ELA Exam

I know it's been a long while since I last posted, so I suppose it's time to catch up on everything that has been going on.

My students have successfully complete the NY State ELA exam. We won't know their scores until June, but based on their initial reactions to the test, I think they all did great. Trust me, after all of the preparation we did for the exam, they should be pros by now!

However, all of this testing has helped me see the effect of NCLB. Don't get me wrong, I think have a systematic list of standards for the country is a good thing. It helps create a bar that every state must reach. However, different communities obviously have different needs that make meeting those standards difficult. Plus, different states require different standards at different grades. So what does that translate into? Inconsistency... and according to all of the teaching practice I've had, that is a very bad thing.