Testing Our (PARCC) Anxiety

 

 

It is 4:05pm on Thursday and I am sitting in my classroom looking at the empty desks in my room. Just moments ago my room was full of life; my students were packing up, chatting with each other, laughing over funny things that happened during the day, a few students were having a disagreement, some were sitting quietly at their desks reading their books, and others were anxiously helping me with different jobs around the classroom. These moments are the most hectic and the most chaotic; my students have contained themselves all day long for learning, for work, for cooperation, for rule following, for thinking, for creating, for problem solving, for dealing with whatever I decide to put in front of them. They deserve this small amount of time for themselves, and it gives me a chance to observe how they interact with each other without the structure. I listen to their conversations even though they don't realize I am listening, I watch how they treat each other when they think it doesn't count anymore, and learn about the things that interest them and excite them. When they all finally leave and the last bus is called it is like a whirlwind; suddenly the class is silent, the desks are still, and their little smiles, laughs, and quirks are just a memory left in my heart and on my mind.

 

When I am left with that silence it feels like relief followed by immediately missing them. But the quiet gives me moments to reflect and to think about the conversations we had during the day. I think about all the things that went well and the things that did not go so well (and how I can make them better). I have to pause and think about each student and something new that I learned about them. They are each their own individuals with their very own ways of being.  

As I reflect on them as individuals and think about how each of them has grown so much in the year I smile knowing that they have grown, they have stretched themselves. These thoughts, however, are quickly followed by how it will all matter in the end when these same students sit down to take the PARCC assessment in March.

Recent articles posted on nj.com tout how this test, unlike the NJASK will be able to quantify just how far ahead or behind little Johnny is and what skills he needs to work on. Or how little Sally's scores compare to the district or the state average. These quantifiable items reported in color direct to parents is supposedly an improvement from previous data. Now even teachers will be able to see exactly what needs to be taught. 

I don't think of my students as a number or a piece of data. I look at little Johnny and see a very smart boy who at an early age is analyzing all of his thoughts for logic and I can see where that slows him down in writing. Or bright Sally who uses the formula to write because she wants to do a perfect job and if I can encourage her to loosen up her creativity will flow, hopefully. Or Lee who is smart but struggles with confidence and gives up too soon so I help to build up his self esteem. These are the children I work with each day, so eager to learn and to work hard. How will they feel when all of their work turns into a scorecard from a computerized test? 

I understand the need for more accountability, I guess I just want that accountability to go back to focusing on the students... as creative individuals rather than computerized test takers.

For the article about the Parcc Assessment:

What the parcc results look like...