Finally, spring is here. Trees are leafing, fiddleheads are furling, and the mud is drying up. In fact, some may even be justified in saying that summer is almost here. After all, temperatures are rising, the days are much longer, and mosquitoes are biting.

This change of seasons means one thing and one thing only to teachers with only 20 to 25 school days left in the 2007-08 school year. No, it doesn’t mean it’s time to pack up classrooms for the summer. It means administering year-end tests and assessments for every subject in every grade level while we are still teaching new material.

In an elementary classroom a teacher will administer and correct and record in cumulative folders (aka “permanent records”), online student information systems, Title I reports and report cards while students complete tests followed by assessments followed by cumulative projects. All in all, this creates added stress for students and teachers.

My first-grade students are taking six language arts assessments. These include reading comprehension, phonological skills (sounds), oral reading fluency, spelling and writing. The writing assessment is particularly challenging because the protocol for the assessment is so very different from the writing we do every day. Many teachers use “writers workshop” as both an instructional strategy and an organizational format for teaching writing. Typically, a writers workshop begins with a concise, specific lesson on a single aspect of writing – either on topic development or on writing mechanics. Then students write.

Most times the writing topic and format are chosen by the students. The teacher meets with students individually and in small groups to facilitate the writing process. Sometimes the teacher also writes. The end of a writers workshop involves sharing work with the whole group. Some teachers have a schedule to make sure everyone has a chance to participate; others draw names out of a hat; and still others note which pieces of writing will provide teaching points for the class.

Some pieces of writing generated during writers workshops take several days to complete and are subject to peer and teacher conferences, and are revised and edited. Writing assessments are usually done with a writing prompt and are assigned two scores: one for content, the other for mechanics. Students are given a question or statement to base their writing on and a specific time limit to compose, revise and edit without the benefit of peer or adult conferences. This format is said to be based on the SAT and MEA writing test and is implemented early so that students will have experience writing this way.

The problem is, rarely do grown-ups have to produce a written document in isolation. As adults, our writing is reviewed by friends, family, colleagues and supervisors. Many workplaces are now using a collaborative approach to writing. Web-based office tools facilitate this type of writing. But our students are stuck with assessments that force writing to an artificial prompt without the benefit of test-driving the piece with an audience of peers.

Math instruction continues even though the end of the year is near. Consequently, students are taking end-of-chapter tests or end-of-unit tests while preparing for an end-of-year test. In high school and college, these tests are called finals, and time is set aside away from the regular teaching time to study for and administer them. This isn’t so in elementary and middle schools. Math finals are prepared for and given while continuing to teach new material.

Year-end assessments also take place in art, foreign languages, health, music, physical education, science, social studies, technology and every other academic subject. That’s a lot of assessments for each student and each teacher.

This time of year always brings up the questions of whether we need to teach to the test, teach regardless of the test or teach with an awareness of the test. There are also teachers who stop teaching now and just test. Every teacher has a strong opinion on this. Why not ask your child’s teacher what he or she believes and does? The opinion and the practice may not agree with each other.

I understand and accept that measuring student progress in academic subjects is an essential part of education. However, I would like to see a more balanced approach that measures what students need to learn academically, socially and emotionally in an acquiring model (what has been learned) rather than a deficit model (what hasn’t been learned). Celebrating student learning and accomplishments rather than judging those who don’t make the grade would go a long way toward improving student and staff morale in our public schools.

What are your experiences with year-end assessments? What model of testing would you like to see in our schools? Let’s continue this conversation. E-mail me at conversationswithateacher@gmail.com.