Tag: High Stakes

May 20

Testing is Over

State testing is over! My 6th graders took a Math and Language Arts test and my 8th graders took a Math, Language Arts, and Science test. The Science test, the subject that I teach, has questions on Earth, Physical and Life Science. Our curriculum, for better or for worse, includes Physical and Environmental Science in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/05/20/testing-is-over/

Nov 18

Alternative to Testing

I’ve read and heard how schools need to be held accountable. The politicians want some kind of proof that schools and teachers are educating children. Politicians try to convince the public that schools need to be held accountable to show that kids are achieving high standards of education. My goodness look at what newspapers publish! …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/11/18/alternative-to-testing/

May 22

My Own Children

I blog and share posts about my dislike of standardized tests. I especially hate when these tests are made high stakes to determine what kids know and how well teachers are teaching. And yet both my kids take them. Why don’t I opt them out? My son is 15 years old, a freshman in high …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/22/my-own-children/

Apr 29

Time Spent on Test Prep

Online testing can look like this.

Last year our middle school standardized tests went online. The test changed from being called the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) to the MSP (Measure of Student Progress). A huge change from the WASL to the MSP was cutting out the four point extended response questions. They were actually pretty good questions asking our …

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Apr 16

Two Sides to Testing

It’s testing time. That one time each year that should not be a big deal. I mean, really, it’s just a test. Well, that’s the way it should be. It should just be a test. One more, little bit of data added to the data we collect all year to determine how our students are …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/16/two-sides-to-testing/

Apr 02

A Plea for Education

As the Washington State Legislature continues to meet to decide the fate of our state many educators are writing emails and making phone calls urging legislators to make the best decisions for our kids. Maren Johnson, a high school Science teacher in my district, has been taking the lead in communicating with our legislature to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/02/plea-for-education/

May 12

Our Race to Somewhere

Tuesday night at 6pm Chimacum Middle School hosted a screening of the movie Race to Nowhere. We had 92 people from our community, our schools, Sequim, and Port Townsend attend the screening and afterward many stayed behind to discuss the movie’s content. Speaking for myself, the movie was amazing. At a few points throughout the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2011/05/12/our-race-to-somewhere/