here we go again…
I have a confession to make: the years I feel most proud of what I accomplished in the classroom are the same years I performed poorly on end of the year state assessments. When I did finally get the results I felt reflected the learning happening in my classroom, I can't say that my students were better off or more academically prepared than other years.
Standardized Testing can be a hard time for any teacher, but end of the year assessments are especially hard on teachers of color.
End of year assessments are another instance where teachers of color (TOC) feel they need to prove themselves to admin and their colleagues.
Standardized assessments are a reminder of the institutionalized racism that SOC experience in public education. Standardized tests don’t showcase the cultural capital and life experience that many students of color bring to the classroom.
Standardized Tests can be triggering and/traumatic for TOC. Seeing their own students struggle in the ways that they did, adds an additional layer of emotional stress to the end of what should be a celebratory time.
Here's my advice:
Celebrate all the great things your students are doing throughout the year, and don't be shy about inviting your peers or administrators to see the great things that are going in in your classroom.
During testing season, take especially good care of yourself, and be strategic. Go into it with the idea that there may be some emotional bumps in the road, but plan for those disruptions by asking a teacher friend to go for a walk or giving yourself some scheduled down time.
Incorporate affirmations into your daily schedule. Affirmations are a great way to change the way you see and experience an event. For example:
My success is not measured by test scores.
I can see student academic gains in my classroom.
What's one thing you’re proud of this year? I'd love to hear about it! 😎 Comment below!
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
