Yep!  It is that week again.  Boring!  This is my least favorite week of the year.  I don't really get to teach, I get to monitor.  I am going to have my students write their books this week and illustrate them.  Then I will publish them.  I brought my scanner to school so I could scan their art and they can type their parts.

We are modeling The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown.  It is fantastic.  The kids go wild about it.  One year, they each did their own book totally.  Some years, we combine everyone's pages into one book and print a copy for each student.  I don't believe in doing things the same.  I believe in doing what is best with these kids.

Back to testing...I have to keep my room locked when I am not present.  I have to check out and count the books and answer documents every single day.  I have to check them back in every single night.  I understand the security.  I remember when one school district had a few teachers who "corrected" their classes tests.  Most of them erased the wrong answers and told them to do them over.  One actually changed the answers herself.  I don't hold with dishonesty.  I want to know what the kids really have learned.  However, in reality, these tests don't do anything for us.  By the time we get the scores, they are already in the next grade.  I have had students who stressed so much they looked like idiots whereas they were really gifted and stressed.

These tests don't check on what students know.  They check on how well students take tests.  They check on whether the teacher has taught test taking skills.  They really don't give us viable data.  It would be a different thing if Arizona all used one text book company and one curriculum map.  Then, the test could be changed to check on knowledge obtained and thinking skills achieved.  However, we don't and so the test has to be general.  It sure does make a good case for standaridized curriculum in this country.

Now this year, 4th grade has to take the Science  test.  No one else has to take it as far as I know.  I teach Science everyday.  But we didn't get our science books until the middle of 2nd quarter.  I hope I taught what is on the test.  Oh, well, too late now to worry about it.