Student took the time to take a survey for us back in December, giving advice for parents, staff, and even each other with regards to stress reduction. The data, behind the scenes, has been fueling our discussion and dialogue in Site Advisory Committee, Department Chair Meetings, Staff Meetings, and Parent Education. A frequently asked question: when are you going to do something?
Let's talk about the change process, shall we. Change is, well, slow. And, admittedly, this can be a bit frustrating (especially if you are feeling a sense of urgency to "get it done"). Sure, there are shortcuts to making change. These might come in the form of laws, rules, or top-down directives. But, I am sure that many of you may agree, these tactics may not always result in the type of outcomes that are desired. Although folks may follow the law, or the rule, or the top-down directive, they may not actually believe in it. This can lead, I'm afraid, to people finding loopholes, halfheartedly adhering to policy, or outright refusal to comply. Perhaps students know a little about this. We want to do better than that. When we develop plans, we want there to be consensus among stakeholders, a true belief in the reform, and investment in the outcome. Sounds idealistic, right? Perhaps. But, I think we can do it. It just takes a little time.
Back to the topic: testing days. This has been a topic of much discussion this year. When testing days were first developed, five or six years ago, they were quite progressive. The idea behind the testing days was the same as that which exists today; students often felt overloaded with tests on a given day and were requesting to spread things out so that they could prepare better. Makes a lot of sense. And, when this was developed, my understanding was that there was a lot of support behind the idea. Here comes the tricky part. Time went on and old agreements weren't renewed. And, on top of that, it became increasingly difficult to pinpoint what, exactly, constituted, a test. Were all assessments, tests and quizzes, in this category? How about projects? Presentations? Papers? It gets a little complicated when you think of it that way.
This was exactly the type of conversation teachers have been having. For some departments, it was simple. They didn't have many tests or had agreement around testing days that they felt they could work with. Other departments had a difficult time. Frequent checks for understanding are a good practice. Do testing days mean we can't do this? Papers might be works in progress over several weeks. If the assignment was a long term assignment, would it have to be due on a testing day for that class? We grappled with these questions, and more. We grappled with them because it is deeply meaningful for us. If we commit, we want to be able to commit well.
So, this is what we came up with. For the month of March, we are going to recommit to testing days. With fidelity. Does that mean that you won't have a quiz on a non testing day? Not necessarily. Defining a "test" was a cumbersome, and somewhat confining task. Our agreement is to exercise common sense. High stakes assignments or assessments are tests. Conceivably, therefore, you could have a quiz on a non testing day for a class or a presentation that is part of a project that has been in progress for a long time. Does that make sense?
In addition, we want to gather information. We need to know if testing days are actually helpful to the student experience. We know that you think it will be, but we want to understand this even better. At the end of the week, you will receive a survey in your loop mail. It will ask you to identify the number of tests you had on each day this last week. We want a baseline. So, keep count. We need that data.
And, on another note, give your teachers a thank you. They really care a lot. I know that testing days seem easy, but planning is often done months in advance. Letting them know you see their efforts means a lot.
