DS9 had to subject himself to the idiocy of standardized testing today. They had three 10 minute breaks scheduled over the course of the 4 1/2 hour routine. I packed him a few snacks and made sure he had his water bottle. When he arrived in the classroom, he was instructed to leave all those items on the table in the front. OK. They could be distracting. But when he was done with the first section and went to get a drink from his bottle, he was stopped. He wasn't allowed to get a drink for 4 1/2 hours! :evil: Because not everyone had a water bottle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He also wasn't allowed to touch his snack because he might have brought something other kids are allergic to and that might scare them to see it. :roll: He also brought a book but wasn't allowed to read it on breaks, either. Seriously. The only thing he was allowed to do on break was sit and stare. No stretching, no walking around, no talking. How in the heck is that a break?! I'm so furious! I'm sorry, but really? Expecting kids to dehydrate themselves over a socialist ideal in a socialist government setting just makes me want to fall off the grid completely! I hate the public school mindset more than I can even put into rational words right now.
Wow! That is completely crazy! I think that he should have been able to get up a walk around for a break. I think the teacher has a problem.. maybe with homeschoolers but I would be upset to.
We get letters all the time from our children's colleges asking whether we'd like to pay an extortionate amount of money so they can have drinks and snacks on hand while taking exams. (I shouldn't be so cynical - it's an important way they raise funds.) So, if public colleges do this, why ever would public schools not allow food and drink? It's nuts.
I am assuming that you had your son tested at the local public school. Its so sad the experience they give these children. I thank God everyday my children don't have to be there. I know your mad but thank God they don't have to experiene that on daily basis.
That is insane! I don't ever remember being denied water when I was in ps. I could not even imagine how livid I would be.
Wow! That is extreme! I can totally understand not allowing him to have it at his seat, but to not be allowed to even touch it on a "break" is just silly....and kind of mean-spirited.
Rachael says, "We get better breaks than that in college. Our prof would even go out and smoke during our break!"
My son did that last week- home schoolers at a building to do the testing. Bizarre though- we were told to send water, snacks and activities! They took a break and walked, drank water, took a restroom break and they provided hidden pics worksheets! I supervised the last 5 years of these tests too in public school as a teacher and the kids got real breaks too, like my son and had recess! I would try to find out who is in charge- that just seems really strict- and NOT RIGHT!!
Are you required in your state to do the testing at a school? My kids have never done that until they took PSATs as sophomores in high school, and that was our choice. If you have an option, I'd do it at home next time that it is required.
That is an awful situation for anyone to be in, let alone a growing child. Standardised testing is a great idea in theory. Unfortunately, it is rarely put into practice properly, and the results aren't used as they probably should be. We should be using them to work out how to improve the education system and to make sure extra help is given to kids who need it. Instead they're just another government statistic that isn't acted on. In many areas, refusing to give a child access to water for that long is illegal. It sounds to me like the school where your son was tested wasn't aware of the law and didn't consider the wellbeing of the children to be very important. If it isn't too audacious to suggest, I would find out what the law is in your area, and if it is indeed illegal, write a very irate letter stating all the terrible things that will happen if this ever occurs again, to scare them into changing their ways. No child should be forced to sit without water for that long in a so-called developed country.
I agree 100%..... I have gone head to head with our ps for this type of treatment when my kids were there. It was horrible! I contacted the Stated Education Department and all you had to do is fill out a form and then State Ed. took care of it for you. That is why I don't allow my children to test in the ps. But on the other hand this is the environment my husband wants me to send them back to. Lord have mercy. :evil:
Carl says this is typical. He DOES NOT say this is the way it should be, nor that he finds it acceptable!!! But there's so much pressure and so much cheating that teachers feel they must have that much "control". That's why he even hates to be in the building during testing week! Contrast to Rachael's experience taking the OGT (test to graduate in Ohio). Hs'ers are exempt, but she had to take it since we were enrolling her in a cyberschool. She found out IN THE MIDDLE OF TEST WEEK that she needed to have passed all sections before she could enroll in the college classes she was planning on taking. We thought we could take it during her Senior year, instead of RIGHT NOW! So I got busy and called the counselor (at home!). We discovered that the next week was "make-up week", and she could take it then. One 2-hour class each day for five days. For three days, she'd be close to home; on the other two, I'd have to drive her all the way across town. But we were going to "make" it happen! We arrived the first day. There were only a few kids. The guy in charge said that, if we wanted, we could take two sections instead of just one. He let us do that twice, so we didn't have to go across town later to take them. He let the kids start as soon as they got there, and allowed them to leave when they finished. They could get up and get a drink if they wanted. Very layed back and relaxed. I later learned that it was officially against regulations to take more than one section in a day, and that you were expected to be there the whole time, regardless of when you finished.
Sadly, this is how it is. I graduated high school 6 years ago (wow, was it that long ago?) and teachers used their own money for snacks and drink for the kids for those reasons. We got a break halfway through the teasting to walk the halls for a minute and use the restroom (if you were one of the first ones there), then it was back to your desks. I just want to say that a little bit of blame I place on the public schools for my low back issues carrying 25 pound backpacks everywhere and so on....off subject, sorry. I was on my way to becoming a PS teacher, but the I volunteered at summer school and I vowed I would NEVER work there. Bad kids get all the attention, and the good kids fade into the background and you're always watching your back to make sure a student doesn't come along and accuse you of something you didn't do just because they don't like you. ugh.
That's nuts!!! I taught ps for 7 years and have never heard of anything like that! We allowed the kids to go to the restroom and get water as needed. They were allowed out one at a time and there was no talking allowed. There were monitors in the hallway and they were only allowed in the restroom one at a time. A little socialist, yes, but at least we let them out to walk around and get water! And I begged the kids to bring drawing paper, books, etc to entertain themselves quietly when/if they finished early. It kept the peace in the classroom!
Gosh!! Someone should sue them for allowing the kids to potentially get dehydrated! 4 hours with no water????Why would they tell you to being drinks if it wasnt allowed? This situation was ridiculous! And if the other kids didnt have a water bottle, I'm sure they could use the water fountains?? Ridiculous notion of "equality" people have nowadays! If one kid's mom didnt pack a snack, then everyone has to suffer so that one kid doesnt feel "uncooomfortable!" Sorry for the kid, but thats his parents' fault! My DS8 recently took the IOWA at his Friday school, but there we actually had to wait in the parking lot for more than an hour after they were supposed to be done. Reason? The supervising teacher said the kids were "antsy", so she let them go outside and play for a few times, to get them calm enough to sit still and take the tests. The teachers at this school teach home schooled kids only, and most of them have homeschooled their own kids as well, so they are very understanding.
1. Yes, testing is mandatory here. Otherwise I would never bother. I don't see the point. 2. You can't do it at home. You have to use an approved testing site. Our co-op has one but I didn't know about it in time (since we moved here shortly before registration). 3. This wasn't at a school; it was at a church approved as a testing site. But it was run by a rep from the PS and homeschool moms as helpers. So we were playing by PS rules. 4. Found out last night that the PS has the same rule; only they do one section a day instead of all in one day like we did. So they test for about 30 minutes a day. That's a reasonable amount of time to deny water, play, breaks. I called the department of Ed's homeschool division today (that makes me sick just typing it. The department of education has zero business having anything to do with homeschools). They told me the testing rules like that are entirely up to the site coordinator. Since ours came from the PS, she used PS rules.
Ugh. Hopefully, the next time you are required to do this, you can have it done with the co-op. We are not required to test in NJ, but I had my kids take the tests a couple of times, through our homeschool group, so that they could have practice in standardized tests, prior to taking the PSAT.
I think there is or should be a law against not allowing someone to drink water. Even restaurants in the U.S. have to provide water on request. This is horrible. My son gets dehydrated quickly and his mood and thinking ability suffers as a result. I would find out who is above the person who administered the test and complain.
I'm new here (just registered actually) but I had to reply to this. I live in Arkansas too. It is terrible that he went through that! My son did his testing on the 10th and it was a really great first experience for him. He came out for breaks and I gave him a snack and water both times. He was allowed to draw on his scratch paper when he finished early also. Oh, and I wanted to let you know, you can choose to test at home, but I'm not sure about the process. A friend of mine is doing it so I can ask her for more information if you'd like.
