It’s that time again

I hope everyone (at least everyone in Illinois) had a lovely, restful Casimir Pulaski day.

And now, it’s ISAT time. Here’s what a few teachers interviewed by EdWeek had to say about it:

Coleen Broy, a 5th-grade teacher at Harriet Gifford Elementary School in Elgin, lets her pupils take the test in their slippers to quell test anxiety.

Teachers and administrators say they have mixed feelings about the exam, questioning its fairness, while worrying it takes up valuable class time.

“We don’t know if these kids will have the life skills to function in society because our focus is on a test,” Broy said.

Data from the test is helpful, said Pekin Grade School District 108 Superintendent Bill Link, but he said “teachers certainly would rather be teaching” than administering ISATs.

“This is the way the state grades our district and our schools,” he added. “The issue for us is it places a lot of emphasis on one test at one time.”

Best wishes for a week in which you get at least a little teaching done, and in which you are able to be supportive and encouraging to your students because your administrators are supportive and encouraging of you.

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