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A dedicated Long Island teacher is frustrated with this week's ELA state testing. Here are her observations and thoughts...
Here are the problems I’ve encountered with the ELA State Exams for my fourth grade class.
Day 1 – consisting of reading texts and multiple choice answers – Every single one of my students taking it in the classroom didn’t finish the test on time. With just a minute or two left, they all had at least 7 to 14 questions left. All year I’ve instilled the common core philosophy of “less is more” of focusing less on plowing through texts, and spending more time digging deeply into texts (analyzing, rereading, evaluating, making marginal notes, taking the text apart, etc). When my children applied this strategy during the testing situation, in turn, they didn’t have enough time to focus deeply on the texts and finish it within the ridiculous time constraints given to them.
Day 2 – consisted of reading passages, multiple choice, paragraph responses, and an extended essay. Most of my students didn’t even get up to the final extended essay (and the one most heavily scored and weighted), with only 5 minutes left. Many of them had to skip paragraph questions, leaving them blank, and rush to start the essay. Others didn’t even get to start the essay. Again, we ran into the same problem. My kids spent an appropriate amount of time trying to deeply comprehend the passage. Then, when they approached the paragraph responses, they wrote beautifully. They provided details, supported their claims with inferences, quotes from the passages, and then backed up their quotes with explaining why they used the quotes. Because they were writing at a much higher level, they again were not allotted appropriate time to be able to carry through and write this well throughout the entire test, and were left short of time.
As a teacher, I am so frustrated, not because of my evaluation, but because of the defeat they felt. Up until this point, my children felt confident, proud, and have seen how much they’ve grown throughout the year. This test, stripped them of their confidence, made them feel like failures, and left many of my kids in tears.
I would love an opportunity, to voice my concern, or to be able to speak to a panel of anyone who supports this crazy notion.
Below, I wrote this response of my frustration during my lunch period after the tests were over. I wish there were a way to throw this down on the desks of these policy makers:
For all teachers, but more so for parents and the general public who do not get to see what these tests truly are for our children sitting in the classrooms. Day 1 and Day 2 of common core testing is complete. The state and common core has asked our children to think more critically, to evaluate texts, using marginal notes, take a text apart, and read while thinking deeply and evaluating the words on a page. So why then, in your ridiculous testing, do you then absolutely BOMBARD our kids with extensive passage after passage after passage? And only give them 70 minutes, for something that would take double that time, to do well, and to do to your standards. You’ve told us, as teachers, less is more. Don’t fly through texts, spend quality time, read it and then reread it, take the text apart. Our children didn’t even have the chance to finish these tests if they did what you asked of them, and what you’ve asked of us as teachers to instill in them. I did my job as an educator, and because of that, I am now at risk of “failing” your laughable system. Because my children thought abstractly, deeply, and made reading a meaningful and thoughtful process, you threw these poor children a curve ball, and gave them no other option, besides defeat. Nevermind the fact that the readability level, for each grades tests, are far beyond the appropriate reading levels, your questions are vague, wordy, designed for trickery and not accurately measuring if children understand the texts they are reading. Instead, you are testing to see if children can understand questions and how to decipher what a ridiculously redundant question is even trying to get at. As an adult, I myself, in order to plow through your 4th grade test, would have to speed read, not think deeply about the text at all, fly through the questions in order to finish on time.
Those in favor of teacher evaluations, those who agree with all of this, need to realize: the good teachers out there, want to be evaluated also. We are not afraid of being evaluated, because we are proud of the work that we do. We are not afraid that we are not doing our jobs to the fullest. However, THESE tests, these assessments, and these evaluations, are nothing short of ABSURD! It is in no way, shape or form, accurate in measuring us at teachers, or the abilities of our students. Fail me this year, I could care less, I’ve done my job, and for the HALF of the test that my kids were ACTUALLY able to complete, they did what you asked of them.]. And as I called time, and saw tears in many of their eyes because you didn’t give them enough time to do what they’ve learned and to do it well. I’m not upset for myself. I am upset for them, as I have to talk to them, tell them that they aren’t failures, and that in fact, they aced this thought process of thinking deeply. For all of you naïve people out there with your ridiculous posts and comments saying “teachers need to be held accountable,” educate yourselves on what these tests actually are, what they are actually doing, and how inaccurate they really are. It is like asking an electrician to prove they’re good at their job, and wire a whole house in less than an hour, and if they can’t….they fail and must be fired. Yet, what they did wire, even if it was perfect….too bad, you didn’t finish half of the house.
I haven’t been this disgusted in my 14 years of teacher ever. I am disheartened, and at a total loss of what it is you expect me to do.To be a good teacher now, means I have to be a bad one…in order to pass your tests, and pass in your eyes and the public’s eyes. You want us to go back to test prep? Plow through the text kids, don’t think…just go. Figure out whether A, B, C or D is trying to trick you. Look for clue words. This is what you want? Is that what the real world is? Good job Common Core, APPR, and the policy makers who’ve never spent a day in the classroom in their lives. Thank you for producing children who believe they are failures now, have anxiety, and now do not believe in themselves.
Let’s evaluate teachers, yes. But, let’s understand what that means. Let’s understand the politics behind this all. Too many people form an opinion before becoming an expert. If you are to have an opinion on the matter, that means you understand everything it entails. Unless you are seeing what these tests actually look like, how nonsensical they are, then how dare you point your finger and say… this teacher has failed. The only ones we are failing, are our students. What a shame.
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