Are We There Yet?

With the state math exam next week can you guess what's consuming my teaching?  To be fair, it hasn't consumed it in the same way the ELA did.  But it has essentially captured my focus as I debate over exposure versus mastery, and what exactly to teach in the next three school days before the test.  

Amidst this last minute push to prepare my students, a sad a relieving thought crossed my mind.  At least once it's done I can finally start teaching.  For those keeping track, we're now approaching day 106 of the school year.

Now it's not like I haven't been teaching anything since September.  And it's not like there haven't been moments and lessons I'm proud of.  But there is a persistent pressure to get the kids ready for the tests.  It's a nagging voice in the back of my head (that sounds oddly like my adminstrators...) that constantly tells me I'm not doing enough to push my kids to the next level (of testing).

Of course, in the fourth grade after math comes science.  But since the science test doesn't count for our school's report card or federal funding, I have a feeling I might be able to avoid some of the crazed run-up to the science exam that I've experienced for ELA and math.  That means, come next Friday, I can put testing behind me...until September.

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