Fingers Crossed!

It is official.  I have absolutely zero minutes left with my kiddos before they take their state reading test tomorrow. 

I wish I could say that I felt confident about how they will all perform, but I can't.  I'm actually kind of petrified, for several reasons.

1. I'm a first year teacher in a tested subject.  Although it may not be true, I have this thought in the back of my head that if they don't test well, my employers won't be happy with me.

2. The way that test questions are worded very easily trip them up.  My kids know how to find the main idea, but will they understand "To which paragraph does this subheading belong?" Thou art confusing, question!

3. The reading test requires them to GO BACK TO THE TEXT to find the answers...and some of mine are barely motivated to read it once...let alone twice. 

4. It is 50 questions long.  If you have the attention span of a gnat, 50 questions is daunting.  Squirrel.

5. It's on MONDAY MORNING!  I can't even form complete sentences until Tuesday afternoon.

6. The kids are stressed..and it's our fault. The pressure that the state puts on school districts is filtered down to the kids. They know very well that they HAVE to pass or people will be unhappy.  

 7. Not every kid thinks in multiple choice.  I recently had a girl answer a poetry interpretation question by drawing a diagram of how the metaphor compared the sea to a dog. By test score reports, she is very low....but I saw something completely different.  Not only did she understand it, but she could portray it through art. She won't have that chance tomorrow.

I could go on and on.  Basically, I know that tests are "necessary," but I'm not a fan. I can't wait until they are over so that I can go back to teaching. I'm tired of practice tests. 

-Mrs. Combs