Sunday, April 22, 2012

Rocket Scientists, Testing Schedules & Explosions

testing schedule
So maybe it's just me.

Maybe the longer I do this teaching thing, the more I become aggravated when seemingly simple tasks like testing somehow evolves into something more and more complex and difficult to understand.

I think it would be easier to learn Mandarin Chinese.

Or, memorize and play all of Bach's Inventions and Sifonias.

Or, become a rocket scientist. (OK, OK, OK, so maybe not a rocket scientist, but at least then I would be able to blow things up. Where's Steve Spangler the Science Guy when I need him?)

Instead, I must deal with this testing schedule for next week. Since it almost made my head explode, I had to write it all out. I just couldn't wrap my brain (what's left of it) around it.

It might as well been something like this… On odd days you'll have even day classes, and only lunch on every third day and then for 23.4 minutes you'll be able to eat your sandwich and go to the restroom all the while watching 25 kids except the ones who aren't testing who will go to the auditorium for an assembly and…and do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around…

Well, you get the picture of the chaos and madness especially for those of us who teach mixed grade level courses. I don't envy those who are forced to coordinate all this testing stuff mandated by the state and figure out a schedule.

But really? Whatever happened to a simple test on one simple day?

Instead, on Thursday we have 9th graders in an assembly, 10th and 11th graders taking the science test while seniors attend a separate assembly and then released for the day. I'm not sure what we're doing about lunch that date because when testing is over, we begin fourth period without lunch and then a backwards schedule of third period, second period and first period for 9th, 10th and 11th graders, but not seniors who were released earlier.

Jeepers creepers, welcome to my world…

Close up of testing schedule
 


5 comments:

Robert Courtemanche said...

I put our testing schedule up on the board Friday too. I still don't know what I'm doing this week. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow.

askthehomediva said...

Oh it's so good to know that I am not alone… I had a feeling I wasn't. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I had to retype the schedule we received from our admin just so I could wrap my head around it. I hate-hate-hates testing days. My courses are mixed grade too and things are thrown into total chaos!

Unknown said...

No lunch! No lunch! That's what I think about when I have a schedule like that. Then again, I'm a glutton.

askthehomediva said...

The no lunch thing got me, too. Apparently, it's accounted for somewhere, just not on paper, or so they say. We shall see. I'm sure it will involve some sort of sandwich at a desk staring at kids.