MCAS Testing

As my school is in the thick of ELA MCAS testing and I see the stress on the student’s faces as well as the staff I feel conflicted. I know that these types of tests and the results that are required have changed the face of special education. I worked in alternative settings elsewhere before MCAS existed. I was an interventionist in an alternative setting. The rigor for “these” types of students wasn’t there. It was not uncommon for me to play the card game “Rummy” with students daily or they were given worksheets that were procedural with no connections to anything. These work sheets were often far below their grade level. Then came the MCAS and changes began to happen. The social emotional student’s scores began to count. We got text books in our program where we had none. Technology appeared. At the school where I work currently I would challenge you to find more dedicated hardworking teachers. The students receive the same curriculum taught by teachers using the same standards as the rest of the district. The conflict I feel towards these tests that is the importance of how a student does on one day. All the students at my school have an IEP. Special Education studentsw can grow and learn and do; but the difficulty of getting a student who is preforming so far below grade level up to grade level is arduous and difficult to measure. I wish these was a better way to test the students where they are and show how far they have come. I wish graduation was not tied to these tests. I wish teachers were not so pressured by the results of these tests that they could relax and have fun with their class. Math is super fun if you can take a little time to do projects and complex problems. Many teachers push on and study for that big test they know is so important. These tests are here to stay and the results from these test matter a great deal. I just hope they are not now hurting the very students they were supposed to be helping.