Swimming Upstream

If it wasn't so sad, I'd laugh hysterically.

At school we are in the midst of state of Ohio standardized testing. Sadly these tests are what the state uses to measure the success of all students and the effectiveness of all teachers (regardless of socio-economic status or any other factor that may influence the education of children). So, with that in mind, you can probably imagine how seriously teachers take these tests. Today was the first of three sections of the reading test (my particular subject). The amount of time given for today's test was 75 minutes. One student finished in 10 minutes. One student finished in 15 minutes. One student finished in 20 minutes (and he fell asleep during the test to boot). Two others finished in 25 minutes and more than half were finished after 30 minutes. To do the test properly, the students should have taken 50-60 minutes minimum. So, my effectiveness as a teacher is measured by these students who are putting forth no effort on this high stakes test.

And to make matters worse... The state of Ohio (in its infinite wisdom) has scheduled a statewide tornado drill for tomorrow morning. Please tell me how in the world the state could have a statewide drill during testing week. Is anybody in Columbus paying attention? Sheesh!

And you wonder why I am exhausted at the end of the day? Swimming upstream all the time takes its toll on a guy.