Judgement Day!

Tomorrow my students take their North Carolina reading EOG (end of grade) assessment. We have technically been preparing for this all year. I say "technically", because for a very long time I was very against this frequently debated idea of "teaching to the test." I also have tried very hard this year to create a curriculum that is based on the study of literature and not so much the study of the End of Grade reading EOG. A lot of this was motivated by college discussions when we studied how teaching to the test leads to low student achievement, and boring curriculums, and how limiting it is in a classroom setting. I've learned throughout this year that in reality test preparation needs to happen so that students are given the chance to be successful on the test.

My PD and learning team leader for Teach For America both worked with me to develop a strong plan for test preparation and my students and I have stuck to that plan from spring break until now. I gave students a diagnostic EOG before spring break and then had them grade them when we got back and create mastery plans for themselves based on which objectives they missed. I then created 6 tutoring sessions that were based on different skills that students needed to work on and personally invited students to these (luring them there with snacks of course!). Students followed a rigorous schedule, taking two practice tests a week, a concept quiz, and a number of skills-based warm ups everyday. I never thought that I would spend three weeks on test prep with my students, but it seemed absolutely essential for them to get that review and practice with multiple choice (we've been taking short answer assessments all year long).

I call this post "judgement day" because that is what tomorrow truly is for me. The reading EOG is really the biggest measure of success for me for the year. The goal is for all of my students to ultimately show strong growth on the test from the scores from previous years. We have predicted growth that the students should make based on their past scores, and students who have scored similarly to them in the state. Unfortunately, this test is what tells me if I have helped those students grow. I have already had my year-end teaching evaluation and all of that went fine, but at the end of the day I joined Teach For America to make a difference in students' lives and this test tells me whether or not I made that difference.

I understand that there are plenty of qualitative factors that exemplify the difference that I've made, but quantitatively this test is what matters. I have some pretty bad testing anxiety already, and I am not even taking the test tomorrow! In order to calm my nerves (and my students) we are going to meditate before the test tomorrow. I am bringing a delicious and healthy breakfast for my homeroom (these are the students who I am with for testing). I also purchased bottled water which I am labeling with each student's name and a motivational message to help them get through.

So as you conclude your weekend please hold me and my students in the light tomorrow and wish us luck! In the meantime I will be labeling water bottles and baking.