Working Against My Interests In The Schools

Students here are required to take a test that's supposed to measure reading ability. The data is mostly used to grade my teaching. Students take the test in September, January, and May. Growth targets are set, and I'm graded on whether they have or have not achieved those targets.

As students sit to take the test I say, "do the best you can and take your time," though it would be better for me if they all bombed it. I need them to show growth. If they did terribly on the thing in September, there's nowhere to go but up.

There are a couple problems with that.

In September students are ready and willing to take such tests. My students are more docile early in the year and will try their best even on "a boring test."

I also know a teacher in another district who was fired probably for telling kids not to work hard on the September test. She didn't tell them to bomb it, but she sure as hell told them it was okay to half-ass the thing. I don't need more reasons for management to dislike me, so I say, "do the best you can and take your time." I answer their procedural questions and explain why I am not allowed to clarify what any of the words mean. Then I say, "do the best you can and take your time." Students usually work at it and score well.

Which really screws me over.

The best things I can do are to accept the situation and stop worrying about how I'm working against my own interests. Things usually work out and as the song says, I will survive. At least I have so far.

Still, it's amazing how many things we teachers choose to do, have to do, or feel we have to do that go against our best interests. Doing lots of schoolwork after school hours, giving tests that are used against us, and a hundred other things. Some of it is unavoidable if I want a paycheck and healthcare for my family. The rest, well, I'll look more carefully at these things and make decisions.

For now, I tell myself do the best you can and take your time. Then I put my head down and do what has to be done. Soon enough, it's quitting time.

Growth (or something like it) In The Schools

As in other schools, my worth as a teacher is determined almost arbitrarily. My school has students take the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) in September, January, and May to measure how effectively I've gotten them to learn reading and 'riting if not 'rithmetic. 

This week, my administrators and the person who facilitates testing stopped to see me. They were both interested in having a couple more kids take and do well on the test. I was confused because I don't much care about unreliable tests that measure very little. But rather than chalk up their interest to rah-rah, go-team nonsense, I came to understand they were looking out for me. 

I need to show growth acceptable to the algorithm in order to be rated effective and avoid being put on an improvement plan. Need might be too strong a word. I've been on improvement plans before and they are largely just additional paperwork for my admin. I don't want to be the reason for more work, but I didn't develop this ridiculous system and won't buy into it. 

I spend a lot of class-time developing reading skills. I don't teach much of this. I structure time for students to read and take everything out of the way. No book reports or testing. We write a brief note (post-it size) after each day of reading. I talk with kids about their books, but mostly try to listen and get them back to reading. The problems kids have with reading are that there's no backlit screen, they aren't used to staying with something, and teachers usually spoil the hell out of even a good book. 

The SRI may measure reading growth or not. I don't give a shit. I know that many of my students haven't read a book in years if ever and when they finish a book they are surprised at what they've done for themselves. I have a few students who have read half a dozen books this year. One has finished more than a dozen after claiming to have never read a whole book. 

Today is the last day for SRI testing and the facilitator is back hoping to get a couple more kids tested to prop up my scores. I'm grateful I have people trying to help me, but I hope they won't mind that I choose not to get excited about any of it. I've got more important things to do, like reading my book.