What week is this?

This week is the 8th week of school, so it would only be logical to be giving students their 10 week assessments this week.

For all of you out there that do speak education gibberish the 10 week assessment is the quarterly test/exam. No one calls a test a test anymore, we use the term assessment to confuse everyone, because assessments are also quizzes and as the case with some teachers at my school projects. In fact, we throw the word assessment all over the place. I don't have the slightest idea how students distinguish a pop quiz from a semester final because we call them all assessments and tell them every assessment is equally important.

Just in case you are questioning the time liner regarding our assessments... The school year is 40 weeks long made up of 2 twenty week semesters and each semester is comprised of two ten week quarters. Hence the 10 week assessments (quarter exams) at the ten week mark.

The first sentence was not a type-o. This is week 8.

I don't question the logic of my school anymore. I accept the reality of an administration that mandates teachers give 10 week assessments during the 8th week of school. If I start to fixate on that than I don't have time to break down how each individual student scored on every quest of the exam, put down the the results in a power point that I am sure the results of which will be analyzed by my bosses and there bosses for the next two weeks... at least.

Despite my best efforts; reviewing the type of questions on the test, so the students would understand and recognize higher order thinks skills questions; reviewing the subject matter we covered over the last eight weeks and pinpointing what is extra important to study; spending not one but multiple class periods doing oral prep; and letting them know how important this is. The average score of my very easy exam was a 67%.

The average student score on the ACT is 17.

The world needs waitresses, garbage men, secretaries and mechanics. My students could be any of those things. No one is leaving my high school with hopes of joining a think tank, if they know what that is. My issue is that we spend A LOT of time as teachers spinning out wheels telling our students how important college is and that they must go. We spend even more time "preparing" them for college, whatever that means. We spend countless hours writing, grading and analyzing endless assessments when we could be using that time mentoring, teaching - I mean really teaching - and giving students the guidence they need that is so lacking in their lives.

Even my worst students, the ones whose purpose in life seems to make my day miserable for the time they are in my class want to pass my class. They try to pass. They take their assessments. I see them reading the questions, and it breaks my heart that I never see the light bulb go off over their heads when they realize they know the answer to a question. Every time they get a failing grade on a test, they get a little more frustrated. I have to many students and they have to many responsibilities. I can't help every one, and sometimes the ones who need the help never ask or take it when offered.

So why this push for college? Why do we tell them they must go? I know a lot of happy, successful adults that never went to college. they have good jobs and some of them make more money than I do.

My school is judged on how many of our seniors go to college (among other things). So we push and we assess... and asses... and assess