I posted yesterday that I had a meeting today about testing with the principal of the school that my girls attend, the director of assessment, and the deputy chief of schools. I was so worried about this meeting...I took the approach of discussing the test and standardized tests in general and how they were in many cases a measure of test taking ability along with an infusion of SES linked questions. Children from white upper middle class families often score well on these tests, and even though my girls fall into this demographic I still do not feel that the tests are a form of authentic assessment. I spoke of how we ended up at our small school of just over 300 students in a district with over 20,000 students. I shared how I came to my perspectives during the course of my own professional development as well. I let them know that I also practice what I preach. I explained how I looked for more authentic measures of assessment to use with my own college students and how I feel this really aids students in retention of information. I described the struggles that we have had within this school district as well as the victories. I provided precise examples to illustrate the points that I wanted to make. My girls will be excluded from the testing and there will be no consequences because of this. My 4th grader will be excluded from the MAP test and the WKCE (Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam) or the Smarter Balanced test. My 2nd grader will be excluded from the MAP test, and during the periods that her class is being tested she will be helping one of the first grade classes which is something that she truly enjoys. My 4th grader will not be leveled using the Fountas and Pinnell system and she will be allowed to bring her own interesting and appropriate books to read during independent reading time. My 4th grader will be able to use the computer for classroom activities, but will not be forced to do activities on the computer if she doesnt want to. My meeting today went amazingly well. I felt that my perspective was appreciated and respected. I think my girls are in the right school for them and that their needs will be met. There was no push to have them tested and they will be excluded from the MAP and WKCE with no consequences. Ameena is not going to be labelled using the Fountas and Pinnell system. She will continue to bring her own books for read to self time. She will be allowed to use the computer for classroom activities, but she will not be pushed to use it if she does not want to. Overall I see new lines of communication being opened and I feel hopeful that the rocky start to this school year is over. I know I was more than a bit worried when I was asked to meet with the principal of the school, the director of assessment, and the deputy chief of schools. perspective was appreciated and respected. I think my girls are in the right school for them and that their needs will be met. There was no push to have them tested and they will be excluded from the MAP and WKCE with no consequences. Ameena is not going to be labelled using the Fountas and Pinnell system. She will continue to bring her own books for read to self time. She will be allowed to use the computer for classroom activities, but she will not be pushed to use it if she does not want to. Overall I see new lines of communication being opened and I feel hopeful that the rocky start to this school year is over. I know I was more than a bit worried when I was asked to meet with the principal of the school, the director of assessment, and the deputy chief of schools. The director of assessment told me to call or email her directly if I had any further questions or concerns that I would like to discuss. The deputy director of schools said that I brought up some important points that needed to be discussed further at the district level. I went in fearful that I would need to possibly homeschool my girls and I left feeling that my girls are really in an excellent educational situation for them. They are in a school that has small class sizes and wonderful teachers and I feel that they will be supported and that the school district is really working to reduce the emphasis on the standardized tests.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:02:03 +0000
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