A Different Sort of Testing

When the state of Indiana administers its ISTEP tests, security is very heavy. No longer can I keep the tests in my classroom, even locked in a drawer;  I might change answers or cheat in some manner. Yes, I am serious.

(And in the state's defense, there have been a couple of incidents in another part of the state where teachers cheated. These are very high stakes tests, and now part of our salary. Our jobs and even the survival of schools are dependent on how well our students do. I guess those teachers and administrators in that situation cracked under the pressure. But I digress.)

When ready to test, I must go to the principal, have her unlock a room, count and sign for all my tests, take them to my classroom and administer the test, then immediately return them, going through the same procedure to check them back in. It's inconvenient and aggravating, but it's a hoop to jump through and so we all jump.

(My kiddos are bright enough to catch the irony that I am not trusted with the test, but I am trusted with them day after day. I have to bite my tongue sometimes and just smile when that comes up, reassuring them that they truly are WORLDS more important than anything else I do all day at school.)

ISTEP testing (round two for the year) is fast approaching, and some tests are administered early, like those for the Low Incident/special needs class that my friend, Jane, teaches. Still, it was a bit of a surprise to pop into her classroom yesterday morning and see her desk covered in cameras and recorders.

I thought I had it rough when it comes to testing. Not compared to Jane!

"Well, I have to record my testing sessions," she said when I asked. "They may be nonverbal and completely unable to take the test, but the state says I must give it to them and document that I did, so document I will do."

I thought maybe she was teasing, but Jane was telling the truth. Her fifth grade boy in diapers with the mind of an infant? Has to take the test. Since he cannot write, she has no documentation that she did, in fact, administer it. So, she has to record her test sessions with him and with her other students who cannot physically or mentally test, and then send those pictures and videos to prove that, not only did  she administer the test, but also that she is being truthful when she says their challenges are profound enough that there were no responses.

After all, what's to prevent teachers from saying certain of their students are too low to test, even those without the disabilities of Jane's kiddos, and thus a school having higher test scores (on paper, at least) as a result with more merit pay for the teachers?

And so Jane, and other Low Incidence teachers like her, have to record every test session they give with kiddos who cannot even understand what's being asked of them.

What a waste of time, both Jane's and the students', as well as money.