Day 2 with no internet in the school building. Sigh.
Today students took the test over our “theme” unit. It was my first time using scantron forms to grade, and I don’t know what I’ve been waiting so long for – it’s so easy and fast. Unfortunately I can predict the students’ scores based on the noisy “ticks” of the machine punching red wrong lines by each questions. It’s discouraging learning just how awful some of my kids did using my ears instead of my eyes.
Another edition of Overheard in Room 208:
Student walks into room, clearly laid out in testing rows. “We have a test today? What’s it over?”
[I’ve had the week’s agenda on the board ALL WEEK. And I’ve reminded them several times a day. We filled out a study guide yesterday. Why would I give them a study guide if not for a test??]
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“Is it going to be a hard test?”
My response: Have you been present the last two weeks? Did you read the stories and poems? Did you take notes? Did you complete the study guide? Then no. It’s testing what you learned. If you didn’t learn anything, then yes, it WILL be hard. Sigh.
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Girl: Mrs. H, I don’t know anything about “The Interlopers” that the test is asking about.
Me: Were you in class last Tuesday when we read it?
Girl: No.
Me: Remember when I put a post-it note in your book on Wednesday and told you to take it home and read it and you left it on your desk after the bell?
Girl: Um…
Me: Remember last Friday when it was a make-up day for anyone who was absent and I put all the page numbers on the board and said, “If you didn’t read these read them now”? Remember how you talked to Maggie all class no matter how many times I told you to read the story because it’d be on the test?
Girl: Um, yeah…
Me: Remember doing your study guide yesterday and that big box that said, “You must know basic information about these four texts” and I put the page numbers and told you to read them again?
Girl: Um…
Me: You had at least three different chances to read it, hun. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful to you.
Spring Break is around the corner. 🙂