Here are my thoughts on EOGs (as someone who's taught taught both ELA and Math):
This time of year is so hard for children and for teachers.
I think about all the real growing my children have done. I think about how I have pushed students to understand and do more than they have before. I think about how hard I've worked and how hard most of them have worked.
And then we get the results back.
And I think about what I could've done differently to make them grow, to be "proficient". And I feel guilty for no reason because I've poured myself into my classroom, my plans, my kids. Many times I've done this at a cost to my own children.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkWzp5bg3PVlu0DoXxZrF75BpQUXmmf3ZGaGeo2ffbpZkzJNOnJMPCwbiScd-pQsZm6rd7CGbqzO-A-9VQjrgU0zCraqdbfepeW2Ltembdnhe7Sk5EBiUtv7J7PSUU4LvOaTUp1vgqZ0/s320/standardized-testing2.jpg)
So then I think about it some more. When I have kids who understand my content (whether it's reading or math) on levels significantly below grade level, how is growth even going to show on an on-grade-level test? If we master long multiplication or division, how does this show on a test that asks students to approximate square roots. If we begin writing 2-step equations from word problems, how does this show on a test that wants them to write and solve multi-step word problems and graph them as linear functions?
I am not sure what the answer is, but I know it is not giving a grade-level test to kids who are three or four grade-levels behind.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWUGtaVRNK4hzssqjIUGcG6h_fRPBR18MXaT7DNj0hIsKRBWU9neLvz6L9ZfaRZupPLZ9Fd1yjC0uJOzSoR_4sURaBwj83GX-VNcSiqj6AajJZm11845ubg9ymQ1B4i0EmsFDCA1p3X0/s1600/010823366_1-d4d7f29dc0ba4a1e45f8d852e1dfc536-260x520.png)
So in this season, I have decided not to blame teachers and not to blame kids. This hurts all of us. This is a problem of the system that desperately needs a solution. And in the meantime, it breaks my heart.
Thank you. This a wonderful read and a wonderful and very truthful statement. I always enjoy reading your posts and this one especially. My children have done fine on one and scored low on another or high on all or Low, etc. I also have an Autistic child starting 3rd grade next year.
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