First Two Weeks of School

As we are half way through our second week of school I have reflected on how different the beginning of the school year feels from that of 5 or 6 years ago to me. Of course, 5 years ago I was teaching 3rd grade and had a very enthusiastic group of 20-8 and 9 year olds in my own classroom space, so it would naturally feel different since as a tech integrator I am not blessed with my own classroom and students. So besides the physical space, and responsibility for my "own" students, what are the big differences you ask? I guess now more then ever I feel that the first few weeks are used for feeling out students and staff. These two weeks have always been overwhelming for many teachers, but I have certainly seen an increased stress level and high anxiety issues within the past 5 years as well. State and national mandated testing, Routes to Intervention and finding better ways to "group" students based on ability levels yet keep a heterogeneous community within a classroom has become a constant struggle for the beginning of the year. In our district, we test students using the NWEA and CPAA computer based test both in the fall and the spring.(The CPAA test is given 6 times per year. Two for each trimester.) It is therefore important, especially in the eyes of administrators within our district, to test early in the year so that teachers and students see the maximum growth throughout each year. Of course this makes our district "look good" when compared to that of other districts within our state. As a classroom teacher I loved this type of testing as it only took up about an hour of our day, the tests were individualized for each and every student, and scores gave immediate feedback to both the students and teachers. I still appreciate this style of testing due to the speed of feedback and the data that can be collected quite quickly, but I have to question how much information is too much? Researchers and people that love to make decisions based upon data will tell you that there is no such thing. I would tend to agree with that philosophy in theory, however, when do students have a chance to learn without feeling like their performance is being collected in this data bank that will ultimately mold their future and "class rank"? I remember loving going back to school in the elementary grades, but the approach was much different. Instead of testing, testing and more testing, we were given discovery time, and explorations. Of course the usual rules, expectations and books were "handed" out as well, but there was a real feel of community as we got to meet our new classmates and teachers through interactive lessons and discussions. The first few weeks were dedicated to community building and working as a team throughout the year. Again, this has not changed in theory within our district. In fact, one of our elementary schools holds the motto T.E.A.M.; Together Everyone Achieves More, and students remind students of this motto each and every morning after the pledge, but in reality there isn't time to build a true team in the first two weeks any more. Students are rushed to the lab for national standardized testing, then pulled out of the classroom for RtI or special education testing, and then rushed to the cafe to eat and outside for recess. By the time they are back into the classroom curriculum programs have already started in order to get through the material before the end of the year. It's no wonder anxiety levels are at an all time high, and teachers are too stressed to attend professional development courses in the fall. So the first two weeks of school are coming to a close and I have assisted in setting up tests, troubleshot all kinds of technology malfunctions and issues, and met with teachers to discuss what would be the best tools to display a typical day within their classroom for open house and parent orientation since that is right around the corner. I have not spent a single minute planning professional development courses, creating a tech tip of the week video tutorial, or sitting down with a teacher for some one-to-one help to revamp their website. I'm not complaining, but I do feel at this rate we are going to have teachers burn out of our profession and students liking coming back to school in the fall less and less in the future. Maybe we need to take a step back for a second and allow the first few weeks of school to become a discovery and community building atmosphere again and hold off on all of the testing. Ultimately, we are trying to infuse the love of life long learning into each and every student that walks off the bus and into our school doors aren't we? I'm not sure I would have gotten to where I am today if I had been tested so much especially in those early weeks of school. What do you think?