Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! How many of you go home after a challenging and stressful day in the classroom and kick back with a few drinks or other substances to help you unwind? Are you finding this is happening more and more frequently? […]
high stakes testing
Posted inAsk a Teacher
4 Things Every Teacher Knows About High Stakes Testing
There are lots of things within the context of teaching that teachers will have a variety of opinions on. High-stakes testing is certainly a unifier for many of us. Here are four things that every teacher knows about testing that stakeholders and lawmakers should have listened to pre-pandemic to prevent some of the stress and […]
Posted inOpinion
From (AP) Hell to (Oxford) Heaven and Back: A Summer Confession
34,000 Feet – Somewhere Over the Atlantic I was utterly crushed. There is absolutely no other word to describe it. On the eve of my last day of a magical family holiday, I got the bad news. For the second year in a row my AP scores were disappointing…VERY disappointing. In the wake of last year’s […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
I Don’t Teach To the Test, But I Still Play the Game
If you “teach to the test,” you are a slave to the system, right? I personally despise standardized tests, and in fact, when it comes to high school English classes, I would do away with midterms, final exams, and most typical tests altogether if I could. But since I do have to play the game, I […]
Posted inUncategorized
A Teacher Requests Her Students Not To Be Tested
I have had the immense fortune of being able to be in front of children in many different capacities for 25 years. It truly humbles me to know that for 25 years, parents have trusted my professionalism, training, care, creativity, and judgment when it comes to their children. My experiences include both regular/general education, and […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Literacy
Different Teachers, Different Pressures
There is a certain about of pressure that comes with being a high stakes teacher, okay, it is a ton of pressure. A high stakes teacher is a teacher whose class performance on a standardized test is directly tied to the School Performance Score. At a small school, this means there are only four or […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Encouraging Success In Our Students
Success was always important when I was growing up. I’m an only child, so the pressure was palpable from my parents. They were always pushing me to do better, wanting me to ‘amount’ to something worthwhile. Unfortunately their worthwhile careers were those of a doctor, attorney or highly paid businessperson. Not that of a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized
Fight! Fight! Illinois Teachers Refuse to Administer ISAT State Test
There is another battle this week between parents and teachers against Chicago Public Schools and it centers on testing. Threats from the board include disciplinary action against teachers including the revocation of teacher certification. Next week, the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) is administered to grade school students across the city and state. The test takes […]