My school is administering mid-year benchmark assessments this month. First graders will be tested for a minimum of 180 minutes over the course of four consecutive days. On days one and two - for 45 minutes each day - ReadyGEN curriculum assessments will be used to test six and seven-year-olds in English-language arts (ELA). On the other two days - again, 45 minutes each day - first graders will take Go Math assessments.These tests are being given in addition to:1. Beginning of the year NYC Baseline Performance Tasks in ELA and math (MOSLs used for teacher evaluation purposes only)2. Running records - 4 per year3. Monthly writing assessments aligned to the Common Core standards4. 12 Go Math unit assessments5. End of the year NYC Performance Tasks in ELA and math (MOSLs used for teacher evaluation purposes only)This is first grade, folks.
Monday, February 9, 2015
More Testing Outrage: Mid-Year Benchmark Assessments for 1st Grade Waste 180 Minutes of Instructional Time
A NYC teacher reports:
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Norm, our first graders spent September, October, & November testing, all for teacher MOSLs. We lost the opportunity to attend to the needs of our first graders at the very beginning of the school year when they need us most. Teachers were unable to delve into high interest units as we usually do, like Apples, Pumpkins, holidays, etc. It was such a waste of time & we were all so very upset at what we weren't able to teach during that time. The worst part about it is that parents were completely unaware that testing was going for all that time. Can you imagine putting out a school letter that says, "Dear Parents, We'd like to advise you that all first grade students will be tested for the first 3 months of the school year." Ha ha. We had about 5 different tests to administer, one with several components, and ALL were to be administered individually. Now you figure out how much learning when on during those months.
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