A month ago the language arts teachers in my building presented TOXIC as a way for students to prepare for the written (constructed response) part of the MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Exam... NCLB). We used a Power Point complete with Britney Spears' song Toxic to present the concept. As I presented it to my class, I asked "Why do we take the MCA?" The students' response shocked me. When one student said it was to grade the teachers and schools, I took it as a smart ass comment. When most students in the honors class had the same response, I was ill. At a language arts steering committee meeting that evening, I shared this information.
In class the next day, after I had calmed down, I discussed the importance of the test to the individual student. After all it really should be a test to see what the students know. In reality it is a test that judges schools and therefore teachers, but without student "buy in" the test is pointless and harmful. The conversation went well. Today was a chance to see this "in action." All of my students did a practice exercise concentrating on TOXIC and the constructed response. Although I'm not sure how they did (I'll correct them over break.), they (majority- 95%) took it seriously. This is all I can ask.
In class the next day, after I had calmed down, I discussed the importance of the test to the individual student. After all it really should be a test to see what the students know. In reality it is a test that judges schools and therefore teachers, but without student "buy in" the test is pointless and harmful. The conversation went well. Today was a chance to see this "in action." All of my students did a practice exercise concentrating on TOXIC and the constructed response. Although I'm not sure how they did (I'll correct them over break.), they (majority- 95%) took it seriously. This is all I can ask.
Comments