Saturday, July 7, 2012

Test Scores

Well, the scores are in. All five of my AP English Literature students passed the exam with a 3 or higher. I am very proud of them and quite relieved.

I admit I've had butterflies in my stomach leading up to the release of scores. Which got me thinking...

I am blessed that my job does not depend upon my students' scores. But what if, like so many educators in schools around this nation, it did?

I attempted to prepare my students for the exam as much as humanly possible. I admit it was difficult at times due to several factors: scheduling, the constant fight against senioritis, and an overall relaxed academic environment. I pushed, and they pushed back. When test day came, I knew what scores each student was most capable of receiving, but I couldn't enter the exam room with them. They were on their own.

When there are so many factors, why is it that the value of teachers is solely judged by test scores? I long for a change in the system that puts the needs of students first and judges the teacher by various criterion...which includes test scores but also encompasses so much more. Any human being would want to be judged on more than just one aspect of a job, position, interaction, etc. Teachers deserve an opportunity to prove themselves in various ways.

1 comment:

  1. Congratulations to you and your students on their AP English Lit exam scores! I agree with your post on so many levels! I personally think that the letter grading system of assessing knowledge is so terribly flawed! Thanks again for another great post!

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