Tortured by Testing

What a week! ELA (English Language Arts - reading, editing, listening) testing is over. It was torturous. I watched over students who got double test time, which means 90 minutes of sitting there taking a test (90 minute test = a lifetime for a student with ADD or ADHD). Sadly, one of mine was doing Outstanding (I could tell his answers were correct as I circulated the room) on the first 2 passages. (I'll getting to the part of why this is sad.) I was shocked and excited by the work he was doing! A child who usually sits at the lowest score was doing Excellent, using strategies we had taught them, reading, finding answers.

Then it happened. He got tired, distracted, lost his focus, and his desire. The test was too long, too much. He lost it... and I could see him dragging his way through the second half. He didn't do so hot. He barely read the last passage. I could see the miserable feeling in his face... He was trying, but it was just too much. His score won't show how well he was doing at first. If the first section were broken apart... And even better, one section given this week, another next week... These kids get to the point where they just want to be done, and they lose it.

The second day was worse. The kids were horrible, talking during the test, not following directions, throwing things, grabbing each other's testing booklets. There was nothing I could do (which makes me personally feel like a bit of a failure as a teacher). Even with administration, nothing could fix the horrible testing environment. I was told that it was just how the students were, despite the fact that I know they can act at least half-way civilized. More frustrating that I was getting punished, along with the other students, because they didn't want to take the test... I wanted to scream, "I don't want to give it, but I don't have a choice! You don't have to torture me more!"

The good news: we are hopefully done with teaching reading test prep. I know we want to continue to do it every now and then, maybe for homework once a week, so the students keep the strategies we taught them in their minds and in action and will hopefully have it for next year. The bad news: Soon we will be expected to teach nothing BUT math (a subject NOBODY cared about or mentioned until the moment ELA testing was done... now I guess they'll all forget about reading...) The vicious cycle continues...