARE TESTING.” I pointed to the door where a huge sign was there for all to see. In fact, she had passed large orange cones at the entrance to our hallway with signs posted on them, and every door she passed had a testing sign. She finally went away. Our younger grades do not test science and social studies so they were not testing today. Seems a mom was taking medicine to her little one and thought she would swing by and say hi to her older one in my room. I later found out this mom was told several times not walk down 4th and 5th grade hallway because of testing and it would be a violation of the integrity of the test. What does she do? Exactly what she wanted to and the request be damned. Makes you kind of understand where the kids get this type of attitude. Rules and procedures? Oh, they are for that other guy. Not me. I shudder to think what kind of internal paperwork I would have had to fill out if I hadn’t been by my door to stop her from knocking or coming on in. We are constantly told each and every little procedure has to be complied with or we could possibly loose our certification. I mean we are talking about state and federal laws here….they govern the test. I will be expressing my opinions about this matter to school officials at a later time….believe me.

8. One of my mothers came to have lunch with her son today. She came on out to the playground with us and we exchanged pleasantries. Finally she told me what was on her mind. Seems her son…..a well parented, straight-laced type of young man, had been getting love letters and mom was shocked. She said she had several that her son had given her. I asked her to make a copy of one and return it to me and I would handle things on my end. Seems the young lady was writing some explicit things that the young man didn’t understand. She thought he was “hot sexy” and “wanted to to do the night thing” with him. Apparently "the night thing" is some type of song lyric...I wouldn't know. Reminder here……..I teach students who are NINE.

9. While I was keeping one eye on a corner of the much too large playground full of too many children I kept up my conversation with the mother mentioned in episode 8. Suddenly two girls came up and mentioned that one student had left the playground to go after a first grader in order to “jack her up” (the girls’ words…not mine). Jack who up? What do you mean? I finally determine one of our fourth graders was upset with a first grader because the first grade little girl was mad at his sister. He had already slapped her on the playground and then followed her class off the field to “get her”. I found the young man’s teacher and alerted her. They finally located him and apparently he won’t be around for the rest of the week if you get my meaning. A breather……for him and us. We have a daily problem of some kind with him

10. I noticed four little girls kicking away at smart, heart-throb of a boy. He’s that kid in elementary school that ALL the girls LOVE. Whereas in my day we usually pined for the young man from afar little girls today are much more assertive. Heart-throb has been literally harassed all year by the girls. He finds a love letter in his desk at least once a day. Now it’s getting scary. Seems he finally had to tell one girl, “I don’t like you.” And she retaliated by instigating a kick fest with a few of her friends. The scary thing is they really feel they are justified to hurt this young man because he doesn’t return their feelings.

11. During lunch I found several papers on my floor. Some were filled with information for the ‘Push” game. The kids fold the paper in such a way and you choose a number to find out who you are going to marry, how many kids you are going to have, etc……I remember making them and playing with them. These papers were different. Instead of choices like marry, like, or date they are murder, stab and kidnap. Oh my……the names involved didn’t just include various students in the class, but my name was on the list as well as my high school aide. Oh my, oh my! We had a class meeting today and I hope I expressed to each and every student my disappointment and shock at these choices, and that I would prefer they not be played at school at all. I followed the proper procedures and turned the papers over to the counselor.

12 Once again I had some climbers in the boys restroom. We have a wall that divides the urinals from the stalls. The boys attempt to climb it so they can sit on the ledge. We have begged for something to be put on the top of this divider wall to encourage the young men NOT to sit up there. It might not seem like a big deal, but remember I am contracted to maintain the safety for these boys. All I need is one busted head....

13. Rat-a-tat-tat….Bam, bam, bam….thump, biddy, biddy, thump…rum, tum, tum, rum, tum, tum….tap, tap, tap, tappy, tap, tap. “Quit thumping and banging!” I beg again and again, and again throughout the day. Students, hands, fingers, and arms mixed with table tops equal little Ricky Ricardos and the bongos. I half expect to hear Ricky exclaim “Ba-ba-loo!” any minute.

It was a long day. I deserved a good cry and I took it. I get to teach tomorrow...really teach. We are going to back up now that the test is over and revisit the Louisiana Purchase more in depth. Perhaps I can replace some of the inappropriate behaviors with ones that involve learning. Two more days until the weekend. Twenty-two until the end of the year.

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The Realities of Testing

Testing is here to stay

I’ve had a chance this week to observe students during testing so I can’t help but try to sort out my thoughts regarding this issue.

Testing is here to stay----it’s not going away. When you look at the realities of formal standardized testing it is the best method to prove to the school system, educrats, politicians and the public at large that teachers are completing their contractual obligations. I would much rather see my students and myself graded on more open-ended type questions, however, these can prove to be very difficult to grade en masse.

Test results can be flawed

Earlier this week I posted about a young man who kept falling asleep and was far behind his fellow students. Within five minutes he had suddenly caught up and surpassed his peers---clear evidence of not reading the passages. His scores will not reflect his true abilities or weaknesses. He may end up with a passing or even exceptional score, but during reading instruction next year, his teacher will note serious lapses in his skills. On the other hand, he may end up with a terribly low score by bubbling for the sake of bubbling. It may be discovered that Mr. Bubbles is a fantastic reader who hates to test, and at his maturity level simply doesn’t understand the value of an accurate score.

It is very disheartening for a math teacher to spending the year teaching the students to work out problems on a multiple-choice test and then to observe them on “the” test day complete 35 problems in ten minutes and have absolutely nothing on their scratch paper. It is a rare nine year old who can multiply two-digit numbers in their heads without scratch paper. Most students speed through tests completing reading and answering each question in fifteen minutes. It would take me at least ten minutes to read through the test.

Testing should be appropriate

I would be remiss here if I didn’t mention the appropriateness of the test for each grade level. As I walked the room during our testing period I observed a fairly balanced math and language arts test. The reading passages, however, provided on the reading tests seem to be rather long. Do we really need to assess genre recognition by asking students to read a passage that is a page long? I know from classroom observations and from benchmark assessments given throughout the year my reading students have improved tremendously and most have the skills they need to proceed to the next grade. I also know that they become a bit glassy-eyed having to read twelve different passages accompanied by 6-8 questions even if there is a ten minute break after six passages.

I’ve posted before concerning my thoughts about our state test for social studies. I constantly battle with myself regarding the concepts I teach and the ability of the nine year old mind to internalize them. Let alone minute details concerning various Native American tribes studied in August or which explorer (out of the 15 we were to study) was buried along the banks of the Mississippi so natives would not discover the body.

Testing Provides Data

Testing provides data to assess students, assess ourselves as teachers, assess our grade level or department, and our school as a whole. We need to remain mindful that non-educators focus strictly on one piece of the assessment puzzle to make their judgments. On the other hand front-line educators such as us realize that standardized test scores are just one piece of the puzzle. We need to continue to preach this during professional meetings to remind colleagues when they are overwhelmed with the inadequacies of testing, and we need to inform parents not to base a year’s worth of growth on one test.

The Right Attitude

Should I feel deflated when tests scores don’t meet the targeted goal? Even with the knowledge those scores are in many cases woefully inaccurate I do feel I should be deflated. Something didn’t go right.

Therein lies the challenge and appeal of teaching for me. It’s my responsibility to assess informally and formally all year long for student growth. It’s my responsibility to maintain adequate proof of my assessments so that after standardized testing I can have all the pieces of the puzzle to prove or disprove growth. It’s my responsibility to choose the proper way to deliver concepts. It is my responsibility to change and differentiate the delivery when necessary.

There are many variables regarding successful test scores and failing ones. The majority of these variables I have absolutely no control over. I do, however, have control over my attitude, and how you look at something can make all the difference in the world.

Frazzled, Frantic, Frustrated

Springtime....that lovely time of year when students are tested, rumors abound regarding next year's room assignments, and where's that damn disk so we can fix the laptop?

Testing is underway in the Peach State. The scream you heard yesterday morning from the southeast corner of the country was me as my proctor and I proceeded to watch a young man nod off not once, not twice, but a total of ten times. Each time we prompted him to WAKE UP and each time he rolled his eyes as we walked away. Twenty minutes into a sixty minute reading test Sleepy only had one answer bubbled on his answer sheet. Five minutes later he 15 questions answered. It's a miracle-----speed reading. Yes, don't worry, I documented all testing behaviors.

Rumors are abounding on my campus regarding who is teaching what next year....who is moving to what room and why....why can't we all just wait until we see the actual plan? Then we will actually know what to fuss over. My team has submitted our plan so each team member can teach their strength. Guess what mine is? I came up with four different ways our schedule could work so that every child has every academic subject. That was a nice way to spend an evening. Our only problem is two team members are out of the building in trailers. For our plan to work they need to move inside. Hopefully the powers that be will see things our way. I mean really, do teachers need full size classrooms if they have less than 10 students at a time? Can't that classroom space be better served as regular classroom space? We will see.

Well, I am still waiting for the program disk to arrive from the computer geeks. Hopefully Hubby will discover what I did to destroy "his" computer. I miss my research, my notes, my files.....

I watched the National Geographic special on Judas. I hate to tell the critics but it didn't shatter my faith or anything. This is one Christian who doesn't think she's been lied to all these years and my opinion regarding Judas hasn't changed. The bottom line is the events concerning the crucifiction of Christ and the resurrection were going to happen whether or not Judas handed Jesus over to the soldiers. It was Gods plan for things to happen as they did.

I didn't learn anything really new.....except regarding how the text was found, changed hands, and sat in a safety deposit box for 16 years deteriorating even further. Sad. It makes me wonder what else is out there.......

The Results Are In

Well….the results are in regarding my test (see Friday's post). I’m feeling concerned since our state test is looming. I went through the tests and recorded data based on AYP sub-groups.

A total of 62 students took the test. 26 students passed the test with an 80 or better. 9 students also passed with grades ranging from 79 down to 70. Here’s the part I don’t like….27 students failed the test with scores from 69 down to 20. That is the highest number yet who did not pass a nine week benchmark this year. While more students passed than failed I know most of the 27 who failed are capable of doing better.

The reasons for these results are many and that’s what frustrates me about testing.

We can blame the testing environment or the timing of the test. It was too hot, too cold, or there were too many phone/intercom interruptions. The test was too close to Spring Break (the day before).

We can blame the test. Are the questions (most of the questions were from a professional resource) poorly constructed? Is the test too hard? Not challenging enough?

We can blame the students. They didn’t study. They don’t care. They can’t read. They aren’t motivated. They have test anxiety. They have too much home environment baggage.

We can blame the teacher. The curriculum wasn’t taught. The material was taught in a poor manner. The teacher has poor organization skills. The teacher has problems managing the students during lessons. The teacher sticks to one teaching format leaving out various learning styles.

Here’s the rest of my test data:

Caucasion: Total-41, Passed-26, Failed-15

Black: Total-18, Passed 9, Failed-9

Hispanic: Total-4, Passed 1, Failed-3

Special Education: Total-7, Passed-5, Failed-2

Gifted: Total-6, Passed-4, Failed-2

Boys: Total-35, Passed 19, Failed-16

Girls: Total-26, Passed 16, Failed 10

The Special Education students took the same test as everyone else. The two who failed had modifications. Two of the incorrect answers were removed. Ten of the 41 who passed earned 100’s on the test. Of the four Hispanic students one has only lived in the states and has spoken English since birth----he’s also special ed, and passed the test. Two of the Hispanic students have recently arrived from Mexico and are in my room as part of that “Aw, teach ‘em American History even though they can’t even ask me to go to the restroom without a translator” mentality. The final Hispanic usually makes a 100 on my tests, however, he failed.

All students had the opportunity to have the test read to them. All students had a study sheet one week in advance of the test. Every question and answer that was on the test was on the study sheet.

What do you think? I really want to know. Look at my test. Reread my post with the questions. Tell me honestly what you think.

Here’s what I think…I think the State of Georgia is asking a lot of their nine and ten year old students. I think the questions on my test and on the state test (very similar to mine) are too difficult for the average 4th grader. There’s too much reading---too much information that confuses students.

Here’s another point to ponder. Many teachers in my state are beginning to voice concerns that the there are noticeable dips in the fourth grade state test scores while more students are passing the third grade and fifth grade tests. The third and fifth grade tests are gateway tests to determine if the student can move on or not. The fourth grade test does not determine pass or fail.

Could it be that over the last three years the cut score on the third and fifth grade tests have been shall we say “adjusted” in order to have higher numbers of students meet the bare minimum to pass, while the fourth grade test has not been “adjusted” and remains at the highest level of expectations possible? Could it be that while I’m am trying to ready my students by exposing them to the benchmark tests that are similar to the state test I am simply following the state’s lead and setting the students up for failure?

Lurkers, it’s time to make yourselves known.

What's a teacher to do?

Could You Pass My Test?

My end of term benchmark test was yesterday for social studies. My system requires a cumulative benchmark test at the end of every nine weeks. Yesterday’s exam contained questions from ancient Indians to Lexington and Concord. Currently it is left to me to write my own benchmark exams. In two or three years, however, Georgia’s new learning standards will be in effect and I feel certain the state department of education will mandate the use of a standard set of exams.

I gather my questions from many different sources including questions the state releases for practice directly from our state test, the Georgia CRCT. I use multiple-choice format for benchmark tests since the state test is multiple-choice as well.

This isn't the only method of assessment I use. I ask students to complete all types of mini-assessments that include graphic organizers, observations, verbal questioning, matching quizzes, short answer, essays, and projects. I stick to multiple-choice tests for my nine weeks exams though.

So here’s a sampling from my exam:

1. The Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippians were among the earliest people to create large, complex villages in North America. When grouped together these civilizations are called the
a. Inca
b. Inuit
c. Kwakiutl
d. Mound Builders

2. The Columbian Exchange affected people all over the world. Which best describes the Columbian Exchange?
a. the movement of Europeans from Europe to the Americas
b. the establishment of settlements in order to search for gold for Spain
c. the decision of European rulers to send their own explorers to the Americas
d. the movement of plants, animals, and people between the Eastern and Western hemispheres

3. King Phillip wanted England to be a Catholic nation and to stop English attacks on his ships. In 1588, the Spanish Armada sailed to England to attack. Which best summarizes why the defeat of the Spanish Armada was important?
a. the defeat meant a new king for Spain
b. the defeat helped the Spanish claim new lands
c. the defeat helped the English become more powerful
d. the defeat allowed other countries to cross the Atlantic Ocean

4. In the 1600s, the success of the French settlements in North America was due to
a. growing tobacco
b. protection of a strong navy
c. trapping of animal skins
d. locating the Northwest Passage

5. In what way was life in the Middle colonies similar to life in the Southern colonies?
a. Most people lived in cities in the Middle colonies and the Southern colonies.
b. Farmers in the Middle colonies and the Southern colonies grew the same crops
c. Children became apprentices in both the Middle and Southern colonies
d. Most people in the Middle and the Southern colonies farmed to earn a living.

6. William Penn believed in religious tolerance. He thought that people of all beliefs should live together in peace. How did religious tolerance in the Middle Colonies affect the colonies’ populations?
a. It brought more conflict to the region
b. It made the population more diverse
c. It made the land more expensive to purchase
d. Many people moved from the Middle colonies

7. Because the British won the French and Indian War in 1763, new land was open to British colonists. This included
a. land in Florida
b. land west of the Mississippi River
c. land west of the Appalachian Mountains
d. land in Canada

8. After several different American Indian attacks King George III issued his Proclamation of 1763. Why did this proclamation anger the colonists?
a. it wouldn’t allow them to elect representatives for Congress
b. it wouldn’t allow them to move west of the Appalachian Mountains
c. it wouldn’t allow them to build forts
d. it resulted in more British soldiers arriving in the colonies

9. Most colonists did not mind paying the tariffs the Sugar and Stamp Act demanded. The problem was
a. the colonists did not feel the tax was high enough
b. the colonists wanted to have representation in Parliament
c. they didn’t like the names of the taxes
d. they felt other products should be taxed

10. The Boston Tea Party made many people in Great Britain angry. As a result, Parliament passed the Coercive or Intolerable Acts. One purpose of these acts was to
a. let the colonists choose whether or not to buy tea
b. force the colonists to purchase tea from Great Britain
c. close the port of Boston as a punishment for its citizens
d. capture ships that brought tea from other countries

As of 3:30 today I am on spring break... finally.

I will spend the next couple of days grading my tests and breaking the data down into AYP sub-groups. Why? Just cause. I like to see how I am doing with one group compared to another. I like to see how 5th period compares 6th and 7th periods and attempt to pinpoint the possible reasons why.

So, how did you do? The answers are d, d, c, c, d, b, c, b, b, and c.

The real test had 30 questions. In case you’re wondering the questions I’ve posted are similar to the Georgia CRCT but are not released questions. I used questions I made up and some from another source.