It's the day after Christmas, when all through my brain,
Nothing but images of testing are swirling about.
The first semester was posted in the grade book with care,
In hopes that the parents would see happiness there;
The students were chilling all comfy in bed,
While vegging to anything that comes into their heads.
And teachers in pajamas, and others in sweats and a cap,
Keep trying to find time for a long winter's nap.
Yeah, so I'm going to just give it up there; you get the idea because you are probably living the same way. Just before Christmas break is slotted for the dreaded fall state practice testing to gauge where the kids are and what needs to be done. This has been the way of things literally my entire 24-year career. So we pour over data, we check test questions twice, we see which SEs have been naughty or nice!
The lists of Master bubble kids. The lists of Meets bubble kids. The lists of Approaches bubble kids. The lists. The lists. The. LISTS. LISTS. LISTS! It's easy to get lost in the numbers, the standards, and all of the mess, but don't!
The second semester is the testing gauntlet, that is true enough, but the kids are still the number one priority. Remember, with the reteaching, tutorials, and second set of practice testing, the kids are and will be more than that final score. The tests don't show us creativity, imagination, character, faith, work ethic, and far too many other things to list.
So as you prepare for the second semester, here are some suggestions to help you and the kids:
1. Ask them what they are still struggling to understand. Use mini-lesson, activities, and peer tutoring to close the gaps.
2. Keep things fun! If you have to reteach elements of persuasion again, do it in a creative way, like dumb Texas laws still on the books.
3. Create incentives to do well on in class practices--make an 85 or higher, exempt them from the next practice and count the grade twice.
4. Use games and manipulative activities to work on low SEs to keep the kids engaged by having fun.
5. Keep tutorials during the school day, focused on one concept, and centered around a small group of eight to ten kids at a time.
6. Keep strategies simple and to the point.
The main thing I'm trying to communicate here is that don't stress the tests. Take care of the kids first, and the tests take care of themselves.
Without Maslowe, kids can't Bloom!
Nothing but images of testing are swirling about.
The first semester was posted in the grade book with care,
In hopes that the parents would see happiness there;
The students were chilling all comfy in bed,
While vegging to anything that comes into their heads.
And teachers in pajamas, and others in sweats and a cap,
Keep trying to find time for a long winter's nap.
Yeah, so I'm going to just give it up there; you get the idea because you are probably living the same way. Just before Christmas break is slotted for the dreaded fall state practice testing to gauge where the kids are and what needs to be done. This has been the way of things literally my entire 24-year career. So we pour over data, we check test questions twice, we see which SEs have been naughty or nice!
The lists of Master bubble kids. The lists of Meets bubble kids. The lists of Approaches bubble kids. The lists. The lists. The. LISTS. LISTS. LISTS! It's easy to get lost in the numbers, the standards, and all of the mess, but don't!
The second semester is the testing gauntlet, that is true enough, but the kids are still the number one priority. Remember, with the reteaching, tutorials, and second set of practice testing, the kids are and will be more than that final score. The tests don't show us creativity, imagination, character, faith, work ethic, and far too many other things to list.
So as you prepare for the second semester, here are some suggestions to help you and the kids:
1. Ask them what they are still struggling to understand. Use mini-lesson, activities, and peer tutoring to close the gaps.
2. Keep things fun! If you have to reteach elements of persuasion again, do it in a creative way, like dumb Texas laws still on the books.
3. Create incentives to do well on in class practices--make an 85 or higher, exempt them from the next practice and count the grade twice.
4. Use games and manipulative activities to work on low SEs to keep the kids engaged by having fun.
5. Keep tutorials during the school day, focused on one concept, and centered around a small group of eight to ten kids at a time.
6. Keep strategies simple and to the point.
The main thing I'm trying to communicate here is that don't stress the tests. Take care of the kids first, and the tests take care of themselves.
Without Maslowe, kids can't Bloom!