My juniors were supposed to take the ACT last week but Mother Nature...she said, "No!". Last Sunday brought sleet, snow & ice to the Commonwealth and successfully canceled school all across Kentucky.
Not one but two more snow days.
Don't get me wrong. I love snow days. I giggle when I see snowflakes fluttering outside my window. The school cancellation text message (which has replaced the radio and television alerts) prompts me to dance around my house before climbing back into bed. I hate going out in the cold and would much rather stay in my toasty warm house while it's cold. I don't mind making up the days when it is warm outside.
However, I had some mixed feelings about it this time.
I found the state & ACT's decision to schedule the test a week earlier than usual completely asinine. While we haven't had March snow in several years, Kentucky weather is mercurial at best and it was not a wise choice. The folks at ACT may not know that but the Kentucky Department of Ed certainly should. Part of me found it amusing that a higher power thwarted these best laid plans of bureaucrats.
On the other hand, my juniors have been so stressed about this assessment that I just hated for them to have wait. Ready or not, I just wanted it to be over for them.
Some of my colleagues were pleased to have more review time but I just feel that we are test prepping these kids to death. A feeling that became a certainty after I discussed the situation with my junior group.
The new date is March 18th and so they'll endure another week of ACT test prep. I wish I could tell them that it would be all over then. However, they will then shift to prepping for the U.S. History end of course exam.
I dread breaking that news to them.
School should be about learning--not testing.
