When my son was younger, we got lots of notes from school. Because he has ADHD, he has a difficult time working to his academic potential. We got used to cheering incremental progress and developing strategies to improve less than stellar grades.
My daughter, on the other hand, does really well in school. So imagine our surprise when we received a flyer from the school asking our permission to put her in a program to provide supplemental instruction.
“Why on earth could she need supplemental instruction?” I wondered. I read the flyer more carefully. My daughter was invited to attend early morning sessions to improve her performance on the ISAT tests. Her school is offering these sessions to move her from a student who “meets expectations” to a student who “exceeds expectations.”
I am dumbfounded. As an Illinois state certified teacher, I am familiar with the ISATs. It’s my understanding that the tests are a measure of how effective the schools are in teaching our children what they need to know. Though the students are being tested, it’s the schools—and the teachers—that are being evaluated.
If my daughter isn’t performing to the school district’s liking, isn’t that a reflection of the teaching that has occurred throughout the school year? But her report cards are consistently excellent. We are confident in her teacher’s abilities and pleased with our daughter’s progress.
Our school district’s board of directors has identified a handful of goals. The first goal cited on their website is moving more students from meeting expectations to exceeding expectations. It wouldn’t be fair to assume that the order the goals are listed on the website reflects their importance to the school. Traditionally, though, the first thing listed is the one of greatest priority. Job one, if you will.
Last year my daughter took the ISATs for the first time; the pressure to do well was palpable. It brought her to tears. With so much emphasis placed on performance, she crumbled. Her principal offered to speak with her one-on-one to reassure her. She declined the invitation, not wanting to be singled out. She took the test, met expectations and went back to doing great in her academic work.
This year, she’s embarrassed that she’s been singled out. Only one other classmate received the flyer and all of the other students knew it. We called the program coordinator, got more information and decided that our daughter won’t be participating in the program.
We’ll make sure our daughter gets a good night’s sleep and has a good breakfast, just like every other day. We’ll also make sure she knows that while she should try her best, it’s the teachers and the school that are being judged, not her.