Meanderings: Back to skool
School was back in session for about 20 adults Monday when we participated in "Take The Test" at Marion Elementary School.
Many requirements for school accreditation hinge in part on various forms of standardized tests. Take The Test Day was to give adults a chance to try out their skills at actual questions from recent tests.
I thought part of taking the test was acting like a real student, so I invited a girl to the prom, told another girl that my best friend thought she was cute, and asked if anyone had any zit cream.
Then I learned about "time out." One of our attractive elementary school teachers took me into the hallway and gave me a dressing-down, which was less fun than it sounds. Chastened, I went back in and took the test.
Needless to say, they didn't pick the easiest questions for us to answer. I didn't understand fractions even when I was studying fractions. Throw a cosine and that damned "n=?" into the mix, and I realized I was wasting time. I wanted to fill in the dots on the answer page so they spelled out "Zeppelin Rules," but we didn't have those sort of answer pages.
I did a little better on the social studies and reading tests. There were no questions about "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" so that put me at a competitive disadvantage. In the real world, I would have claimed a cultural bias.
Of the 12 questions, I missed three, two math and one social studies. It was a good reminder in attention to detail. The social studies question I missed because I circled the wrong answer by mistake. This isn't unusual for me. I remember in grade school I was off a line on an entire test, but didn't realize it (obviously) until the end. I was terrified. I wasn't sure what the future would hold for a fourth grader who missed every question on a standardized test, but I figured it wouldn't be a positive experience.
When your kids take the real tests, encourage them to take it seriously. Some of those tests count for scores in their classroom. More importantly, the habit of doing your best, no matter who is watching, is valuable.
If your child does well on these tests, congratulate them. Students have to show mastery of the subject matter to score highly.
— MATT NEWHOUSE
