Next week is the reading MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment). I spent some time helping the kids prepare before break, and we're continuing this week. This week everyone has been working diligently with the practices, but I still feel tense. Although my classroom has been fairly quiet with students working on their practices and listening to my explanations, I feel stressed. A colleague stopped by after school. We're both going to a conference on Friday and will be out of the building, and we feel elated. Both of us are having the same feelings, so it was nice to talk to someone who understands the pressure.
It's more than the pressure of high stakes testing. It's the realization that many of our students will do their best, and it won't be good enough. They've prepared and done everything we've asked while we've done our best to prepare them, but they won't pass. I believe they will improve their scores. I believe they will try and take it seriously. I believe they will once again be told by some testing company that they aren't smart enough. I believe they will be told that we have "left them behind." Shouldn't someone get credit for improving? Where's the E for effort? What happened to you will succeed if you do your best and work hard? Credit should be given for improvement. Maybe they're not "proficient," but they're "giving it all they have."
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