Anonymous wrote:Imagine we took all the student and faculty time devoted to test prep, testing, data, "holding patterns" etc... and, I dunno, taught a foreign language.

What would school look like then? (I know, it would look like private school...)

Right, except private school has a shorter than 180 day calendar, so it kind of evens out. All the extra days in public are wasted on manadatory testing. . . .

"That is why so many parents opted out, this year."

Really? The Post is reporting you can't opt out in DC.

What is the process for opting out of the DCCAS?

Yes no big deal... Let's see the holding patterns that probably exist.

First days of school
Any day before winter break/spring break
Last days of school

If you think that is a big deal, wait till you child is in the testing grade, the holding pattern regarding testing for the test-takers is mind-boggling. That is why so many parents opted out, this year.

also - some children need special testing - if the have extended testing hours they may do it in a different room.

Imagine we took all the student and faculty time devoted to test prep, testing, data, "holding patterns" etc... and, I dunno, taught a foreign language.

What would school look like then? (I know, it would look like private school...)

Anonymous wrote:It is no big deal. During this time many kids are given busy work not too much of instruction is going on. Surely, not any lively discussion or interactions...non-testing kids are in a holding pattern, waiting to land.

You really think the bolded is "no big deal"?

It is no big deal. During this time many kids are given busy work not too much of instruction is going on. Surely, not any lively discussion or interactions...non-testing kids are in a holding pattern, waiting to land.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe only teachers are allowed to proctor exams and paras can only assist. What well administrated schools do is overlap testing so that teachers just switch rooms.

What if a few teachers are sick and not in the building? Then they might need to pull staff from other non-tested classrooms.

PP here. Not if they aren't qualified. To begin with, only certain people are allowed to be in charge of a classroom or proctor testing. So much of staff is excluded. A few teachers don't get sick during test time, not all at once, and at least not if they want to stay employed the next school year.

And if the playground is in close proximity to the testing classrooms, your child won't get recess.

These two weeks of testing are horrible for nearly every child in the building.

Anonymous wrote:I believe only teachers are allowed to proctor exams and paras can only assist. What well administrated schools do is overlap testing so that teachers just switch rooms.

What if a few teachers are sick and not in the building? Then they might need to pull staff from other non-tested classrooms.

Teachers can't proctor their own classroom - I learned this when I was on tour yesterday.

I believe only teachers are allowed to proctor exams and paras can only assist. What well administrated schools do is overlap testing so that teachers just switch rooms.

But if teachers can't proctor their own classroom can't they just swap with other testing classrooms? It's bizarre to me to disrupt classrooms of younger grades, paying substitutes.

She was probably pulled to proctor the exams. Teachers can't proctor their own classroom. Moreover, if your school is small and has access to outdoor space the younger grades probably won't be spending much time inside because they really try to keep the building as quiet as possible so that the 2nd-5th graders can concentrate.

I just learned that my child's first grade teacher was pulled out of her classroom to help with testing over the last three days (half-day each day). When she was out of the classroom, there was a substitute. So my child had subs for the last three days (half the day, each day). Is this typical? I don't understand why kids in classrooms that aren't testing have to lose valuable instruction time. I'm going to tactfully inquire at our school specifically but was hoping to gain some insight from other parents and teachers who are more familiar with the testing process and why additional classroom teachers whose children aren't testing are pulled to help out...it seems that if extra admin help is needed for testing that front office employees, specials teachers and even DCPS headquarter employees should be pulled in to help before classroom teachers should, thus disrupting the learning that supposed to be going on. Annoyed and confused. Insight?