If you don't live in Texas, this may not make sense to you.
My school got our TAKS results Thursday. I teach 8th grade English and my students' percentage was - 98% passing!!!!
And, I had 60% make Commended for Reading!!!
This is justification for me because I absolutely refuse to focus on TAKS through the year. My philosophy is, if I am teaching what I should, then students should do well on the test. I do not use TAKS materials and try not to even mention TAKS through the year. I usually use a PreAP curriculum for both PreAP and my on-level classes and just use different readings for the on-level classes. I have the reputation of being a hard teacher, and I do have high expectations.
This has been a difficult year. I have had a rough class - lots of cheating, lots of defiance, lots of disinterest in school. We have had conflict in our building.
So, this is a great way to end my year. Yay for my kids!!
5 comments:
Sounds to me like you are a true teacher and a great one as well. Congratulations!
Great results! We were pleased with our English results as well, but they were not that good! We still are struggling because we have so many students in ESL. I wish we had someone who taught a PreAP curriculum in middle school!
Have a great time on your Alaska cruise! I went on a cruise last September and had a wonderful time.
Kim from KR
Good for you! I am so happy to hear a Texas teacher who feels that way. My children are all grown but I have grandchildren in Texas schools and the time spent preparing for the TAKS test is ridiculous. The school our oldest granddaughter (age 12, sixth grade) attends doesn't prep the students for the test because they do as you do - they teach the subjects all year long and in the appropriate grades.
I just had to say "Thank You." I wish more teachers (and schools) felt this way.
Susie
Yep, all you commenters- my mom is the BEST English teacher in the state of Texas. And her kids may moan and gripe, but they might become literate because of her.
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