And this year now

We play again

Some will lose

And some will win

Minus a few stragglers, we will cross the state-testing, finish line today. And Monday we will get back to a place of normalcy. Finally. Been a long two weeks of stressed, mind-numbing silence as kids have worked diligently on something that will mean little to them in the end. Oh, kids with 3’s and 4’s will be labeled “Career and College Ready,” with the caveat of bypassing placement tests and landing in credit-bearing English courses in state colleges. And kids who meet the state’s minimum cut score will be able to graduate in two years, but beyond these baby carrots, there is little to be gained from this biggest of sticks in their educational experience.

And for me? I don’t know. It gets my attention. It is the most public of measures in my world as scores appear not only in the paper but also on the “State Report Card,” not to mention taking center stage in our district’s PLC work. So, yeah. It gets my attention. I will be judged regardless of where folks fall on the standardized-testing issue. If I succeed, it either doesn’t mean much–because it’s just standardized data, or it means much–because it is standardized data: the data that is disregarded, or the data that is embraced. If I win, I lose. If I lose, I win.

But beyond that minor irritation, I find little that is useful to me in my classroom. I will never have these kids again. So, the data are not useful. Yes, I know the “look-for-and-and-respond-to-trends” argument made by those who defend the data, but each kid, each group is different, and when I get the data back, the kids will have already moved on. They’re gone. And I have found little benefit from making generalized decisions about generalized data from standardized tests. I wonder what the cost-benefit analysis of state testing would reveal. Is education really benefiting from the huge cost of state testing? I don’t think so, not if most educators regard–or disregard–the data we get back as I do. I know no one–in the classroom, who uses the data as a primary source for making learning decisions in his or her classroom. They do, as I do; they look to the real primary source for guidance: their students, who are in their classrooms right now. I think we are wasting a lot of money, and while I hate to make this about money, I am not convinced it’s really about anything else. Lots of money is being spent, and someone is winning, but it’s not education.

Sorry, not sorry, for the mini-rant this morning. That aside, happy Friday, all. Have a great weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.