FCAT smeF-CAT

Cali was in tears this morning over taking the FCAT. The school hyped up the test all week and this was the result. 

 Here is the letter I sent to her teacher and principal this morning...too harsh?:

I am a little concerned over the pressure that is being applied to these sweet little third graders at school over the FCAT. I have been told that the school gets funding based on how many children pass the test - I am not sure if this is true or not...but it seems that the "hype" at school has caused my perfectly intelligent, good testing-taking child to feel that she is somehow not "ready" to take the FCAT and that her whole life "depends" on how she does on this one test. She was literally in tears this morning because of the pressure. She will of course be fine, I have no doubt, and I shared this thought with her, but and perhaps I should write that BUT this test will NOT determine anything significant in HER life and she should not be made to understand that it will.

I assured her that if she did her best, that is all that I would ever want from her - whether that means that she passes or fails is of no consequence to me. Again, I assured her of her intelligence and skill at test-taking, BUT...yes, BUT once again - a child of her age should never be led to believe that this test could make or break her!

I have older children that have gotten perfect scores on the CAT (while living in California), I believe Cali capable of the same - I do not however, agree with the "hype" and the emphasis and the pressure that is put on these children to achieve. I feel that subjecting them to this kind of pressure is counter-productive to them doing well. This sweet little girl is so nervous that it brought her to tears! I am sorry, my friends, but a test, a standardized test, should never be allowed to bring my sweet child to tears.

I understand the importance of this test to the schools. I understand that teachers are put under great pressure to produce results - and that perhaps this has also brought you to tears. It is unacceptable that the pressure given at school (because it certainly was not given at home) should bring my daughter to tears.

I would like to emphasize that I believe she will test well, but if pressure continues I will have no other option but to opt her out of taking the test. This kind of pressure on a 9 year old child is unacceptable. Please let me know the best course of action to ensure the emotional heath of my child is not further damaged.

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The principal called and talked to me later in the day.  He explained that they really try hard to help the kids relax the week before FCATs instead of cramming - they had a teacher minute to win it rally, each class had their own relaxation technique the Friday before - Cali's class had a spa day...I told him it all sounded like a bunch of hype.  He took objection to that - said his fellow principals all made their schools cram the last week and that they thought he was crazy, talked about how the try to integrate the 7 habits into their FCAT studies.  Here is my point though, if all of this "relaxation" is done in the name of FCAT then isn't all just hype? The principal agreed that no matter what we call it, the FCAT build up should not produce tears from my child.  He said he would ask her teacher to speak to her to see what was going on.

I will say that Cali's teacher did speak to her in class.  She asked her if she was a little stressed this morning before school? Cali said that she was a little bit (she wondered how her teacher knew).  Her teacher said that because Cali was a little stressed it stressed her mom out a little too. She assured Cali that there was nothing to worry about and that she would do great! I appreciate that she handled that situation the way that she did. Perhaps she is right that Cali stressing out stressed me out.  I know alot of times I react instead of thinking it through and then acting.  The thing that perhaps triggered my reaction so fast was the other schools that I have dealt with in the past - namely when I was in Blythe.  They took CAT testing to a whole new level and I suppose I was still on defense from that...

Here is what I wrote to Cali's teacher:

I wanted to email you and thank you for speaking with Cali yesterday after testing.  I think that you were right in telling her that because she was upset and stressed it also made me upset and stressed.  I appreciate the way that you handled the situation and I also appreciate your efforts as Cali's teacher.  Cali started off at Harmony a little different than I would have expected, she seemed timid and a little afraid of making new friends which frankly caught me off guard as she has never been so reserved socially.  It seems that you have given her the time and patience to find her place in your class and she is back to her old fun-loving, sunshiny self.  Thank you for all that you do as her teacher, mentor and friend.  She adores you.

Here is what I wrote to the principal:

Although I still feel that a lot of what schools do to prepare for the FCAT is "hype" (this is my word here) - I can see the point of view of the school that you were attempting to help the kids relax.  I just wonder if it comes off as build up, build up, build up and that might be where some of the pressure comes from.  I believe that Cali, after a week of fun and relaxation starting thinking...well, why did we take a whole week to relax, is it really that big of a deal? And then the worrying and fussing really set in.  I think that now that she has taken the first part and has realized that its really not that big of a deal, meaning that she already knows most of the answers - she has finally relaxed. I can see the difference in her countenance that she knows that she can do this.  She is a bright, enthusiastic learner and that is all that she needs to know going in - that is really all she has needed the whole time.

I guess I miss the days when I was growing up in Ohio.  We had standardized testing, it, I am sure, had an impact on the schools, but it was just something we did.  There was no fuss, no pep rally's and pretesting, no practicing how to write an essay for the FCAT or at least not mentioned as we were learning how to write an essay.  The testing came and went as part of our schooling and was never really brought to the attention of the student as anything spectacular or critical but just a part of our regular schooling.  This is why I call things I see in schools across the country as 'hype'. Believe me it is happening in Utah and California our most current resident states as well.  Just the fact that we have to bring the 'relaxation' to the forefront of the kids minds and make it a big deal that we are 'relaxing' for FCATs is where I think things are going wrong.  If you want to give them the week off before FCATs then do it - but don't make such a big fuss over it.  Otherwise it will have been for naught.

Thanks for your time and consideration on this important matter.  I know that you are doing your best to try and balance what is a very difficult situation for the kids, the school, and the administration.  I wish you the very best in your endeavors and will try and relax a little myself.  My ultimate goal is to help the school to be my partner in teaching my children and helping them to grow. I hope that you see that my concern comes from my ultimate goal of teaching and raising them to the best of my ability.

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I honestly think that some of my reaction comes from the bad experiences that I had with CAT testing in Blythe, CA.  It was horrible.  In fact, if you read back through my blog you may find my rants about that time - and believe me this experience doesn't even touch how horrible it was then....