The results are in! Our state testing, you know, the thing that everything rides on, released individual student results recently. For my part I needed to see how well the students I taught an intensive math class did. Part of why I was hired this past year was to bring up the FCAT scores of these students. My job performance is directly tied to their performance on this test.I was actually nervous scrolling through the 400 names of 8th graders on the test results list. And then I found them. . . one at a time. And I cried.
They ALL made progress! 90% of them moved up at least one level on the test. That is HUGE! I was only personally responsible for 22 of these 8th graders because they were the lowest in the school and suffering from incredibly low self confidence. I knew by the time our time together was done that I had been able to increase their confidence, but I wasn't sure about their achievement. The two are linked, but you never know by how much.
It's always nice to discover that the choices you made as a teacher paid off for your students, but I have remind myself that even with these positive results, it's not about me or how well I did as a teacher. It is always, without fail, about students.
I'm already praying about next year. . . about 150 sixth grade students are waiting to see what I have to offer them in Language Arts. What kind of results will I see next year? Knowing what kids need and being able to then give them what they need is what it's all about.
Remember to keep the main thing the main thing!