DEAR: Drop Everything and Reflect on Wednesday

I'm writing this blog post after a long and tiring day. My students were state testing in social studies during my class today (Wisconsin's Forward Exam), and it was rough. I can't wait until Day 2 of testing is OVER!!!

What worked?
Testing on computers is so much easier than on paper. I think that all standardized tests should be on the computer, including the ACT. I know that logistics may not make that possible, but it would be awesome.

What didn't work?
Testing on computers also sucks because I have to take all my students to the library to do it. This inherently causes extra conflict, because I'm moving students to a new location, with different people, and more distractions. My students were very distracted.

Additionally, my students didn't really put much effort into testing, which was disappointing for me. I know that part of it was because they don't really see a value in the test if it doesn't directly affect their grades. It's really hard to make students see value in something, when I don't even know what the value is.

What can I do about it?
In terms of the Forward Exam, I don't think there's much I can do to improve the value of the test, since I have little control over it. I'll have to spend more time brainstorming.