I got most of my NWEA test scores back, and the results are not what I hoped. I really felt like some of my kids had gained a lot of ground, but the numbers don’t back it up. On average, kids who took the test in the Fall and the Spring lost one point on the performance scale. The biggest gains were seen in the special ed pull-out class, which I don’t teach.
I just mailed off the second batch of scores, so hopefully it won’t make the situation worse. But I’m not too optimistic, because most of the tests in the batch were from students who are chronically absent or were delayed because they carelessly messed up their bubbling somehow.
So much for TFA’s big goal of 2 years’ progress in one…right now, it seems as though I’ll be lucky to see progress at the end of the year, period.
I can’t afford to spend time feeling discouraged though. I’m trying to teach my butt off to catch up with the district pace. Right now, we’re several weeks behind, due partially to the fact that we’re working with only slightly more than 1/2 the instructional time of most schools.
Alan, online. 