Poetry Friday: State Testing & Idioms

In my school district, we start our state testing next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  I have blogged and voiced my concerns about the state tests.  I was thinking about state testing and for some reason idioms came to mind.  My apologies for not a typical poem but thought it might be fun to share.


I throw my hat into the wind as testing starts next week.
I had a major chip on my shoulder however I know this test is a drop in the bucket when I reflect on my students' learning this year.
My hope would be that my parent community realizes a picture paints a thousand words and their child's picture has been a work of art since September and will continue to be painted through the end of May. 
I hope my students hit the hay early and don't get up on the wrong side of the bed the morning of the tests.
I predict  my students will  break a leg and go the extra mile on their 2 and 4 pt. responses. They need to go for broke as well and use their loaf. 
By the way I will enjoy testing when pigs fly! 


Best of luck to all students who are taking states tests next week and congratulations to all the teachers who have gone above and beyond in preparing their classes!!


Check out Poetry Friday @ The Opposite of Indifference. Thanks for hosting Tabatha.

State Testing Follow UP-Workshop or Not?

One of the comments left on my post: Does State Testing Fit in the Reading Workshop asked me to stop and reflect on this question.  After looking at my data and realizing my students really were missing key concepts, I did choose to give up two days of my reading workshop for the past four weeks.  I did choose my verb carefully:  give up.  I gave my state test (OAA) long practice test in December, and I am giving a similar test again this week so I can compare my data.  I taught four focus lessons over the past four weeks. The four focus lessons that my data showed my students needed were:  main idea with support from the text, identifying figurative language,  sequence test (which came before/after) and extended 4 point written questions.

I have to admit I was saddened by the first three areas that my students needed help with on the state tests. I would have thought my instruction throughout the year would have helped the students be stronger in those areas.  We have focused on those skills in all of our read alouds, small/whole group lessons, Poetry Friday mini lessons etc.  I am left to wonder and question:  Was it the way I instructed my students?  Was there enough individual practice for the students?  Or could it possibly be the way the OAA test questions are written or possibly the text choices made for the OAA test?  

I am accepting responsibility for the 4 point questions,  I have to admit I had not focused on longer extended responses until 4 weeks ago.  We had done many 2 point questions and overall my class did well on those types of questions.  I also know from the data that I need to have my students work alone more on test prep.  In the beginning, I would lead the lesson, discuss the questions and then have them finish.  Now I give the the OAA prompt - have the students complete it on their own-discuss as a class and finally make a professional decision what is next for instruction.  This week I will be giving the OAA reading test for a second time. This test could possibly take 2 1/2 hours out of my class time on Thursday.  I will compare my data and then use the next 4 weeks for more test prep during my reading workshop.  High stakes testing is here to stay, and I need to allow my students the best opportunity to perform well on the test-right now this is where I am living.  What do you think?

Does State Testing Really Fit in the Workshop Model?

Pardon me as I take a break from technology and reflect on OAA state testing.  At my grade level, I will be giving three state tests in May:  Reading, Math and Science.  I have learned this year how important it is to use my data to guide my instruction; however the part I am struggling with is how to use my data within my workshop model.  I have heard, and I am slowly "buying" into the idea of a testing genre.

I have been trying to wrap my mind around the idea of reading and writing about OAA test questions as a form of study in my workshop.  I  know my fifth grade scores are tied directly to my school's state report card therefore I will be starting my testing genre next week.  Through professional development at my school, I have read many articles that reinforce important ideas for me to consider as I begin my unit. I need to

*expose my students to different types of OAA reading samples (fiction, non fiction and poetry)
*increase stamina by increasing the amount of time my students are working on practice tests
*teach my students to read passages more than one time
*model for them how to answer 2 and 4 point questions based on the passage
*allow plenty of time so that my students can become comfortable with this genre

When I implement this list at school this week I think my workshop will look something like this:


Mini Lesson: Let's share a story (poem) today about ..... Focusing on a specific skill....... creating an anchor chart with key points
Practice:  Here is another story I would like you to go and practice on your own
Small group:  From my data, I would pull a small group of students who need reinforcement before working on their own
Release the small group to do some of the work on their own so I can have conferences
Share Time:  Review the focus skill answers and ask students to reflect on what they have learned about themselves as test takers? 

I guess I can do this but it just doesn't feel very comfortable for me.......any thoughts?