STAAR season has hit DISD and they've moved me again. Today isn't as bad as last time, but I do have quite a bit of time to think about what the students i'm missing are doing.
High stakes testing doesn't make anyone comfortable. The teachers are stressed becauset they will be evaluated by circumstances largely out of their control. Sure, teaching is part of the equation, but we all know that if kids don't work or pay attention, their grades will suffer. If kids don't study, they won't perform well. If they are hungry or tired their scores will drop. Much of that is out of control of the teachers and part of the reason so many teachers are against being evaluated using the tests themselves.
The students are stressed out because these STAAR tests are what their graduation hinges upon. There are seniors running around who are still trying to pass their freshman tests so they can graduate, having failed 3 years in a row. Is that right? Is that fair? No, but to who? Classes that aren't STAAR tested get a fraction of the attention and resources from both the school and the students, much to the frustration of DISD teachers not in STAAR tested subjects.
What makes it worse? There is now a loophole that allows you to sidesteop the whole process. So what's the point? We put all this pressure on our kids and for what? if we're just going around the tests, then why have them in the first place? this is all about sending the right signals to DISD students. If we don't, it risks everything.
High stakes testing doesn't make anyone comfortable. The teachers are stressed becauset they will be evaluated by circumstances largely out of their control. Sure, teaching is part of the equation, but we all know that if kids don't work or pay attention, their grades will suffer. If kids don't study, they won't perform well. If they are hungry or tired their scores will drop. Much of that is out of control of the teachers and part of the reason so many teachers are against being evaluated using the tests themselves.
The students are stressed out because these STAAR tests are what their graduation hinges upon. There are seniors running around who are still trying to pass their freshman tests so they can graduate, having failed 3 years in a row. Is that right? Is that fair? No, but to who? Classes that aren't STAAR tested get a fraction of the attention and resources from both the school and the students, much to the frustration of DISD teachers not in STAAR tested subjects.
What makes it worse? There is now a loophole that allows you to sidesteop the whole process. So what's the point? We put all this pressure on our kids and for what? if we're just going around the tests, then why have them in the first place? this is all about sending the right signals to DISD students. If we don't, it risks everything.
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