A Letter to My Students, 10 Days from Testing

Dearest 5th grader,

The morning of the 18th,  you will wake up, most likely nervous, eat breakfast, and go off to school. I will greet you at the door and you will have a seat in my room. We will discuss best practices of test taking, the format of the test, and how much time you will have. Then, we will walk downstairs to the computer lab.

Your test will begin and one hour of standardized testing will pass. As soon as you push submit, your test scores will be sent off to the graders. They'll read your writing, score your answers, and put a number on your learning, or so they think.

I beg to differ.

I see the lightbulb moments, I see the formation of knowledge behind those bright eyes. I feel connections being made that cannot be quantified into a test score after one sitting of you spilling whatever comes to mind into your answer choice box.

Sure, you've learned this year. You've learned to change classes. You've learned to say please and thank you. You've learned how to help your classmates with Autism, ADD, and other various behavioral disorders succeed in our classroom. You've learned tolerance, kindness, and strength. You've learned to love, to trust, and to thrive in situations you may not want to be in. You've learned that you need to wear deodorant and shower daily (EW, I know). You've learned that your friends aren't always your friends. It has been hard.

Your schooling is boxed in. You're over-tested. You're not allowed to run and play as you should. I know its hard. I see it happening every day. You need to be a kid.

So with that, I urge you: don't let this test score define you. Better yet, let me tell your parents: don't let these test scores define your child. They'll succeed with life experience. They'll succeed with social interaction. They'll succeed because I've seen it happen. Each one of them is a success.

So, dear 5th grader, know your worth. You are so much more than a number.

Go into these test with confidence. Go in with the knowledge you have. Do your best, but remember this... You are more.

Love,
Miss Robertson