Category Archives: Assessment costs

Six students and how they work after CSAP Tests

There were the two weeks of nothing but CSAP testing in March.  And then there was a ragged week of make-up tests mixed with remnants of projects and curricular themes still remembered that were cobbled together in those four days … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Tracking Effects of Assessments on 6 Students

On the Brink of the 2009 CSAPs

This morning I have a few extra minutes before leaving for school.  The administration has canceled all morning meetings for faculty so that we can be ready for the CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program) tests, which begin today.  NEVER on … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Tracking Effects of Assessments on 6 Students

January Report and Looking Down the Second Semester Road

Januaury was a blizzard of special events in the classroom, beginning with a delayed start after the holidays and continuing through the MLK Jr. Holiday, the Inauguration, and the National Geography Bee. Looking ahead, February will be punctuated with an overnight camping excursion, Presidents’ Day, Parent-Teacher Conferences, Valentine’s Day and another “Late Start” day for Professional Development. March will be consumed by CSAP tests, Colorado’s mandated assessments) followed by Spring Break; April will find teachers and students fending off spring fever while trying to restore an ethic of teaching and learning after a 5-week break. May, we all know, is lost to special events, including another week-long assessment for the district. What will students learn from all of this? What will they learn about our priorities, about the value of their school time, about our values? Are we doing this on purpose or not? Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under 1, Assessment costs, Philosophy and politics of education, Time Keeper: Tally of Time to Teach, Tracking Effects of Assessments on 6 Students

Week Thirteen: Time to Teach/Time to Learn Tally of Hours

November 10 – 14, 2008  Tally of time for teaching and learning Monday, November 10  Veteran’s Day Holiday = Zero C & I hours Tuesday, November 11: Uninterrupted day = 5 C & I hours Wednesday, November 12:  Routine interruptions … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Time Keeper: Tally of Time to Teach

Lost Week: The Eleventh

October 27th – October 31st, The Eleventh Week of School Monday, October 27th  No teaching time.  The DRA Reading Assessments were due by 2 pm, they said, and of the 16 students who were not reading at grade level according … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Time Keeper: Tally of Time to Teach

No time to teach today!

Friday we got the news that all of the DRA assessments were due.  That they were actually “overdue,” but the powers that be down at DPS headquarters had granted an extension until Monday for turning scores in.  A month ago … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs

Waste

There is the waste of paper. There is the waste of instructional time. There is the waste of students’ learning time. There is the waste of professional time—the time of all those professionals who have been promoted out of the … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Commentary on assessments

Measuring Up

The statistics are public now.  The scores on the first Benchmark tests are online.  In the four Upper Elementary classes at Denison, there are approximately 48 fourth graders distributed equally among the classes, which also have fifth and sixth graders … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Commentary on assessments

Assessment in a “Progressive School” by Chris von Lersner

Introduction by Ann: My niece Sabine is attending a progressive middle/high school this year.  Her mother and I decided that the assessment climate at Denison, the public Montessori school where she attended last year as a student in my class, … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Commentary on assessments

Re-authorization of NCLB: Commentary by Barbara L. Minton

Re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and Its Hidden Agenda by: Barbara L. Minton From Natural News: The re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has become a priority for the final year of the Bush … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Assessment costs, Commentary on assessments