State testing season is upon us. I don't know of many other things that produce more stress, anxiety, excitement, and uncertainty in the life of a school. End-of-year testing is the main event, the championship game, the finale. State test scores show us what students have learned, the effectiveness of instruction, and overall strengths and weaknesses for each content area. They help teachers determine growth over time, adjust instruction for the next school year, and select strategies to target a focus area. And YET...
While scores from end-of-year tests provide teachers with valuable information that can be used to improve our practice, they are not the gospel. Regardless of pressure that we feel from the state, from district personnel, or even from our own drive towards self-improvement, we need to understand that one score from one day cannot fully define a student or a teacher. The characteristics listed in the graphic above are measured in a variety of ways, and often outside the walls of a classroom.
As you reflect on your school year in preparation for testing, ask yourself these questions:
1) Did you show students that you cared about them?
2) Did you build relationships with students?
3) Did you teach students something new this year?
4) Did students make growth since the beginning of the year?
5) Was your classroom a community based on trust and belonging?
6) Are students confident about testing because they know you believe in them?
When it comes down to it, developing students that are confident, enthusiastic, and motivated is the most important work that we can do as teachers. Am I saying that test scores don't matter? Definitely not. Am I suggesting that you abandon review of your standards? Not remotely. However, if you are in panic mode and your stress level is through the roof, I want to encourage you to focus on your successes with students this year. Rest in the fact that you have taught to the best of your ability and focused on putting students first.
Adjusting your mindset may not change the outcome of the test scores, but it can certainly lower your stress level and help you stay positive. A test score is neither the beginning nor the end; it is all a part of the journey of being a learner. This quote by Winston Churchill sums up that mindset, and I hope it encourages you to approach testing with your head held high:
As you reflect on your school year in preparation for testing, ask yourself these questions:
1) Did you show students that you cared about them?
2) Did you build relationships with students?
3) Did you teach students something new this year?
4) Did students make growth since the beginning of the year?
5) Was your classroom a community based on trust and belonging?
6) Are students confident about testing because they know you believe in them?
When it comes down to it, developing students that are confident, enthusiastic, and motivated is the most important work that we can do as teachers. Am I saying that test scores don't matter? Definitely not. Am I suggesting that you abandon review of your standards? Not remotely. However, if you are in panic mode and your stress level is through the roof, I want to encourage you to focus on your successes with students this year. Rest in the fact that you have taught to the best of your ability and focused on putting students first.
Adjusting your mindset may not change the outcome of the test scores, but it can certainly lower your stress level and help you stay positive. A test score is neither the beginning nor the end; it is all a part of the journey of being a learner. This quote by Winston Churchill sums up that mindset, and I hope it encourages you to approach testing with your head held high:
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts."
Comments
Post a Comment