Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Test?

It's rare that I ever have anything to post having ANYTHING to do with all the standardized testing your kids are put through, but I just had to share this. Last week, the kids took the Benchmark Math and Reading tests...for the third time this year. *sigh*

But today, I got the scores, and was elated at the MASSIVE improvements in just the past two months, and even more over the course of the year. Now as anyone who knows me is well aware, my class doesn't spend a single solitary moment on drilling FC@T practice questions or FC@T specific skills into their heads. In fact, the very word itself is a "cuss word" in my classroom (hence, my use of the @ - I don't even like to type the word!). My students don't ever waste their time on FC@T websites or worksheets. When we're on the computers, it's to learn how to use Power Point, Microsoft Word, to do some research on the Internet, or to use Gizmos science simulations or other highly engaging websites. In math, we spend our time learning to think and expanding our minds. In reading, we spend our time actually ENJOYING what we're reading and discussing the incredible stories of Bradley Chalkers, Bobby Ballenger, Helen Keller, and Judy Moody. We engage in real-life, hands-on science, rarely ever even touching a text book. And we never, ever let social studies sit on the back burner.

This is what I've focused on every year I've been a teacher, and your kids have once again demonstrated that authentic teaching and learning is not only far superior to the old-fashioned way of learning, but that it also just happens to result in very strong scores in standardized testing as well. And while I don't hold much stock in these tests anyway, it's nice to see that they back up what I've always said.

So, congratulations on some really terrific Benchmark scores, folks! Tomorrow, the kids will bring home a comparison of their scores from each of the three test sessions.