North of Montgomery

“When I realized I couldn’t answer the questions posed about two [ — — — ] poems on the Texas state assessment tests (STAAR Test), I had a flash of panic – oh, no!  Not smart enough. Such a dunce. My eyes glazed over. I checked to see if anyone was looking. The questions began to swim on the page. Waves of insecurity. My brain in full spin.”

Does the above sound or feel familiar?  Perhaps from an episode of our own test anxiety?  Or from concerns shared by students or their parents regarding testing?  I can assure you that our counselors and AP’s hear it every single day.  Test anxiety is a living, breathing, monster that is consuming an entire generation of students.  But why?  Is it (testing) that big of a deal?  Has anyone every truly not been able to accomplish what they wanted out of life due to a test score? 

Of course not.

I intentionally omitted three words from the original quote above (in brackets).  Those words are “of my own.”  Yes, you read that correctly.  A published poet, who had two of her poems used as questions on a standardized test, could not answer questions about her own creative writing and intellectual property correctly.  At least according to the state’s scoring guide/rubric. 

I can tell you this…if a published author can’t answer questions about their own works correctly, I’m certainly not going to stress about standardized testing.  Our kids shouldn’t either.  And neither should you. 

All my Dad ever asked of me was to play the hand I was dealt, give my best effort, and use my time wisely.  I can’t think of any better advice for all of us this week. 

I Can’t Answer These Texas Standardized Test Questions About My Own Poems