The World According to Leslie

I have mixed feelin about the end-of-year testing. Did you know that in middle school, there are 3-4 different types of tests?  There's the EOG (end-of-grade test, for selected middle school subjects), the EOC (end-of-course test, for students in high school classes in certain subjects), the NCFE (North Carolina Final Exam, for most subjects that do not already have an EOC/EOG), and teacher-made exams (for classes that don't have a state test but still require a final exam grade)!!  My daughter gets to take 4 EOGs/NCFEs, 2 EOCs, and 1 teacher-made exam!!  Yes!! That adds up to SEVEN!!!!  SEVEN tests for my ONE child!!!! As a teacher, I can see that it is useful to see where students may have deficits in certain areas. I do not, however, think that the tests should be used at the end all/be all for the students. They should be used to help differentiate learning for the students. Find a way to teach the students what they lack. Find a way to enrich what they do ...

Exams started yesterday at my school.  That means that the kids only have 4 days left.  It means that *I* only have 6 days left.   I’m excited at the prospect of sleeping beyond 3:30am!    I can’t believe that the Princess will be in middle school next year.   I have so much on my mind, but not enough time to write it out right now.  Hopefully I get more writing time this summer to get some of these things out of my head.

At this point in the school year, I’m not doing anything new.  I teach an elective class, so I get the privilege of writing my own exam. I don’t have a state exam.  So, in that case, what do you do with 20 days left in the year?   You give them a 3 page study guide with specific instructions for how you expect it to be completed.  Then you give them time in class for two days to complete it so that they can’t whine as much about the amount of work.   Then you give them the answers to the study guide, assign them a specific part of it, and have them reteach that part of the information to the class.  That is the beginning of the review.   Then we play games (that they come up with and that I already have) for about 2 weeks.    Then it’s time for exams!    20 days of school left….. 15 teaching days/5 exam days!  This is the best part of being a teacher…. reviewing to get to the exam!

Today is the last day I have to teach my kids anything.  On Monday, their exams start.  That means that if they don’t know it today, they had better study it and learn it this weekend.      Because students may not come to school every day next week like they are supposed to, we have a bit of a strange schedule.  Monday thru Thursday, the kids take one exam a day. They get out of school at 1/2 day.  On Friday, we have a full day of school.  If all of our students took their exams, we have literally nothing for them to do.  Some teachers are telling the kids that they will have work for them.  I’m telling my kids that we will have a movie that day.  Seriously…. no need for them to come if they are finished with exams.  (BUT….some of them will!)   So for the past few days (since Tuesday) my kids have been teaching my class.  I gave them the Study Guide over the weekend.  I gave them the answers to it on Mon...