Welcome Home Luck Family,
As an upcoming Disney Resorts guest, you could help us test…
Testing at Disney World? What has happened? How is it that our world has changed to a place where we can’t get away from testing, even when we vacation to the “happiest place on Earth?”
But then… I stop to think about this view… Is testing all bad? Did I always hate the word “testing” as a teacher? And the honest answer to both of these questions is NO! In my early classroom days, I was known as one of the toughest teachers in my building, usually based on my high expectations and my very thorough end of the unit tests. Even more disparaging for my students, I expected them to retain their knowledge from each unit to the next, and my assessments demanded they be able to make the connections.
So, how is it that I’ve grown to hate testing? Simple answer… Testing has changed. It is no longer just a valuable tool we use in the classroom to assess student learning and our teaching, but it is now a punitive measure used by some districts in controlling their teachers, a numbers game that can determine where much needed funding goes for schools desperately needing interventions, and a state and federal “tag term” for political arguments. Oh, and lets not forget how it can turn into a mockery of what we all work so hard to do: teach.
Does that mean testing is all bad now? No, not at all. We just need to justify our testing as we justify any other lesson in our classrooms. It is not where we start, but it is where we want to end up. We want to know what our students know. And we want to know that we have been successful in our strategies. So, test. Just do it in moderation. And yes, this means we must stand aside as our states mandate more and more testing, but we can change our mindset to accept that this is simply what the world is coming to in these modern days.
So, at Disney this week, I will be wearing a new bracelet. I was able to go online to pick my favorite color, and I was also able to pick the rides I wanted to ride and the times I wanted to ride them. And, most importantly, I will be able to get through the admission gate much quicker, as I hold my wrist against the electronic stand and then keep walking as those with the old fashioned tickets will wait in the long lines to start their fun!
Testing… maybe not so bad after all.
Need a test? Stop by my TpT Store for a bunch of great assessment options!
Happy Teaching!
Michele