State Testing Week!

Today is day one of the California Standardized Test for our middle school. I am so happy it is finally here. This year I tried so hard to not over saturate my students with testing information or statistics or anything of the sort. We are asked to talk about testing strategies, to review and hand out practice tests, to go over old test released questions, to motivate the kids about how they are going to do great on the test, and we are to remind them of academic testing vocabulary. This is a lot to do for all the kids and most feel overwhelmed about the test as it is, that doing all the " test prep" only gives more anxiety.

Last year I had a student tell me that she was feeling so anxious about the test because the school, teachers and students discuss it so much. She was not feeling confident in her ability because in her mind if we talk about the test so much it must be a really difficult test; hence she will do very poorly on it. This was a gifted student! Can you imagine how much inadequate most of the kids in the school would feel about it?

So this year I changed my strategy a little bit. I did go over test prep and review but I never mentioned that it was for the CST or for any test. I made all my warm-ups and most homework assignments in a CST fashion. I practiced testing strategies in all quizzes and test that my students had to take in class. I reminded them of how smart they are on a regular basis to boost their self-esteem so that when this test came, they knew it was just a test...not a definition of who they are.

My students this year are ESL students. There is so much more riding on this test for them. In order to exit ESL classes, not only do they need a C or better in their ESL class, but they need to score a proficient on the CST. This can be difficult because in order to pass a standardized test they must understand the language very well and comprehend vocabulary that they may not be familiar with.

I remember when i came to this country and I had to take the state test (back then called the CTBS test). I had to take it even if I was in this country for a short time. The results were that in Math I was in the equivalent of a 6th grader in 5th grade (pretty good..numbers are numbers in any language) BUT in English my results were "those of a second grader". I was so mad at this and I wanted to cry because if that test would have been in Spanish I would have done so much better. This was in 5th grade and I was determined to prove that I was not dumb. The next year I took the CTBS test again and I did GREAT!! I also had the example and support of my mom and my sisters. We were always doing homework together and we always had the example of our mom going to school and doing homework, even if she did not understand it.

Most of my students don't have that luck with their families or with their home environment. So many of my students have parents that have to work so much that they are not at home as much as they would like. this gives the kids a disadvantage that I did not have. I know that each of my students has so much potential and many express it on a daily basis, but there are also those that don't express it because it has been put down or it has been told it has no place in the classroom.

While my students are testing, I am to proctor and make sure they are on the right number and that they are on task. With only 10 minutes left on the test, I wonder how many of them actually did their best effort and how many of them just bubbled in anything? I want them to be successful and I know that most care but most don't see the big picture about their life. After all, they are in 6th grade. Most people don't see the big picture when they are 12.....Did you?