The quarry question was DS's first "official" test in 4th grade, after a midyear skip, and the only one he got wrong. I explained his answer when I signed the test to return it, but never heard anything back. I wasn't about to rock the brand new boat, but in hindsight...that was the one teacher that really didn't "get" DS at all. She was at least fun and nice.

They never seem to be "random guesses" though, eh? Even when they are totally wrong, it's always entertaining to hear their thought process.

We are currently going through our state tests (PSSA's). Everynight, DS is asking us verbatim questions from his test to try and see if he picked the RIGHT choice out of the couple of reasonable (to him) options. Last night he was very upset to the point of tears to find out that he had changed an answer from what we think was probably correct to an incorrect answer because he overthought it. I have been really amazed at how many of the multiple choice answers could be correct depending on how you read the question even on the practice pages he brought home during the review.

However, I have to talk to his school also. DS has the idea that if he misses even 1 question he has to repeat the entire concept next year. I really don't know if this is true. It somehow seems extreme. The pressure they are putting on the kids for these tests is terrifying. DS's understanding is that if his class doesn't do well, his teacher will lose her job. I keep trying to tell him that these tests are a test for the school that creates the school's report card. He needs to do the best he can, but not get too worked up over them. I'm really glad today is the last day of testing.

I hate multiple choice tests!!

I always did very poorly on them, although, I did remarkably well on the ACT. It wasn't till college when many of my tests were in essay form that I realized I might, in fact, be somewhat intelligent!

I would suggest you look into test taking strategies. A friend taught me some strategies in college that were very helpful. It's been a long time since I've taken a test, but the one I remember that was most helpful to me:

Don't choose the right answer first! Cross off the most WRONG answer and work backward. Usually the correct answer becomes more clear or at the very least you are left with two answers to choose from. It took a lot of the overthinking/pontificating out of the equation for me and I was more likely to choose the "right" answer.

As for son worrying about teacher losing job. That's classic over at our house. In my girl's case usually they pick up on the panic/importance held by the person, in this case your son's teacher. But they usually don't know why. They "guess" to make sense of it. I really hope your teacher didn't tell them she would lose her job! That would be awful.
Sometimes the other kids hear things here or there from there parents, string miscellaneous snips together to form a "frankenstein" and pass it around the school as fact.
Aren't you glad you're not a kid anymore?



Neato

Oh, yes! I feel so awful for elh's son! So much pressure!

Being an adult is stressful, but nothing compared to all that!

We are going through the same thing. The teachers at DD's school have gotten the kids so worked up about this SAT/OLSAT testing, and it's just ridiculous. I know it matters to some extent, but it's not worth that. For us, it is a little high stakes because we do need DD to score well to qualify for gifted services. I know she's going to miss some questions, though, mostly due to overthinking. I just HATE standardized testing! The kids would do so much better if the teachers would lighten up a little.

Next week the kids have to take the ARMT (a state reading and math test). I don't know how much more of this I can take!

Hugs to your DS. My DD is a perfectionist, too, and she hates to get anything wrong. She missed a vocabulary word yesterday on the SAT, and she was really upset about it.

Greetings from PA ELH, with a few more years of PSSA experience. PLEASE reassure your son that the "proficient" bar is a no-brainer for a kid like him. He might miss a few questions, and probably will, but the bar for proficient is not that hard to top.

My son's 3rd grade report lists the following target ranges...

Reading
Comprehension and Reading Skills 19-27 out of 33
Interpretation and Analysis of Fiction and Nonfiction 7-9 out of 13

Math
Numbers and Operations 24-28 out of 30
Measurement 6-7 out of 8
Geometry 7 out of 8
Algebraic Concepts 7-8 out of 10
Data Analysis and Probability 7-8 out of 10

"The target range is the score range of the continued instruction at grade level column. It is based on the scores in the reporting category typical of students who performed proficient overall on this test."

I believe the math portion was "dumbed down" a few years back, which possibly accounts for the higher levels here.

His teacher's pressure, talking about HER job being accountable is totally out of line!!! I could maybe see saying that to higher grade students, who might not take the test seriously because it doesn't "count".

Thanks to all and Dottie who is living wild today it appears

I really don't think my son's classroom teacher would have said that her job was on the line. However, I think he may have picked up that impression from signs around the school and handouts to take home. Reading through them again and trying to think like DS they do come across alot more omonious than my initial reading. I also think I may need to explain the difference between proficient and perfect

Thanks again!

Don't forget that "advanced" stops in there somewhere between proficient and perfect as well, LOL!

That is really sad that a child should have to feel that much pressure about a standardized test! This prepping for the test business is just ridiculous.

I also can think back to standardized testing as a child. I thought through every answer and would often think more than one answer could be correct! And then I would get stressed out and run out of time. I am glad I'm not a kid anymore! It was stressful.

Me, too! Did you know that the SAT-10 is now untimed? This is both good and bad, I suppose. DD said that testing takes forever because they have to wait on people to get done. She's not allowed to read a book while they wait.