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NewslettersStatewide exams begin Tuesday
Tue, 2008-05-13 08:25 — Anonymous
About 10,000 Beaufort County public school students will sit down today for the first of five days of annual, state-standardized testing known as the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test. Read the story here.
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Well, my thirteen-year-old is, once again, freaking out over PACT. When I dropped her off at school this morning, she was feeling pretty comfortable with today's test, because it's the writing portion of the ELA test, which she usually performs very well on. But, she was already worrying over Social Studies, which she has scored lower on in the past. And now, she has even more pressure due to the 20 extra days of school. She gets scared, and does not test well when she is under pressure. I keep trying to tell her that it'll be okay, no matter what happens, and that I have faith in her, but she is still very stressed out. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can help her to relax? I'm worried that the additional stress alone will bring her scores down.
I would tell her that the test is nothing more than a guide for educators to determine how successful they are being. Her test scores indicate not only how she is doing but also how well her teachers are doing. Tell her that you know that she is doing well and that you know she is working hard. As long as she does the very best that she can do, the score is secondary. Tell her you love her and that her best effort is all you care about.
But I already tell her all those things, and it doesn't seem to help. Not only that, but the test is NOT "nothing more than a guide for educators to determine how successful" they are. Not true by a long shot. When the child's score on the tests directly impact their schooling in the aspect of the extra 20 days of school (which for my children means less time spent with their father for visitation) and the academic plans that are necessary following a child's below basic score, what else is the child supposed to think? I had not planned on telling my daughter about the extra 20 days of school until after the PACT, knowing that she would feel pressured, but apparently someone decided that this was a good thing for the kids to find out. I could really care less if she scores below basic on anything, since I sincerely believe that the one-day snapshot of a child's progress that is provided by PACT can be seriously skewed by a variety of factors. That said, she is the one who pressures herself, and feels that she must score well or else she must be "stupid". I have attempted everything I can think of to point out to her that she is far from stupid, with not much success. I really hate the PACT. Strong words, but that's how I feel.
I think you'd find that many educators feel exactly as you do about "snapshots" and PACT...how many of our great thinkers and contributors to our culture and society were not the sharpest tools in the shed during their school years?......I'm still waiting to hit my intellectual peak and I've been out of school for almost 40 years :)
I am aware that many of our educators do not like the PACT. I had a rather candid conversation with the principal of my son's elementary school a couple of weeks ago about it. She stated that, in her opinion, the tests are not only unfair to students, but also to staff, and ultimately the school. I do not understand how anyone could think that special needs students should be scored along the same guidelines as all the other students, whether they are capable of performing at that level or not. It does not affect me, but it does make me wonder who the brilliant people are who make these decisions.
I'd also like to know how it is possible for a student to perform above average consistently in the classroom, but then to score at or below basic on PACT. And, if the state legislation that is currently stalled out actually does get passed, all that will happen is that they will have a new test with a new name. It will still be a snapshot test, conducted at the end of the year (rather than the beginning when teachers can actually use it to set goals), and the guidelines will still be the same. It cannot be changed within the state legislature because all of this was spawned by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and until that law is changed, the states have no choice but to go along with it.
Shouldn't educators be making decisions regarding what is best for our students, as opposed to legislators? And why should the federal government have ANY part in each state's educational system? I know, I know, if the states want the federal grants, they have to cooperate. And it's all at the expense of our children's education. The NCLB holds some students back while forcing others to perform poorly at levels they are unable to attain. Does anyone know of a way to get involved in an attempt to change this law? Websites, etc., with info??
Can someone tell me why testing students on the subjects they're being taught is unfair? I grant that it may not be 100 percent accurate, but those are the exeptions and not the rule. How else are we going to find out if the students are learning or if the schools are doing their job?
If your child is worried, and he is a good student, just tell him that they are an evaluation on the school's job and not necesarily an test on how much the student knows, and once he's in there he'll get comfortable because he'll know the answers.
Perhaps your child is worried and it is because he has goofed off all year in school and not done his work and he's not going to do well, in which case, it is a reflection on him and his parents for not holding him accountable.
I knew I better do well in school or else, and my children know it too. I expect them to do well, and now they expect to do well and I never have to complain about their grades because they bust their little tails and are proud of their grades. I teach them that if something is hard for them, they need to try harder, and next thing you know, they're excelling at it. I don't make excuses for them and teach them that life is not fair and instead of wasting energy complaining they should work harder.
It seems to work. Life itself is a test. Every day is a test, and it's not always fair, but if we try our best, we'll make it.
...So true...So true. true! true! true!
"I teach them that if something is hard for them, they need to try harder, and next thing you know, they're excelling at it. I don't make excuses for them and teach them that life is not fair and instead of wasting energy complaining they should work harder".
The answer is ...we need more people like you!
Maybe you didn't catch the part where I said my daughter makes above average grades all year long. She does not goof off in school, and is an excellent student. But last year, she had an orthodontist appointment scheduled right before she took the reading portion of her ELA test, and the pain that she was in caused her to be unable to concentrate, the result being that she scored below basic. Her Lexile score was ridiculously low. Anyone who knows her knows that she is a good reader, and reads on her grade level, but to believe the Lexile score, she was reading about five grades below her level. She was required to be on an academic plan all year because of the PACT score last year.
I will say it again, it is impossible to convince a child that the test is a measure of how well the SCHOOL is doing, when the child themselves are the ones being "punished" for the low score.
Maybe you should re-read my posts before you preach at me from your soapbox. I do hold my children accountable, maybe too much so at times. My concern is that my daughter's worry about the test will cause her to get a lower score. Not everyone is blessed with the ability to excel under pressure.
but it's not about individual students anymore it's about overall student achievement...that's what happens when you let the feds in (ref: NCLB). I agree with the snapshot theory - teachers who work with the kids everyday need to input on individual kids, keep the legislature and the upper level admins out of the classroom. Their jobs should be to ask the teachers what they need to do their jobs, give it to them then GTHOTW.
Overall student achievement....NCLB....I understand the wishful thinking on the part of the legislators, but you cannot lump every child into the same mold, and attempting to do so will only serve to hurt all of them. Some are being held back, while others are being pushed beyond their capabilities.
Again, does anyone have any idea how a person could get involved in fighting against laws like the NCLB act?
Maybe you didn't read my post, because I said early in it that there are exceptions. To expand on that, I think illnesses or children with special needs or just unforeseen circumstances affects the test, but those are the exceptions.
I never accused you or your child of not being responsible or you of not holding your child accountble. I merely stated that there are those cases where it is not the test but the student and/or the parents.
I was on a soap box,heck...I live on one, but aren't we all on a soapbox somehow?
Your post just gave me an opportunity to point out that some people, not necessarily you, neet to exercise more personal responsibility. Sometimes it's not the test, or the government, or the boss, or upbringging, or external factors keeping the individual down. Quite often it is the choices that individual makes keeping him down.
P.S. Give your daughter credit. She'll be fine. Children are smarter and more resilient than we give them credit for.
You're right. Sorry I overreacted. I guess I was on my own soapbox cause I feel like the system has been unfair to my daughter, and I cannot do anything about it. Even the teacher who helped us work out the academic plan said she believes there was something wrong the day my daughter took the test, but it was out of her hands, and we had to implement the academic plan anyway.
I still do not agree with the standardized end-of-year testing. I believe testing similar to the MAP would be a much better indicator of a child's progress and ability to retain the knowledge long-term. I know a lot of teachers that feel the same way.
Children should enjoy taking tests in school. If they begin in first grade thinking that a test is like a game they want to win they will not get this scared, uptight feeling that seems so commonplace now. All of the kids in my classroom schooldays enjoyed taking quizzes and tests - especially we girls were always trying to beat the boys with our grades, especially when we got to sixth grade and up. I don't know how our teachers got us thinking along these ways, but they did. I have no recollection of ever discussing with my family an upcoming test, it was just a part of the schoolday.
Children need to understand that going to school is their JOB. My father worked, and did his job satisfactorily to bring home the bacon, my mother did her job to keep the house clean and running, we kids had school as our main job, and we were expected to do it as well as we could.
And then we entered the twentieth century! These kids live in the 21st. The work ethic sadly has changed Elida.
Regular tests and quizzes in classrooms are one thing, but this is an end-of-the-year test that covers everything the child has learned over the past year. It makes sense for kids to feel a little nervous, especially since there is added pressure, knowing that if they don't score well, they will lose 4 weeks of their "vacation". When I was in school, which was, I'm sure, many years after you, elida, we were not required to undergo standardized testing until we were in high school. Yes, we had mid-terms and final exams that covered most of what we had learned, but those tests were not built up to be the most all-important thing in the world. Most schools now devote a large amount of time to extra studying leading up to PACT. It is spoken of by the teachers, staff, and parents as if it were the most important thing in the children's education. How can that NOT make a child nervous?