I'm sure that everyone has taken a standardized test before. In my 14 years of life, I have taken the PSSA's, the IOWA's and the Cogats. I have probably taken more, unfortunately, I probably have memory loss from all the preparation we have to do for these tests... Which is the reason why I cannot remember if I have taken more or not.. (The sad part is... I have no clue what any of those stand for.) I have taken the PSSA's every year since 5th grade or maybe it was the IOWA's. I can't remember, but I do know one thing. Last week, the 13th, 14th, and 15th of March, the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders were taking the PSSA's.
I walked into my eighth grade homeroom with one of my best friends, Eliza. Everything seemed completely normal and fine... Until the guidance counselors came onto the announcements. *Attention teachers, make sure that all of your students are in your room. Please collect all cell phones, iPods, cameras, (cameras... really?) and any other electronic devices. Testing will begin shortly, please start distributing the test and answer booklets.* (I roll my eyes at their words, it was so obvious that they had rehearsed what to say many times.) Groans and complaints from my classmates filled the room, but I did not join in. As the teacher, Mr. P, walked around, collecting said "electronic devices," one of the many smart mouthed kids in my class decided to be difficult. "Mr. P, my calculator is electronic, do you need to collect that too?" "Nah." (My HR teacher is pretty cool, so he's used to it.) "But I can write messages on my calculator. Wouldn't that be considered cheating?" "Just don't cheat," Mr. P replies. "I can't promise anything....." Sometimes I wonder why people love making things difficult. I sit in my seat waiting for testing to begin, I just want to get it over with. Everything was going great, the math portion of the test was pretty easy, and I was almost done. I have had 3 good math teachers this year. The first one, Mr. M was diagnosed with colon cancer at the end of the 1st semester. To be honest, if he wasn't our teacher for that small portion of time, I would not have liked math as much.(Don't worry! He is all better, but he is waiting to come back. Recovering from cancer takes a long time!) His replacement was Mr. W... about half of the girls in our class had a crush on him, I was not one of them. Next comes Ms. C, she is so funny and a really good teacher. She is the one who has been preparing us for the tests. Now back on topic!
I had just closed my test booklet, when someone decides to make farting noises. Now, I have to admit, it was pretty funny. You know how it is. Dead quiet, you could hear a pin drop, when suddenly someone.. you know... toots. Everyone was trying to cover up their snickers and giggles.. Quite unsuccessfully in my opinion. Mr. P tells us to settle down. (Apparently laughing could be considered cheating.... Oh standardized tests, do you know how much I love you?)
Next comes the reading portion. You have to read a passage on something, answer the multiple choice questions, then do a written response. After that, you read another passage or two, answer the multiple choice questions, and do another written response! It's so much fun! (NOT!)
Luckily the class listened to the teacher and behaved.
When I finished the reading portion, I once again closed my booklet. Looking around the room, I realized how amazingly intelligent my classmates are. A couple seats behind me, someone was "reading" their book upside down. That takes a lot of skill. Another was trying to catch food in their mouth.. trying. A couple were coloring stick figures with crayons.... not that there is anything wrong with crayons.. They're pretty fun to use.
Other than that, everyone else seemed normal.
The dead silence was rudely interrupted by the guidance counselors once more, *Teachers, there is 10 minutes left of testing. We will come on again to dismiss students who need extra time to specific locations. We will then dismiss students to first period. Please start collecting materials.* Again, waaayyyy to rehearsed. I practically have it memorized because we've been hearing the same thing since our first PSSA test. I guess some people don't like change.
This continued for 2 more days.
Everyday I heard the collective groans and the sighs of relief when the tests were over. I heard my friends and enemies saying, "Why do we have to do this?" "This is so stupid!" "They cannot force us to take these tests!"
I've learned that in life, you are going to have to do things you really don't want to do. Instead of complaining about it and making it more miserable for you and others, be positive. If you do it with a positive attitude, it will mostly likely be more enjoyable for you. (and for others because they won't have to hear you complain.) Life will be more enjoyable. I used to be really negative about taking standardized tests, but lately, I've realized that it is mandatory. I learned that I need to accept that I will take the tests. This time, in 8th grade, I was positive about them. I tried not to complain and at the end, I was able to be happy that I tried to do my best. I did not have the feeling of relief because they were over, instead, I had the feeling of satisfaction.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter what, if you have a positive attitude, you will come out smiling. (even if it takes a really long time to realize.)
I walked into my eighth grade homeroom with one of my best friends, Eliza. Everything seemed completely normal and fine... Until the guidance counselors came onto the announcements. *Attention teachers, make sure that all of your students are in your room. Please collect all cell phones, iPods, cameras, (cameras... really?) and any other electronic devices. Testing will begin shortly, please start distributing the test and answer booklets.* (I roll my eyes at their words, it was so obvious that they had rehearsed what to say many times.) Groans and complaints from my classmates filled the room, but I did not join in. As the teacher, Mr. P, walked around, collecting said "electronic devices," one of the many smart mouthed kids in my class decided to be difficult. "Mr. P, my calculator is electronic, do you need to collect that too?" "Nah." (My HR teacher is pretty cool, so he's used to it.) "But I can write messages on my calculator. Wouldn't that be considered cheating?" "Just don't cheat," Mr. P replies. "I can't promise anything....." Sometimes I wonder why people love making things difficult. I sit in my seat waiting for testing to begin, I just want to get it over with. Everything was going great, the math portion of the test was pretty easy, and I was almost done. I have had 3 good math teachers this year. The first one, Mr. M was diagnosed with colon cancer at the end of the 1st semester. To be honest, if he wasn't our teacher for that small portion of time, I would not have liked math as much.(Don't worry! He is all better, but he is waiting to come back. Recovering from cancer takes a long time!) His replacement was Mr. W... about half of the girls in our class had a crush on him, I was not one of them. Next comes Ms. C, she is so funny and a really good teacher. She is the one who has been preparing us for the tests. Now back on topic!
I had just closed my test booklet, when someone decides to make farting noises. Now, I have to admit, it was pretty funny. You know how it is. Dead quiet, you could hear a pin drop, when suddenly someone.. you know... toots. Everyone was trying to cover up their snickers and giggles.. Quite unsuccessfully in my opinion. Mr. P tells us to settle down. (Apparently laughing could be considered cheating.... Oh standardized tests, do you know how much I love you?)
Next comes the reading portion. You have to read a passage on something, answer the multiple choice questions, then do a written response. After that, you read another passage or two, answer the multiple choice questions, and do another written response! It's so much fun! (NOT!)
Luckily the class listened to the teacher and behaved.
When I finished the reading portion, I once again closed my booklet. Looking around the room, I realized how amazingly intelligent my classmates are. A couple seats behind me, someone was "reading" their book upside down. That takes a lot of skill. Another was trying to catch food in their mouth.. trying. A couple were coloring stick figures with crayons.... not that there is anything wrong with crayons.. They're pretty fun to use.
Other than that, everyone else seemed normal.
The dead silence was rudely interrupted by the guidance counselors once more, *Teachers, there is 10 minutes left of testing. We will come on again to dismiss students who need extra time to specific locations. We will then dismiss students to first period. Please start collecting materials.* Again, waaayyyy to rehearsed. I practically have it memorized because we've been hearing the same thing since our first PSSA test. I guess some people don't like change.
This continued for 2 more days.
Everyday I heard the collective groans and the sighs of relief when the tests were over. I heard my friends and enemies saying, "Why do we have to do this?" "This is so stupid!" "They cannot force us to take these tests!"
I've learned that in life, you are going to have to do things you really don't want to do. Instead of complaining about it and making it more miserable for you and others, be positive. If you do it with a positive attitude, it will mostly likely be more enjoyable for you. (and for others because they won't have to hear you complain.) Life will be more enjoyable. I used to be really negative about taking standardized tests, but lately, I've realized that it is mandatory. I learned that I need to accept that I will take the tests. This time, in 8th grade, I was positive about them. I tried not to complain and at the end, I was able to be happy that I tried to do my best. I did not have the feeling of relief because they were over, instead, I had the feeling of satisfaction.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter what, if you have a positive attitude, you will come out smiling. (even if it takes a really long time to realize.)
