ELA scores- why do you care?

Maybe I'm too laid back or maybe my administrators are but I have never stressed or freaked out about ANY NY state test scores.

i taught 4th grade for 2 years where you have ELA, math and science and now 3rd grade for 2 years and each year the kids do what they can do- we are told not to do any test prep except for maybe 2 days to just familiarize the kids to the format of the test.

So I guess what I'm trying to get at is- at your school/district, are you forced to perform well on these tests? Do you really think they are an accurate assesment of your students' abilities?

Re: ELA scores- why do you care?

My school uses past exams and literally TEACHES TO THE TEST! My principal and the administration make a HUGE deal about the scores and place a TON of pressure! Of course however, it's ironic because I brought all my students' scores up and brought half of them up a level but that's still not good enough for them Sorry if my special ed kids achieved a 3s but not solid 3s because they were on the low end PLEASE ....... My kids have severe learning disabilities!! I hate my administration

Re: ELA scores- why do you care?

the only reason i am anxious for my scores is because i teach 3rd and in my school if a child gets a 1 I have to put together a portfolio for him and administer some further tests so they can determine whether or not he should be heldover (in the end they never are but i still need to do the work)
i have a very low class so 1s are a possibility

Re: ELA scores- why do you care?

i agree with the OP. I don't stress over these and my school and district doesn't put an overt pressure on us to do well. that said though, with the type of teachers and administrators and families we have , we always do well. i believe, and i think my district follows this thought as well, if your school is teaching in a developmentally appropriate manner and doing appropriate curriculum from the get-go they are going to do fine anyway! also, i really feel that these tests are not an accurate representation of a child's true functioning... what the state accepts as passing or an acceptable answer is so much lower than i would expect from a general education student. i think the tests are a joke, JMO.

also, i teach severely impaired kids, so i realyl don't feel the pressure. they take them, and it is what it is. i am happy if they can get a 2 and thrilled if they get a 3. also, with all the mods. they get... it's not even close to representing how they function on their own on a daily basis in school.

Re: ELA scores- why do you care?

I don't stress over the scores really. But I happen to have an administrator who has been on my back for 2 years, telling me what I'm doing is wrong, how I should change it, what the parents expect, blah blah blah....
So I LOVE when the scores come back with the 2nd highest percentage in Nassau County because it shows that I kinda DO know what I'm doing! Even if it's not what he would be doing!

Re: ELA scores- why do you care?

I teach in NYC. I feel like we live and die by test scores. And for a long time, I never stressed too much- I focused on preparing them for the future. I did test prep, but not like now. And last year, our 8th graders didn't do well, and my principal chewed out the other teacher and I. Granted, I was a new mom, but I think our kids were more into posting semi-nude pics of themselves on MySpace and showing up for school an hour late than they were doing their schoolwork.

This year I did a lot more test prep. But I am still annoyed about last year.

Re: ELA scores- why do you care?

I had an interesting conversation with a SPED teacher when I was grading for ESBOCES. I usually grade to give the kid the benefit of the doubt...but she was a stickler, since she said, if the kid is pushed through, they might not qualify for services...

it was an interesting way to look at it.