Cold winds have swept across our state, sending shivers down the spines of many a Texan. No, it's not the Arctic blast (which sounds like a Slurpee flavor in my opinion) -- it's testing season!
The first week back at school following the winter break brings discussions of vacations past and tests of the future. Though the pressure has been on since August, things really heat up this time of year when standardized testing rolls around. (Sorry for my mixed meteorological metaphors.)
An assistant principal at one of my schools sent out an e-mail on Tuesday with the testing schedule for the next four months -- and an ominous warning that there were only 38 school days before the writing test and 55 school days before math and reading! (Eeps! Make that 36 and 53!) The tension is palpable. There are eight tests that will be given on this campus (more, if you count all the subject/grade variations).
Everyone knows that high-stakes standardized tests have been the focus at most schools (and most curricula) since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2001. In Texas, we live and die by a) the Texas flag, b) Texas football, and c) the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). TAKS begins in third grade, but the pressure starts in pre-school.
In two days, Saturday tutorials begin, and run through the spring. Children who were somehow deemed "at risk" have had letters sent home informing parents that they need to bring their child to school every Saturday morning. This even includes children in the gifted program.
I've heard horror stories of fourth graders staying up until 9:30 or 10:30 doing homework to prepare them for TAKS.
Another teacher described to me the Stanford, a multiple-choice achievement test that is administered every year starting in kindergarten. That first year, the teacher reads the questions aloud while the students bubble in their answers. My friend told me how the children have been taught how to bubble in answers, and, every year, on a question with a picture of a door, many kids bubble in the doorknob.
What is going on? The early childhood educator in me is curled up in the corner, rocking back and forth, and crying.
On a somewhat similar note, I'm pleased to say that Garrett has made it through day one of the written portion of his qualifying exam. One-third of the way there!
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