Ugh!  Let me climb back on my soapbox one more time this week…  Testing is over for my class until the end of April when we must determine how smart we are with the traditional bubble test.  I really can’t say I ever remember a time when I wasn’t tested in school, but as I share with my students “back in the old days” things were different.  I remember in 4th grade being marched into the “Cafetorium” that had been set up for testing.  We sat and we took a few tests (the Iowa test of basic skills) and then marched back to our room.  Months later our parents received a letter saying how we had done.  That was it.  Nothing high stakes about it.  No need to breaks, no snacks, just you a test booklet, a Scantron sheet and a sharpened No.2 Pencil.  As a kid I didn’t even know it was happening until I arrived at school.  No newsletter articles or reminders to get a good night’s sleep, or breakfast, or bring in a healthy snack.

Did I do well on these tests?  I figured out how to take them… the logic behind them and succeeded.  I tell my students (usually after the essay portion) about my essay in middle school-  I was trying to be independent and at the end of eighth grade my school district had a “minimum competency” test.  If you passed great, if you didn’t you took it again every year until you did & you didn’t graduate from high school until then (or at least that was the threat).  SO I’m sitting in the Cafetorium and they give me my booklet and the prompt (we had two to choose from- I don’t recall the other one)- “What is your favorite vacation spot & why.”  I start writing and when I’m finished I am overjoyed with the final product.  “My favorite vacation spot in the entire world is Eastern Siberia…” it began.  My teacher was not amused, my parents were not amused.  The score came back (months later) and I had passed.  I explain to my class- it isn’t the specific topic that can ruin your score, it is not following the rules.  I wrote a passable essay following the requirements of using proper grammar, capitalization, punctuation & spelling.  It had a main idea and supporting details, an opening and closing- it may have been completely made up but a judge couldn’t grade me down on any part of it.  That one test changed the way I looked at writing… It made taking tests fun, and I discourage my students from trying it until they are out of my class.