It has been a strange week for the students. Usually Spring Break represents a natural break in the schedule that teachers plan projects around and use to finish up units to start the final push in April. That has been the case year but with Common Core testing starting this week for many students it has made for a very crazy week.
The Common Core tests are very time extensive. There are two two hour tests for reading and for math. There is also a one period lesson to prep the students for each of those tests. With our school having only 3 computer labs and 960 students to test this means that students tests will be spread out over the next couple of months. I should also mention that those times for the tests are estimates and we also need each student to take a reading and math MAP test before the end of the school year. So it is going to be a crazy few months around Desert Hills. I have spoken to the Support classes about this testing both strongly encouraging them to take the testing seriously and not stress about it. The Common Core test is a pilot and we will never see individual scores but it is still good practice for students to be prepared for future testing. I would encourage parents to discuss this with their students and encourage them but don't them get upset. This test is very difficult and we have not yet implemented the standards over which the students are being testing on! Which makes the whole thing very unfair in my opinion. Especially when dealing with students who are in Support classes because they struggle with some aspect of school. All of this is just food for thought. Many of my Support students have done one day of the English/Language Arts test and we are scheduled to go again for Part Two the Monday after break. Many students did their best and did very well. Others did their best and got very frustrated by the questions. Again I am trying to keep each student positive about this experience. Have a great Spring Break! I am looking forward to 4th quarter and a strong finish to the school year.
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The test should take two days. Study those frequency, and box and whisker plots! Lots of data to analyze and organize. The students should have the reviews as they are working on them in Support today.
There is a history test tomorrow in Mrs. Williamson's WA state history.
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AuthorThis is the official blog for Room 113 at Desert Hills Middle School. Archives
February 2017
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