Sunday, March 4, 2012

Keeping Students Accountable

Standardized testing--any thoughts on them?? Just kidding! We don't have enough time for that!! ;)

Standardized tests are such a BIG deal in Texas. I'm sure those of you in other states feel pressure about your testing system too. We are required to have students take practice tests--benchmarks--to assess progress every 6 weeks for all three tested subject areas. As fun as these are (NOT), the kids get worn out and oftentimes will deem them useless. I believe that well-written benchmarks can be useful. Whether or not the ones I have to give my students are, in fact, useful, I want them to feel like they are so they will always do their best on them. I don't want to pass on any negative feelings that I may have about them. I always make sure to let students know how they did on these tests. We sometimes reflect upon their progress in an informal manner and make goals for the next benchmark. I have also had them keep track of progress on a graph before. But we don't do that every time (for a number of reasons). Anyway, I decided that I needed to enhance the page that I currently use in order to better keep them accountable. I created this little minibook for them to track their progress. Check out the book below and feel free to download it! I am not sure how many of you can actually use this, but I hope there are some of you out there that can!

I have not used this version with my students, but I know that they will enjoy it, since they enjoyed my previous history form. Enjoy!

14 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. This is great! Thank you so much for sharing. I think standards and standardized testing it BIG in any state (just MUCH bigger in TX-- aren't most things?). Thanks so much for sharing a great, useful, student friendly idea!

      Maria

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  2. This is a great idea - thanks for sharing. And good luck on the Writing STAAR. Ew. I've taught fourth grade for eight years; this is my first in third. We're looping up with the kids next year, so we have a extra year to prepare them. I'm kind of sick about it!
    Buzzing with Ms. B

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  3. very cool! i used to use just a boring ol spreadsheet..but i lik this :)

    ♥ Jen
    The Teachers' Cauldron

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  4. I am so thankful I don't have to worry about benchmarks, but I'm sure this would be super useful if I did! I just gave you an award!

    http://herdingkats.blogspot.com/2012/03/top-of-evening-to-you.html

    Jennifer @ Herding Kats In Kindergarten

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  5. What a fab idea! I need to figure out something similar/simpler to use with my kinders.


    ✪ Miss W

    Miss W Teaches

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  6. This is great! I try to be sure to share with my kids their results, but don't always have time/remember. This will help to make this valuable learning tool a priority. Thank you for sharing.

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  7. We take 5 Reading unit tests ( there are 6 units, but the last unit test falls at the end of the year when we take CRTs). This will be great for tracking their progress!

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  8. Awesome idea! Thank you so much for sharing with us! I'm always looking for ways to make students accountable for their learning and growth! A definite must for next year! (Our benchmarks are done for this year...It's on to STAAR)

    Tammy
    Confessions of a Fourth Grade Teacher

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  9. I love this idea so much! But, I need your help. When I download it from googledocs, the type turns into black rectangles. It looks like a top secret letter after the CIA gets a hold of it. Am I doing something wrong?
    Thank you again for this great resource!
    Jaime
    5th grade teacher

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    1. Try visiting my friend Ashleigh's blog to fix it: http://ashleigh-educationjourney.blogspot.com/2011/10/pdfs-macs.html

      Let me know if you still need help! :)

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    2. That worked beautifully. Thanks for the tip!
      Jaime

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  10. I like this! Thank you for sharing this great tool!
    Maribel
    Learning In Wonderland

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