testing
So. In January of 2002, George W. Bush signed an act known as No Child Left Behind.
A gigantic part of NCLB is school accountability for students' performance. This performance is measured by standardized testing once a year. Now, my state of residence and the NCLB act both emphasize regular assessment of students as well as making the school's performance public. HOWEVER. My school system emphasizes improvement, while the federal system just focuses on whether or not a specified percentage of students have attained proficiency in math and English in a given year. If that percentage isn't reached, the schools are dinged. Mind you, all students in my state take the SAME test, regardless of their first language or socioeconomic status. Since my school is considered a Title I school, we're subject to being taken over by the state if we don't make Adequate Yearly Progress. Right, Geroge? Isn't that true?
ALL THAT BULLSHIT ASIDE, what I would really, really like are good thoughts, good wishes, good prayers sent in our direction next week. :-s Please hope that my students show that yes, I did teach them the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Yes, I did teach them the commutative and associative properties of addition and how to read a bar graph. Yes, President Bush, I swear to your Christian God that I taught them where punctuation marks should go and how to read fractions. Believe it or not, I did all of that even though they share one room in an apartment with their family. Even though they're all considered to be migrant families, poor families, substandard-living families. Right, George?
I TAUGHT THEM HOW TO FIND THE SUBJECT AND PREDICATE IN A SENTENCE AND TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT, RIGHT, GEORGE?
:-<
And oh yeah, to "kick off" testing week, my principal asked me if I would let any student who achieved a score of Advanced on last year's test to put a whipped cream pie in my face during tomorrow's assembly.
Sure, I said. No problem. This is what I get paid for.
Right, George?
A gigantic part of NCLB is school accountability for students' performance. This performance is measured by standardized testing once a year. Now, my state of residence and the NCLB act both emphasize regular assessment of students as well as making the school's performance public. HOWEVER. My school system emphasizes improvement, while the federal system just focuses on whether or not a specified percentage of students have attained proficiency in math and English in a given year. If that percentage isn't reached, the schools are dinged. Mind you, all students in my state take the SAME test, regardless of their first language or socioeconomic status. Since my school is considered a Title I school, we're subject to being taken over by the state if we don't make Adequate Yearly Progress. Right, Geroge? Isn't that true?
ALL THAT BULLSHIT ASIDE, what I would really, really like are good thoughts, good wishes, good prayers sent in our direction next week. :-s Please hope that my students show that yes, I did teach them the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Yes, I did teach them the commutative and associative properties of addition and how to read a bar graph. Yes, President Bush, I swear to your Christian God that I taught them where punctuation marks should go and how to read fractions. Believe it or not, I did all of that even though they share one room in an apartment with their family. Even though they're all considered to be migrant families, poor families, substandard-living families. Right, George?
I TAUGHT THEM HOW TO FIND THE SUBJECT AND PREDICATE IN A SENTENCE AND TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT, RIGHT, GEORGE?
:-<
And oh yeah, to "kick off" testing week, my principal asked me if I would let any student who achieved a score of Advanced on last year's test to put a whipped cream pie in my face during tomorrow's assembly.
Sure, I said. No problem. This is what I get paid for.
Right, George?