EOG madness is setting in this week as all of our classrooms become testing factories.And here's a case study...my daughter, who's a 3rd grader at Pilot Elementary, brings this home earlier in the week:
Dear Third Grader:Uh.....is it me? What are we doing to our children? These are our children. Have our children learned anything...besides how to master a three-day exam and how to fill in a scan-tron bubble sheet?
Since August. we have been preparing for our End-of-Grade tests. Now it is time to shine! You ARE ready! Remember all of the strategies that you have learned and use them. In reading, make your RUNNERS grid. Give yourself a compliment after each reading selection. When you take your math tests, prepare your blank sheet of paper with all of the strategies that you practiced during Camp EOG. If you get tired, give yourself a short brain break. Them get right back to work. Be sure to listen to ALL of the directions that your teacher reads to you before, during, and after the tests. Track your teacher with your eyes. Stay focused. You want to do as well on the last ten questions as you did on the first ten questions. Remember, slow and steady wins this race!
All of the third grade teachers want you to know that we are very proud of you! We know you will do your best on your tests!
E.C. :)
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2 comments:
Mixed feelings on this anecdote. On the one had, if this were the crux of your daughter's education, we'd be in serous trouble. On the other hand, it sounds like her teachers are giving her some really good preparation for the test -- better that than having the little ones freak out and fail.
And that's true...I just want to make sure (and we have ensured) that my daughter enjoys learning, not how to master a state exam. But the frightening thing is that it is happening, where teachers are essentially told and ordered to teach to the test. It is fundamentally wrong and a detriment to the quality of life and learning in our schools. And on that basis, we ARE in trouble, and changes in how we make our schools accountable need to occur.
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