9486 in the collection
Reporter's kid is scared of the FCAT
See reader comments at bottom.
by Denise-Marie Balona
Every single night, as I tuck her into bed, my third grader frets about the upcoming FCAT.
This has been going on for two weeks now. No matter what I say, she worries. She’s scared, she says, that she won’t do well and that she’ll be in third grade again next year.
Occasionally, she also brings it up while we’re playing together or having dinner.
This, of course, makes me very sad. I try to comfort her. I explain that the test can be a good thing — it’ll help her teacher know what she’s really good at and where she needs more practice. I tell her she’s not going to fail because she’s a terrific reader. I remind her that she has made a lot of improvement in math. She brought her math grade up to a B just a few weeks ago!
I know she’ll do OK, even if she’s not sure about it. I wish I could make her understand that her best really is good enough.
Reader Comments:
- This story is why, even though I am a public-school teacher, my children will NEVER go to public schools. No child should have that fear.
--Florida teacher
- I'm a teacher too, flateacher, and I concur. It borders on abuse, maybe not for all, but should we subject even a single kid to this treatment?
--Love to teach to love learning
- Growing up we had assessment tests every year. We knew that fact, yet we never lost sleep, or play time because our studies were based on learning the subjects, not the final test. My 4th grade daughter told me that they are done with math for the year. They apparently covered all topics of the test. So, my question is, if they are done with math, what is to be for the rest of the school year? Review? The Florida Dept of Education needs to see what is REALLY going on, and not just some dumb number from a test. No wonder kids fail the test with all the stress put on them. Save the stress for when they are adults when they can put things into a better perspective.
— Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel blog
2010-02-24
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/2010/02/reporters-kid-is-scared-of-the-fcat.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_cam
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