Today we administered the math portion of the Benchmark Test for our students.
There is one student who is clearly an artist: not the most perceptive of his surroundings and so "in his head" that you don't know what, why or how he ends up wandering the classroom when he
just said he would do his work and his intent is obviously not to defy you.
There were three errors that were in this portion of the standardized test. This 9-year-old kid found a fourth that completely blew my mind, especially since the cooperating teacher and I had combed through the exam to make sure everything else was correct.
About 30 minutes into the test, this 9-year-old kid stops the classroom teacher and tells her that the question he is on is a bad question, because the answer that they want them to answer is not necessarily the correct answer.
(Adapted)
A backpack weighs 15 pounds.
In the backpack are three identical binders.
What is the weight of each binder?
a) 4 pounds
b) 5 pounds
c) 6 pounds
d) 7 pounds
Mrs. B., this question is tricky because there might be something else in the bag that would make it weigh 15 pounds. So technically the binders could weigh 4 or 5 pounds, and probably weigh 4 pounds when you take the added weight into account.Mind.
Blowing.
And
that is why there is such a thing as a gifted program. To challenge children like him to fulfill their potential.
... which reminds me.
There are programs for those who perform above grade-level (AIG: Academically Intelligent & Gifted)
There are programs for those who perform below grade-level.
But there is nothing for Ella* who obviously has attention problems and still manages to perform
at grade-level. She didn't even finish a third of the test today - a test that will play a large role in determining whether or not she graduates to fourth-grade. Glancing at her test scores, most the bubbles were correctly filled in; an indicator that, with sufficient time to complete the test, she would pass the test with flying colors. But students who perform at grade-level do not qualify for IEPs (individualized educational plans) and thus, cannot qualify for extended time.
And that is why it is so important to allow accommodations for all students. If standardized tests are enforced in schools to see where every child is relative to each other, then the least 'they' could do is to give every child an equal chance to show what they are made of.