Ask anyone committed to education and they will bemoan the focus high stakes testing has on our profession. It was one of the questions I asked in my initial interview, knowing that Portland was implementing a test this year that predicted 60% failure rates. I was told that they did one in Alaska but it wasn't that much of a big deal.
Good thing. This week I was to administer the so-called MAP test to my 6th graders on four of five days in school, one subject area per day. I got ONE test completed. Not because my students are low academically (some are, some aren't) or don't know how to use computers but because my new district (that I love, don't get me wrong) gave me absolutely zero training in how to administer the test. I never got the proper pass words. The passwords I did get for students were both irrelevant (kids don't need them to log on) and wrong. I was never given even the slightest bit of guidance of how to do basic things like turn the test on, load it for my students, etc etc etc.
Finally, in desperation, I begged my colleagues for help. The secondary Science teacher gave me her passwords to use but we couldn't be logged in at the same time so that didn't work. All of the secondary classes (6th-12th) took the test at the same time, straining the limited bandwidth. The counselor, also new to the district, called the district office and managed to get a new password sent to me that actually worked, then took the time to walk me through setting up the test while my guys sat anxiously but patiently, for the most part, waiting for it to load. This was after three days of spending nearly an hour in the computer lab only to be told "Well, we can't do the test today either; let's go to the gym."
To their credit, my students were amazing. Every day we would march to the computer lab and try to get the test to load. Only once did they get in trouble, and that was while lining up to go to the gym where they started playing around a little too rough for my taste. "I can't get the test to load and we broke a computer" is not a conversation I want to have with my AP. An AP who, admittedly, is in his first year as an administrator and feeling the learning curve. But when I came to him for help, his only response was "Talk to Jasper." Jasper is the tech guy. Except that he doesn't appear to be able to do anything. He is the one who gave me new passwords for the kids, which you do not need to take the test. I am sure his intentions are good but it did not do anything for my frustration levels to be told, "Try loading it again."
Finally, on Friday with Cam the Counselor just as determined by that point to get this thing to work sitting by my side we were victorious. The General Science test loaded. The kids took it. All but one finished, though I suspect one kid just skimmed and answered with no real thought into his answers. Since we had about 45 minutes left in the day, I tried to load the Math test to at least get a start on it. No big surprise, it wouldn't load. I sent an email to the AP explaining that 6th grade needed to make up three tests next week but it is a week set aside to do district specific tests on the same subjects as the MAP test. I have had zero training on how to administer those tests as well.
Here we go again.
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