Dear NCDPI

Dear NCDPI (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction):

This past week students began telling me that their learning was over for the year. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I asked them what they were talking about. It seems that once the End-of-Grade tests are over, they feel that school is over. Never mind the fact that there are still three weeks of school left. While I understand the purpose behind the End-of-Grade testing, I am concerned about the effect it is having on the learning of our students. I believe it is time to put less emphasis on the testing and more on the things NCDPI deem important for teachers to be evaluated on such as how well we implement and teach 21^st century skills and cultural awareness; use differentiated instruction; use and display student creative work; have our students collaborate; and the use of lessons encouraging critical thinking. Unfortunately, the test and teacher evaluations do not compliment each other very well.

Before I even stepped into Benson Middle School, I was told I would hate all the EOGs brought with them. I laughed. How bad could it be? I had been a part of state testing in Maine for years. This past couple of weeks I learned the EOGs of North Carolina were no laughing matter.  These multiple choice tests, which do not measure whether I have taught students any of the strategies mentioned in the teacher evaluation, determine whether a student is promoted to the next grade or not. (It is my understanding that they will soon evaluate how I am doing as a teacher as well.) It makes no difference whether or not the students have a passing grades. As long as they pass the Reading and Math section of the test, they move on. When I asked what happened if they passed the test but not my class, I was told they moved on. I ask you this…If that is the case, what is the purpose of students who will pass the test coming to school? Why do I assign work and spend my nights and weekends grading it? Why am I working so hard to challenge them to become critical thinkers? It is no wonder our students don’t perform as well as they could. We have set the bar very low.

In the past two weeks, I have had little to no instructional time with my students. Instead, I have tested. While testing, I need to watch the students the entire time with another adult in the classroom. I cannot grade papers, do lesson plans, or read professional journals. (All that waits for home.) Nothing. I had to watch the students for up to three hours at a time. My advanced students were all projected to pass. My two classes of Exceptional Children, on the other hand, had only two students in each class projected to pass.

While the ultimate hope is that they will pass, growth is what is hoped for. I am happy to say that 90% of my students showed growth. However, of my 46 students, 25 did not meet the North Carolina state standard. What does that mean for the student? Five hours of intense tutoring before retaking the test of which very few pass. What does it mean for me? Five hours of instruction before administering the test for a second time. That is the easy part. When a student doesn’t meet the standard, I first make phone calls to inform parents and then need to gather materials to take them to a waiver committee. Preparing for waiver is no big deal to the students. Many of these students have gone through waiver ever since they started testing in third grade. This is where I start getting cranky. I love teaching my inclusion classes. However, I am not enjoying the amount of work facing me to put together these folders. Again, I ask the question, “How is this helping our students become life-long learners?”

We should be teaching right up until the last day of school. Students should be the ones preparing their waiver folders with the support of teachers. They are old enough to learn how to advocate for themselves - with teacher support, of course. Something that I will be implementing next year for ALL students next year, whether they are at risk to fail or not.

Students need to know that learning does not just happen during the nine months school is in session. They are learning every day. Reading is for enjoyment; not only for moving on to the next level. Just because it is not tested, Social Studies does matter in life. It is important to be an informed citizen. Most importantly, testing does not determine how smart you are or aren’t.

The EOGs are not over for me yet. I still have waiver folders to prepare and a committee to convince that I have prepared these students to move on to the next level. In the meantime, I will be working to keep my students engaged in this thing we call learning for the next two weeks until we break for summer. 

Sincerely,
An overwhelmed teacher