With about 34 teaching days left until the high stakes California standards test, I and my colleagues are sprinting toward the finish line. I’ve done a few things to make sure my kids get what they need to grow. As teachers, we have many measures we use to determine if we’ve been successful but the standards test is a universal parameter. That’s why test-prep is crucial this time of year.
I’ve been using all sorts of sample questions up on the screen to model through guided practice and assign as independent practice. The results are good but I have a ways to go until I can really sleep soundly.
This is one of the most difficult jobs in the sense that you do all you can and work tirelessly to teach when ultimately the way you appear as a teacher dictates your career. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that if you work hard and target the right things, you will have good test scores. It’s just very nerve wracking sometimes knowing that the perception of you lay in the hands of 104 kids on a single test.
I believe my kids will do well but there is always that extra thing I can do … I’m never done until test day.
Any teachers out there getting butterflies about the test?
February 28, 2010 – 9:09 pm
There are times as a teacher when you get no glory and seek no recognition. In fact, if you are doing it right, these are really the majority of your times. If you play your cards right, you can one day buy one of those used travel trailers and retire with the memories of the good you did. In theory, if you “keep your head down” and teach the objectives as you have mapped them, you shouldn’t need to get any pats on the back, or “second wind” along the way. It should just work and the kids should get high scores at assessment time. That should be the reward.
It is one of the most exciting things in the world to get your students’ scores back and see they did well. At the same time, it can really be a bummer when they don’t perform as well. For me, the challenge when they don’t perform is to just keep my head down, in other words: “teach without recognition.” Only I as a teacher can know where my kids are and what I need to “backward map” and/or reteach.
Teaching has a lot of small “instant gratification” moments where you can assess kids right there in the lesson and see if they “get it.” I have kids write on white boards and hold them up for me. At that point I can see the percentage of mastery. There is no better feeling in those moments than telling the class they have “100% mastery.” They clap and say “yesssss.” It’s really a great part of the job. Harder moments are after your kids score low and you don’t have a chance to assess again. In the past I have made the error of reviewing quickly and reassessing hoping for high results. The hard truth is that in those times, you must spend a length of time keeping your head down teaching without recognition. All the while you should hold on to the hope that your quiet labors will pay off in your students’ public scores.
Don’t get weary keeping your head down, teaching without recognition. It always pay off in the long run.
February 18, 2010 – 8:21 pm
Most the years I’ve taught I’ve been able to produce results in my students’ motivation. This year it has been especially challenging. Maybe it’s because the test and the academics thereof have become the primary focus of school. Perhaps this has understandably burned out student motivation. In doing so it’s given way to days consisting of “A, B, C, or D” answers. I’ve been trying some new things this year that are working to get buy-in and I wanted to share them with you:
- To go along with your assessment strategies, have them grade each other’s papers. This will add peer pressure and praise to the mix. It can help them realize what they do is observed by others.
- Give them “pseudo” assessments that look like the final standardized test in May. This will ease their nerves and help them see that success on the test can be attained.
- Send a note home with the score on one of these tests. Let parents know how their kids are doing but if you do so, make sure you have suggestions for parents on how to improve their child’s score.
- Have a lot of ongoing student recognition. Tomorrow I am allowing all the students who got 80-100% to have lunch with me in the classroom. These kids need to be rewarded for their student academic achievement and of course, this will probably rub off on some of the kids who scored below 80%.
I firmly believe that kids in elementary learning as well as higher will do better when they have buy-in. Just like a company offers stock options to employees to keep them productive, so teachers should seek buy-in from their students. Remember this from my experience and probably yours too about work in general:
To get results from students or workers, you must have their “buy-in.”
February 10, 2010 – 5:24 pm
I am an elementary school teacher and this is a post from the “Teaching” category on this blog. Teaching is a task that should come from the heart and reach to the heart of children. After that, there is a test. The Standardized testing that goes on in every state in the union is keystone to student placement and, some would argue, future achievement.
Teaching “from the heart” is crucial at all times in my career and sometimes I need to take a quiet walk or something akin to that to remember it. At the same time, teachers are valued on the basis of their test scores in many schools and in many districts that I have been familiar with. That’s why I chose to write today about addressing low scores.
Low standardized test scores are not an indicator of talent, either by the student or the teacher. Rather, they indicate incorrect focus. Many teachers go through their day with a vision of some sort. One teacher might actually aim for high test scores and teach as closely to the test as possible. Another may see socialization skills as a more important focus and teach through those as a lens. It varies as much as teachers do. While it is important to have values and teach from your heart, we as teachers have to remember the “steel horse” we ride: the standards test. If our heart isn’t in it, we will not succeed but with our without “heart,” we won’t make it as teachers in this millennium without decent to great scores on our standardized testing.
When you get low data from a test as a teacher you can feel overwhelmed. It can even feel as if you are failing at your career. The truth is, with a little strategic planning based on the data (your best friend) you can get thd “correct focus” that turns the dreaded low scores into the tool they should be to score high. There have been years when all my kids ever scored was high, there were others when the kids just never seemed to “get” certain standards on the test. Now I aim for high scores that are taught “from the heart.” I suppose in a perfect world I wouldn’t care about the test and just give kids what I feel they need to be well-rounded 4th graders. Unfortunately, this world is not perfect so to a certain extent, it is back to the old drawing board to make a way toward student achievement on the standards test. I have 107 kids and 55 teaching days … let’s see what I can do with this group!
February 9, 2010 – 5:20 pm
Life is so complicated. From paying the bills to making the grade at work we are constantly judged by ourselves and others. In this world it is helpful to break all your stress down into smaller, bite-sized chunks. I find it useful to categorize my “do-list” into three categories. For my blogs that make money, I use the CAN acronym standing for “Circulation, Analytics, and Net.”
This has proven extremely effective in reducing stress and keeping me focused. At my teaching job, I have broken down my weekly tasks into another acronym: MAP, “Measure, Assemble, and Plan.” It’s acronyms like this that can turn great ideas and locations into franchise opportunities, even in a public school classroom! Remember you are inspiring the future and that’s an awesome opportunity. What is causing you stress today? Why not get a yellow pad out and create three columns. You’re the expert, the only limitation is in your mind.
February 8, 2010 – 7:49 pm
How were your classroom behavior management strategies last year? Be honest. If you are like me, the results are mixed. They were good because you kept the stuff that worked for years and applied it and got rid of the stuff that didn’t. Unfortunately they were also bad because situations you didn’t think about arose and created problems in your classroom management. Well, right here, right now is the time we should be examining all that in preparation for a new year. There are many things I have learned through the years that work for classroom management. I believe that effective classroom management techniques must start with a dynamite lesson plan.
So, before we even talk about behavior, we have to spend time in a straight-backed chair (or the equivalent thereof) completely focused on crafting the best lessons we can. The lessons should explicitly teach and solicit responses from all the kids. If we aren’t doing this, that is our glaring error we will never overcome.
If we have done this, then our kids should behave rather well. Most kids want to engage, many have been taught there is nothing to engage with. You need to be the teacher who re-awakens that natural wonder. It’s kind of like a dare: are you up for it? I triple dog dare you ;) Okay, now that the obvious elephant in the room has been identified, let’s get to those three techniques:
- Effective classroom rules – These are usually a “given” but I want to revisit them. These rules can get you out of many binds. The lack thereof can also get the entire class is a mess that’s hard to escape. The word on these is simple: Make concise, relevant rules that number no more than 7. I have had discussions with teachers about how they want more rules. This defeats the purpose of rules in my opinion. If the rules on the wall become impossible to follow, or retain for that matter, they will be ignored. In my class, I never go above 5 rules. My only guideline in creating these is that every possible scenario can be linked to one of them.
- Classroom management intervention – You should have a system in place that protects the “good kids” who are obeying and trying to learn. Before they happen, you should have a system that quickly diffuses the “rule breaker” and returns the focus on instruction. There are many ways to do this and I am sure you know them. Many times I forget this tip and there is a lot of raucous before Christmas. The truth is, it doesn’t have to be this way with some pre-planned intervention.
- Assertive discipline classroom management – This is Lee Canter’s method and I subscribe to it 100%. Apart from my feelings about the lesson plan coming first, he has some amazing ideas that started in the 70’s in an authoritative style and have developed into a more democratic style. The word I like best is “assertive.” An assertive teacher addresses situations and works through them to her/his advantage.
Okay, so there you have it. Those are my 3 tips for you. We all hope we will get a perfect class every year and it’s no wonder we’re frazzled by Halloween! You can declare power over your year and when you do you will see that we have been entrusted with one of the most valuable jobs on Earth: teaching kids.
February 8, 2010 – 7:29 pm
As you likely know, each year the schools in k12 education are assessed for effectiveness through multiple measures. The popular assessment litmus test is called the “standards test.” I just got my scores back for my class last year and I’d like to discuss them with you. This test is both hated and revered by teachers all across America. When it is given it’s the one time we as classroom teachers are not as “in control” as usual, or as we would like. The students bubble in answer documents and we stand to the side for a week until the tests are shipped up to Sacramento, in my case here in California, or to the respective capital office of each state.
Then the waiting begins.
There are around 185 teaching days in a k12 education year. The standardized test is given in late April so the teaching days before the test are about 3/4 of that. Teachers are expected to produce results. Students are classified into 5 levels based on their percentages, they are roughly this:
90-100% Advanced
75-89% Proficient
—–
50-74% Basic
25-49% Below Basic
0-24% Far Below Basic
Proficient and Advanced are considered “passing” by the state. Everything below is unacceptable under the “No Child Left Behind” act. Schools work all year to get as many passing as possible and they also get points for improvement. These points are called “API,” Academic Performance Index. An acceptable performance score for a school is 800 API or above. With that in mind you might want to see the history of my school, Westside Park, on Wikipedia. We’ve come a long way and it’s been a fun ride.
Today I was able to access my scores and they were quite good. Overall I am pleased and encouraged that what I have been preaching REALLY WORKS. EDI as part of an engaging, “dynamite” lesson plan will show results on the standards test. I’m looking forward to dispensing with the shyness and delivering solid posts here about what has worked and what I am experimenting with this coming year. I hope you’ll be along on the ride. My topics will include standardized testing and much more beyond that. I truly believe I have much to offer that can raise your standardized testing scores. Like my song goes I wrote for my kids about 8 years ago:
English and math are calling your name
Get on board, get on board the standards train!
Moments like this must be written down for when those inevitable valleys come, they bring a teacher strength.
February 5, 2010 – 4:36 am
Something rather funny happened to me one day at work as a teacher. We were having PE and kicking the ball around while we walked/ran laps. Since I’ve been reading lately about the terrible childhood obesity levels, I’ve been trying to work some physical activity into each day. Anyway, as we were walking, there came up a dead bird in our path. The girls screamed but the boys saw it as the best of the best of all toys.
Using unorthodox tactics, as I am sometimes wont to do, I told the boys they could see the dead bird if they each ran two laps and the girls could stop running after the same. How’s that for teaching incentive?
February 5, 2010 – 4:35 am
I’ve written about a countdown for the kids and their test quite a bit in the past. Since my current countdown is at “56 days to the test” I wanted to write on it again. It may be valuable to you in your major goals.
If you haven’t seen Morgan Freeman in “Lean on Me” you need to rush out today and rent it or click on Netflix. It has a countdown in it to a Standards test for a low income/low performing high school.
While I am proud to say that our school for some time now is no longer considered “low performing,” the test is still all powerful. For this aside/announcement to my colleagues and friends, I will simply say that I know having a countdown so everyone is on the same page moving toward a goal is an amazing way to produce awareness and results for a task or goal.
How many days to the test?
Do you have something in your life/work/family you should make a countdown for?
February 5, 2010 – 4:30 am
In the past years I have lost my grandfather and I’ve seen some friends lose spouses and other relations: it’s been rough. I know many people reading this can relate with the death of a loved one. I remember my grandfather, and these other people as so vibrant, so a part of life. Now that they are gone it is sobering to realize that I will never see them again. It has gotten me to thinking about what really matters in life.
There are accolades at my work to strive for if one chooses to. You can do what it takes and get a small plaque presented to you … etc. Or, you can think about those who have gone ahead of you and what they have left behind that matters. In the entrance to our auditorium at the school where I teach there is a photo case. In that photo-case is a montage picture of the teachers when the school opened in 1985. I was 15 at the time. The teachers in the picture have retro 80’s shirts and most the men have beards. The pattern on the clothes are the kind you just don’t see nowadays. It was a different time but the teachers them were flesh and blood as I am now with my staff. Losing my grandfather got me thinking more about what I will leave behind by way of legacy and less about what I can get out of life while I’m alive. For example, I love my wife so much. It would be great if I could leave a hope chest with all sorts of well-chosen gifts for her.
Leaving something behind is my biggest concern. I’ll admit, while writing blog posts I think about how my kids will one day read them. I think about whether to include all my rants when I don’t see as they will offer them any help in life. I think this is a good filter. This mindset also filters out the drama of my work. When I am only concerned with making a contribution, the gossip lines fade in order of importance. I want to leave behind a model of passion for teaching, for blogging, for guitar and piano and the appreciation of many kinds of music. I want people to be encouraged by what I have done and believe they can do even better. When I think of how animated and gregarious my Grandpa was in his 85 years, I get inspired to live fully. If I can encourage even one other person to do that, then I will feel my life was success. That kind of influence is what I hope to leave behind. If you could leave behind just 3 things, what would they be? Here are mine:
1. My best life lessons in a journal (written not online).
2. Lessons of my favorite recipes – Pizza and enchiladas.
3. Guitar lessons to as many people as possible.
