An EOC Plan

So...I am in a state that gives End of Course Tests for certain subjects. And I teach one of those subjects--English I. Now. Please believe that I am on a personal crusade to end these tests. The legislature is talking about freezing the step raises for teachers, and I would much rather them do away with these ridiculous standardized tests. I have e-mailed several times. Needless to say, I haven't gotten a response. Yet.

But I have a plan to end the year. My colleagues do an EOC boot camp, but scores haven't exactly been stellar the last few years. (This isn't exactly a valid assessment.) So I'm trying out my own plan for the last three weeks before the test.

We are going to continue our vocabulary on Mondays. Only our vocabulary will consist of words from the standards that students need to know. I should have a lot of As on tests, don't you think? I mean, I've taught these things all year. Hmph.

Tuesdays will consist of a focus lesson--such as propaganda and bias and craft. These are still under construction. I only have a few days to perfect the first one.

Wednesdays and Thursdays will consist of literature circles activities. Students will use their novels to study author's craft.

Fridays will be reserved for vocabulary tests and articles of the week. I've been inundating my freshmen with nonfiction texts recently and now it is time to step it up a notch. In addition to the nonfiction text, they will have a poem to compare it to in their reflection.

This is my plan. Foolproof? Heavens, I hope so. But only time will tell. We are taking the tests on computers this year. My children have no experience with computerized tests, but we'll do anything to save a buck and save a test. We'll see how things go the next three weeks.