For anyone who happens to be reading this who either isn't in Texas or hasn't been keeping up with education, the STAAR is the state test in Texas. This will be the second year we have it and it's the most rigorous state test we've had yet.
I had my kiddos take a benchmark/practice test at the end of March. I told them beforehand that it was going to be a test grade, so they better take it seriously. I had 16 out of 102 pass the benchmark. Granted, the passing rate on the benchmark is a 70 and the passing rate for the STAAR this year will be much lower (I believe in the 30s-40s), but I am still upset most of my students either did not take the test seriously or did not take the time to read each question. I told them that even if they didn't know the answer/the content/whatever, they could still make a really good guess by reading the question carefully. The highest class average was a 59, so not too hot all around.
Their test is on May 9 and we start our boot camp tomorrow. I just worry about them being ready to rock the STAAR since most of them haven't proven yet this year they can think through a question.
While I'm mostly worried about them passing and being able to stay on track to graduate, a tiny part of me is freaking out because of how their results will reflect on me. Each student has a PEIMS number for state testing and teachers are tracked through that number. If a school notices that one particular teacher seems to always have struggling students, that's justification for not renewing the teacher's contract. While teachers should be held accountable, I don't think it should rest solely on how students do on state assessments. Teachers cannot control how students will do on tests, as seen by many of my students essentially refusing to take the benchmark seriously. I don't know if they'll react the same way to the real STAAR or finally get down to business.
Essentially, my first full year of teaching has been fraught with worries about my students' futures and my future.
P.S. If you have any ideas about motivation during a review boot camp or setting goals for state testing or review activities, it would be much appreciated!
