UGH...Testing...

Last week I worked three half days. Today was the first Monday in a very long time that I haven't had an assignment. In looking at various school calendars, it appears that my districts are all doing testing over the first three weeks of May. Since so much rides on the magic results, no teacher is going to trust test administration to anyone else unless she absolutely must. I was hoping to really fill out the calendar with jobs over May and June. I don't have anything yet for summer, despite tossing applications out into the wind for everything I'm even remotely qualified to do. I'm getting discouraged.

So, unless there is an abnormal number of Pre-K or Kindergarten teachers out, it looks like the next two weeks are going to be slow going for me. I hope it's not signaling the end of jobs for the school year. To be honest, I didn't give the whole testing thing much weight. I knew it was coming up, but I really don't remember it as being quite so intense when I was a kid. I don't think we spent two whole weeks on it. I feel for the kids. There's so much pressure put on them over these scores. It isn't right. I get that we need some measurable accounting of success to placate the critics of public education, but I've been watching the ramp-up for this. Making kids feel like it's do or die if they don't get high scores...it's painful. And there is a lot of information. I wonder if the voters who criticize teachers and the system had to take these tests, would they even come close to passing? The 5th grade science test alone covers electricity, weather and geology among other things. It's a massive amount of information.

So...best of luck to all who are mired in testing this month!