Signs of Life
TO: Me
FROM: High Point Hell
RE: Things Are Looking Up
Despite an atrocious start to the year in nearly every way except the fact they all seem to like me, the tide has begun to turn. High Point Unit tests were administered and the kids rocked them. Okay, that's not entirely true, but when a passing grade is considered 80% and your class average is 79% and the passing rate is 52% -- both all-time highs for this instructor -- then you gotta feel pretty good. Bereft of context, those numbers don't look so hot, but in reality, they are definitely in the range of not bad, especially when you consider I don't really prepare them for the test outside of the vocabulary instruction: I teach grammar on a different program, writing on a different program, reading strategies in a different order, all with the underlying assumption that quality instruction and true gains will bridge the gaps in specific test preparation. Or, to put it another way, the best test prep is good teaching.
Finally, something to celebrate without caveats or feeling like a hypocrite.
FROM: High Point Hell
RE: Things Are Looking Up
Despite an atrocious start to the year in nearly every way except the fact they all seem to like me, the tide has begun to turn. High Point Unit tests were administered and the kids rocked them. Okay, that's not entirely true, but when a passing grade is considered 80% and your class average is 79% and the passing rate is 52% -- both all-time highs for this instructor -- then you gotta feel pretty good. Bereft of context, those numbers don't look so hot, but in reality, they are definitely in the range of not bad, especially when you consider I don't really prepare them for the test outside of the vocabulary instruction: I teach grammar on a different program, writing on a different program, reading strategies in a different order, all with the underlying assumption that quality instruction and true gains will bridge the gaps in specific test preparation. Or, to put it another way, the best test prep is good teaching.
Finally, something to celebrate without caveats or feeling like a hypocrite.
posted by Kilian Betlach at 6:44 AM
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