What if they gave the MSA and no one showed?

[Anonymous]

I'm a teacher too but we spend tons of time prepping for the test. So, no, it isn't just 4 mornings a year. I remember when I was in public ES, we took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The day or two before the test, our teacher spent an hour or so showing us how to fill in the dots in a sample test. That was all. That was all the class time we used to prep for the test. We start prepping months ahead of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's NO Excuse for teachers showing movies when the need to catch up on paperwork.

...When WHO needs to catch up on paperwork? After kids have spent the entire morning testing (during which time they are not allowed to talk, even during short breaks between testing sessions) they are simply exhausted. If testing is followed by lunch, which is followed by one and half hours prior to dismissal, what's the harm in watching a movie on the afternoon of one of the testing days?

[Anonymous]

Let the kids have recess, either outdoor or indoor (board games, card games. Hell let them play poker. Chess.)
Draw, color, paint.
Free reading time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sadly they won't ask why you are leaving. They don't care. You are not the customer. Our ES is so overcrowded I'm sure the admin is just as happy when kids bail for private. If we could afford to, we totally would. And I actually like our school leadership, but I don't for one minute think they give a whit whether our kids stay or leave.

That's because (as far as I know) there's no state or NCLB mandated measurement of how many students could be attending your school, but aren't.

[Anonymous]

If testing is followed by lunch, which is followed by one and half hours prior to dismissal, what's the harm in watching a movie on the afternoon of one of the testing days?

PP here who complained about the movie watching during music and health. Please note: this did NOT occur on a testing day. This was a regular class day. This was IN ADDITION to the days lost to MSA testing.

In truth, this is not the main reason we are leaving the school. (We are being pulled more than pushed to another school.) But given my strong feelings about these incidents, and the reaction on this thread, I may yet speak up before leaving. I also contributed to the school's fundraising in a fairly major way this year, so it seems like they would at least be curious about our decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's NO Excuse for teachers showing movies when the need to catch up on paperwork.

...When WHO needs to catch up on paperwork? After kids have spent the entire morning testing (during which time they are not allowed to talk, even during short breaks between testing sessions) they are simply exhausted. If testing is followed by lunch, which is followed by one and half hours prior to dismissal, what's the harm in watching a movie on the afternoon of one of the testing days?

Sure, then what's the harm in letting a television or a computer handle 100% of the instruction? They can't come up with anything else? Seriously? How about taking the opportunity to teach a game, or teach manners, or take a walk around outside or just about anything other than staring at the stupid boob tube.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call them up and tell them why you are leaving - they need to know. That's what we did when we left.

As another PP said, schools don't care.

When kids moved, and I lost 2-3 during a marking period b/c of our high rate of transience, no one cared. Sometimes I wasn't even OFFICIALLY made aware of the change until a week later.

So don't think your message to the school makes a difference.

You're one of hundreds in your school. And at the high school level, you're one in a thousand (or more).

[Anonymous]

Maybe a better idea is to post something on the school listserv that will raise awareness and widely circulate my displeasure about this issue. The school listserv goes to everybody--parents, administration, faculty, staff. Not sure. There are things I have liked about the school, too, so I hesitate to highlight this one thing.

[Anonymous]

The people to complain to would be the board of education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people to complain to would be the board of education.

The board is LOCAL; they have no control over the testing.

The MSAs and HSAs are STATE mandates.

different animals

[Anonymous]

The school board has no control over the content of the tets or the days on which the test is taken.

However it has control over:

how much classroom time is used specifically for test prep,
when test prep may start and end,
whether money will be spent to provide afterschool test prep just for those kids who need it,
what types of academic programs are currently in place or could be brought in to better teach the curriculum so that last minute test prep was less needed;
directing teachers and principals to integrate test review into weekly evaluations,
and over the school climate surrounding testing.

Local school boards have control over a lot, and they are elected. Let them know if you are not happy with the pressure on your child or your child's classmates.