Language Arts Meeting

I had to leave practice early to catch the first Language Arts meeting of the school year. I wish I would have stayed at practice.

Trend data, mean scores, medians, YAP, MAC scores, BST scores, ESL scores. Yuck. Am I a shitty English teacher because I don't give a rat's ass about test scores?

The lowest we have ever scored on the BST writing test was 92% passing, which happens to be from last year. However, they tested both 9 and 10 graders. So the 9 graders took it really kind of cold - they had composition covered more in their freshman classes. Every single year we have been above the state average. Yet at the worst, the entire state scored only 91% I don’t think that’s too damn shabby, given the deficiencies some of our students have. So why is there such a panic about teaching writing every year? For once I'd just love to hear, "we are doing a good job teaching writing. Keep it up."

When I was part of the RU Ready project, they bemoaned how poorly students were doing on their college entrance essays. Given where our students are right now in terms of passing this test, I have to think they just aren't getting the training for the entrance test. Notice, I didn't say they were lacking skills; they just need training.

I'd really like to see the individual student scores on these tests. I think I had a few students in the five range (out of six). Many in the four range and plenty in the just passing range.

Yet, now I think of an old essay I read in graduate school about how one of the Ivy League colleges was giving up trying to have their professors teach their incoming freshman how to write, they were turning it over to a team of experts. In Leon Botstein's book, I remember him looking back to the turn of the century when colleges were complaining way back then about the lack of fundamental writing skills their incoming students had. I guess some things never change. Or maybe it's just that our assumptions never change.

Now we (well, they are - I'm - obviously blogging) are discussing the results. What terrifies me is that I can see the elementary and middle school teachers pour over these like they just discovered a lost Shakespeare folio! God help us from this insanity.

I'm not against measuring student achievement. But teacher is so much more. I think of it like this - in football we often say, "This player needs football more than football needs him." The player just needs to be part of a team and have that routine in his life. He might not play much, but he is a part of something and contributes in his own little way. I think my classes are like that. The test scores might not measure all he has learned, but he/she needs my class and my class needs her/him.

Being educated is part of a larger experience that cannot be reduced down to a standardized test.

What is the quote that is over in the left margin? "Measuring the richness of learning with a standardized test is like judging chili by counting the beans."

Amen.