Spectacular Success

At the end of every unit in our Reading curriculum, the students take a unit test. It's a doozy - testing all of the grammar and comprehension skills we've covered over the last five weeks. It's not an easy test, but it's a good one. Other than the grammar skills, there's not much they can do to study. It tests on a much higher level of learning than memorization and so it gives me a good idea of where their weaknesses are. 

The last week has presented quite the work load in my classroom. Besides the unit test in Reading, they had a unit test in History & Geography, as well as in Science. That's a lot of studying for them, but also a whole lot of grading for me.

In years past, I've had a student aide three times a week that could help me. This year, however, the high school is small and there are only two student aides for the entire elementary, which means I get help once a week for about 45 minutes. 

Last week I asked my aide if she could grade the multiple choice section of the unit test. That still left three writing assignments for me, but it would save a lot of time. Today I had all of that grading done, so I asked her to fill in the grading sheets with their scores (another time killer). After school, I took a glance at them and realized every student failed the test. 

That has never happened before, even on a bad test. I glanced through the test starting at the second section, where my student aide had taken over the checking. It didn't take long for me to realize that somehow she had used the wrong key. What that meant is that I had to regrade every test and redo all the grade sheets. Sigh..

I don't mind grading my students' work because it helps me see where they are, what they know, and what they don't. This week though, we have basketball games every single night, report cards are due, they are working on research reports that have to be checked and rechecked and commented on over and over and over again.

After school, I got Felicity going on her homework and began the arduous process of regrading, all while asking people at the games to keep me posted so I wouldn't be late to Max's game, for which I keep the book. 

As I was making my way through the mess, I realized everyone did much better than I first thought. One student in particular, who started school in late October, did a good 25 points higher than he did on the first unit test he took. I was amazed. The skills required in this subject aren't easily acquired. They take lots of practice. Generalizations, comparisons, summarizations, and writing don't just show up. I know that and have been encouraging him to keep working. "I see the progress you're making. I know you're frustrated because you're not improving as quickly as you have in math, but you ARE improving. Keep up the good work."

I  stared at his grade and let it just sink in. It's not often that you get to see such "immediate" success as a teacher. It's not often you get such a self-motivated student in your classroom. It's astounding to watch it unfold.

When I arrived at the gym, I found his mom in the bleachers and gave her the good news. I thanked her for the obvious effort she's put in at home. 

Today I'm grateful for the opportunity to witness such spectacular success.