What's the big deal with State Testing?

‘Worry often gives a small thing a great shadow’ is a Swedish Proverb I shared with my class today.  As students in Dublin Unified School District prepare to take the California Standardized Tests next week, I hear a lot of buzz that they are feelings stressed.  I try to think back 20 years ago, when I sat down to take the CST and wonder if I shared a similar worry.  It seems too many years of adult ‘life’ have masked the worry and stress I felt as an adolescent.

There seems to be a fine line, from an educator’s perspective, of not wanting to cause a student unneeded worry or stress, but at the same time, we want our students to take these tests seriously.  Bottom line, we are judged based on these scores.  We as teachers are ‘rated’ based on these scores, our schools, our district, even our property values are dependent on this one week of testing. 

As with anything else in life, relevance is important.  Explaining to a student why these tests are important helps he or she attach some kind of meaning to it.  What we as teachers DON’T want parents to say is, “It’s no big deal” or “It doesn’t affect anything” or the alternative attitude of “if you don’t do well on this test, you are a FAILURE!” Encouraging your student to do his or her best, read every problem, take a minute to stop and THINK about what the question is asking, and above all, don’t rush! 

I’ve seen an alarming trend in the past few years of students staying up until the early hours of the morning; on the computer or phone, watching television, playing video games, etc.  This may be a good time to take ALL electronic devices out of your child’s room.  Research has show that even the light from an alarm clock can keep a body awake during the night.  It is essential that the body and brain is well rested to be successful on this test.

Just this morning, I saw two of my students walking to school drinking an energy drink. Very regularly many students often come to school with Starbucks drinks.  Many of us can’t start our day without it! Caffeine causes the body to release adrenaline, perfect for those who need the ‘boost’ to get the job done.  For a child or young adult taking a very important test, the body is already releasing adrenaline, there heart rates and blood pressure are already raised, the last thing they need is to increase those with the affects of caffeine.  

Imagine sitting at a desk, in a quiet room with a test, Scantron and pencil in your hand and your body just wants to jump out of the seat and run around the room and do the chicken dance. If you’ve ever watched a 12 year old boy in a class desk, you would know he can barely keep his body still more than a few minutes at a time.  Adding 160 mg of caffeine to that body, and expecting him to add unlike fractions, it’s not a good combination.  I would probably have just as much luck asking my four year old to come in and take the test!  

To be successful at any day of school, not just testing, but especially during testing, students need to be well rested, have eaten a healthy breakfast, be confident, be focused, be encouraged, be knowledgeable about their purpose and to have set a goal!

It’s time for our test scores to prove what we already know; our students are more than just ‘Basic!’