Today is the first of four days I will be subjecting my students to the modern day torture device known as the STAR Test. My three Special Ed students will take the test. My student who just arrived in the country back in December not speaking a word of English - he will also take the test. According to the California Department of Education, this test "is aligned to the state’s rigorous academic content standards." Now "rigorous academic content standards" does not sound like a bad thing, but if you have heard me comment on them at all, you know I think they are ridiculous. Algebra in fourth grade? Come on! Check out the fourth grade mathematics standards and tell me you could do all this at the age of ten! Or imagine that your parents don't speak any English, you started learning English in school four years ago, and you are asked to show proficiency in the English Language Arts standards. According to the "No Child Left Behind" law, by the year 2014, all students (make that 100% of them) need to be Proficient in these standards. Someone needs to tell the clowns who made the law about something known as the bell curve. In the meantime, I will pass out the tests, the special gold pencils, and tell my students to try their best. Come Friday we will celebrate, and teaching will become fun again.
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