SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: My Son's Scores Are Available Already From The 2012 New York State ELA!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

My Son's Scores Are Available Already From The 2012 New York State ELA!

Whew! First day of the NYS ELA test is over! Only 180 minutes to go. Luckily, some good news came my way. Not as a teacher, but as a parent.

Somehow my 5th grade son's exam was scored. Just today's part, and the scores came into me from a phone call from his teacher. I am very excited at how well he did, and proud as all heck. My chest is bursting with pride.

But the scoring method used was different than the traditional scoring method that we all know and loathe. This method was a true indication of how well he did on the tests. The score was not for the entire test taken, but rather the scores were broken down by specificity of parts of the test. Being the proud father that I am, I took him to a celebratory dinner to IHOP, where kids eat free and I had one of the 7 for 7 meals. But I wish to brag and share how well my son did.


Bubble In The Answer: 3 Wow, I was so proud of him. Yes, I wish he had gotten a 4, but I am just as happy that he had gotten a 3. Some of the "bubbling in" was outside the circles. I believe that is the reason he got the 3, but now I know that he understand this test taking skill. I am now confident that when he plays Lotto or Mega Millions he will be able to "bubble in" those numbers with pride.


Re-reading: 4 Excellent. He now knows to go back and reread when he is not sure of what he has read. I had this skill honed down pretty well. It assisted me in October 1986 when under the influence of Mary Jane I kept on rereading the Penthouse interview with Dr Henry Kissinger. I am sure this skill will stay with him at least until college when it is most appropriate.

Underling: 4 Yes, nothing says straight line rather like underling pertinent facts in a passage. His lines were amongst the straightest in the whole class.

Eliminating Straw Answers in Multiple Choice: 4 I am so proud that he knew how to eliminate those answers in a multiple choice test that are just to insane and inane to be correct. This skill will certainly help him eliminate the rambling musings of politicians when he is older and be able to weed out their bullshit.

Ability to Sit Still: 3 Yeah, he could have done better in this category, but what would one expect from a 10 1/2 year old on a sunny spring day? But with this ability to sit for so long at something as wasteful and dull as this exam I can now feel confident to take him to see Chariots of Fire for the first time ever.


Daydreaming: 4 Yes, daydreaming was scored for the first time ever on the 2012 NYS ELA exams. He was caught looking out the windows many a time today and having a look of want on his face as he daydreamed of of getting an education in which true learning took place and a true assessment of his knowledge was available. Alas, it was all for naught and he had to come back to reality and the stupid, imbecilic test. Perhaps next year will be better.

I am proud today that my son did so well on his test taking skills. I mean he should have, he;s been practicing it since the September 9.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very funny. As a teacher in Buffalo, New York, I hear you loud and clear. But after all, this is our goal, to teach children that round pegs go into round wholes. As our new goals are to be career ready and as we are now letting Billion dollar corporations dictate education through lobbyists and promises of big tax breaks, its no wonder we are teaching our kids to be "yes" men. Because by the time your 5th grader has graduated from college, he will need a college degree to ensure he can say "Do you want fries with that." And we will all be so happy that jr. got an education with an $80,000.00 in debt just for that privelege to say that. Because after all, there will no longer be a middle class and who will make the richer even richer than they already are now? So vote against unions, say "yes" to race to the top and keep on lining the pockets of those Billionaires who indeed know, "Education is a Cash Cow".