A Florida teacher wrote a letter to the editor at the Tampa Bay Times at the end of April. She apologized to her students for something that was not her fault at all. She made it clear how all-consuming high stakes testing has become.
Spring Hill teacher publicly apologizes for FCAT
She makes it clear that the FCAT scores were based on one set of standards even though they had been covering the new Common Core standards for which testing begins next year.
Studied and concentrated on one set of standards while being tested on others? That's simply unfair to all.
I'm sorry that for the six years you've been in school, you've had the FCAT looming over your head. I'm sorry that when you were just 8 years old in third grade, you had your entire year of work summed up by the state on a two-day test.
I'm sorry that you've had the pressure of trying to get a specific score on the test when they change how they grade the test each year.
I'm sorry that you've had to be tested on the Florida Sunshine State Standards this year, even though we've been learning on the new Common Core Standards, because I really have tried to make sure everything was covered.
I'm so sorry that you have been taught that your educational worth is based on one flawed test.
...FCAT may be going away, but testing obsession and overuse isn't. And for that, my dear students, I'm sorry.
I remember the hours we teachers spent making sure our gradebooks accurately reflected the work of our students. I remember the time the students and I spent together keeping student portfolios up to date. I also recall the teacher-made tests for our grade level that encompassed what we had actually studied.
I am glad I am retired now in this time when all that seems to have been thrown out the window, and that one single test on one single day is the ultimate decider.
