McDonald

FCAT: I like it! I really like it!

/ redheadedprofessor

One Room Schoolhoue - Franklin County, Kansas

Two weeks until FCAT testing begins.

I’ve always been a free spirit.  While I saw tests as puzzles to challenge my brain, I knew that many others disliked testing to the point of phobia.  Naturally,  I was constitutionally opposed to FCAT testing.  Yet when my team leader gave me the administrator’s handbook, I was enthralled.  I sat and read it cover to cover, like a bestseller.

Although I’ve proctored the SAT and other standardized tests, this will be my first time proctoring the FCAT.  I wasn’t looking forward to it.  But after reading the manual, I found, to my surprise, that I was quite intrigued, even turned on, by all the testing procedures, task lists, security measures, and scripts.  My creative brain admired the neatness, the organization, and the lack of surprises.  Every eventuality seemed to be provided for.

I like the quiet during standardized testing.  That’s the only time I get to hear the “sound of silence”, with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel.  I like the freshly sharpened pencils, sealed test books, and bubbled in answer sheets.  My view of composition and language arts are never this straightforward and easily categorized.  But I have found during my career that I like test results – they show me if I’m doing my job.  I love being able to quantify the learning I see happening with solid physical data.

I’ve also read up on some of the question design – what is required for writing questions for each standard.  When I’m not actually teaching in public schools I wouldn’t mind giving test writing a try.  You just know the editors of the testing materials sit around a table arguing over every word, punctuation mark, font, etc.  I like the detail that goes into creating standardized test materials.

Of course, I won’t be able to read a single word of the FCAT tests.  Teachers aren’t allowed to do so.  But I’ll definitely enjoy the reports for the county schools when they are released.  For an English major with major math anxiety, I can really get into those statistics.

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