Another WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO day! My absolute favorite subject to teach is math. So, my absolute favorite test to see growth on is math as well. I am soooooo proud of this group of kids. We expect kids to make at least 9 points growth. We had from 9 to 29 points growth, with 7 students scoring in the 20 point range. I have NEVER seen growth like this before, and I have NEVER seen every single student make the recommended growth before! These kids, hands down, rocked the math NWEA MAP test! Ty took the high today with a 29 point growth. Unreal! I, again, wrote your child's growth in their planner. Be proud! Their teacher is!!! Write SUPER PROUD in the planner for $10 if you have a great discussion with your child tonight (however, a hug would probably mean more than my fake $10. :0)) And ask them about their fun little SHINE power bracelets they got today. :0)
Tomorrow is our last test. We will finish up with the Language NWEA test. All those parts of speech, types of sentences, commas, homophones, and so on are about to become real. They are ready! All they have to do is BELIEVE and SHINE! Rusty helped drill this in today with a series of videos. He told them that getting a good night's rest (homework is early to bed) and a protein breakfast/lunch is the way to go. He also shared my philosophy…the test is important, but it is nothing compared to the importance of the child to me. :0) So true.
I wish I could say we are done testing for the year. In a couple of weeks, we will take the Smarter Balance test. This test is a little different, as this year it is just a test the test. This means that kids are taking the test in order to field the questions. This will let the test makers know which questions are reasonable for the 4th grade level. It is the new MontCas test. I told the class that they are so lucky to be a part of this. They get to set the standard of what 4th graders do and don't know. Because it is a field test, the students will not receive scores back. Next year however, it will be the required state test. Our kids will be one step ahead because they will get to know up front what it is like and how to do all the movements needed with the mouse. I am excited to see what it is all about and what our future will look like in the area of assessment. When the dates are set, I will share them with you, but I plan to take a couple weeks off of testing to get back into our regular schedule.
Library books and PE shoes are needed for tomorrow's classes.
Have a fantastic evening with your fantastic kids!
Ms. Erickson
