School is almost over (!!!) for the year, and my kids are deep in exams. The great state of Georgia (and most of the country, it seems) is eager to make sure that No Child Is Left Untested, so between SLOs and EOCTs (Student Learning Objectives and End of Course Tests) and APs (Advanced Placement), I’m pretty sure classes are over and the only thing the kids are currently learning is how many kids can actually walk right off campus with a single test pass. On the rare occasions when they find themselves in class WITHOUT a test, they seem to be engaging in the time-honored learning traditions of 1) watching movies and 2) eating snacks.
With all of this test mania going on, you’d think they’d be studying their little butts off, but you’d be… incorrect. And I am relieved to know that I am not the only person who is struggling with teens who don’t feel the need to study. More on this SUPER-FUN phenomenon over at Alpha Mom.
My kids just spent 3 weeks taking the Milestones test, only to find out yesterday that their scores aren’t going to count because of computer glitches. I would laugh but I am exhausted from crying.
We are in full-on testing mode here in Oregon and it makes me crazy how much time they spend testing instead of learning. Especially since the test scores don’t come back until well after school has started in the fall making them completely useless for any kind of meaningful assessment. My kids have asked me to opt them out and next year I may just consider it.
My husband teaches in Walton County-I still can’t believe there’s a SLO test! He’s been administering tests (AP, EOCT, etc.) for the last couple of weeks, which is actually easier on him, since he’s not teaching.
Forgive me – I read the post, but I didn’t get through all the comments. If I am redundant, so be it.
I teach, and I often work with highly gifted learners. One trait these gifted learners share is that they haven’t needed to work or study, and therefore they don’t know how. I teach grade 6 (middle school), and that is the biggest challenge with my GT students: teaching them how to learn. When suddenly school isn’t “easy” anymore, someone has to teach to their gifted level. To all too many gifted students, that wall comes in transition grades: 6 (middle school) and 9 (high school).