Cacophony

We can't help but hear the almost deafening noise surrounding standards, testing, and school accountability measures.  It's coming from downtown and all around the nation.  Turn on the TV or radio, and we are blasted by the raucous debate.  Open up the newspaper, and the print screams from headlines and the editorial pages about school accountability and high-stakes testing.

It seems that most everyone has an idea about what schools should be doing and how we should be doing it—regardless of the level of expertise about educational issues.  For every argument, someone else puts forth a counter.  We live in a time where the loudest voice often is the one heard, so civil discourse tends to turn into something much less civil.  

The discordant cacophony surrounding school accountability can, at times, make me want to scream.

A School's Reality

At the school level, if you want to get a feel for the impact of the current accountability debate, swing by the office.  You will find that Naomi and her crew have been working for weeks getting ready for all the AP exams.  The tests are stacked, boxed, and ready to go.  Proctors have been trained, students have registered and paid, and starting next week, literally thousands of AP exams will be given to HSE students.

In the front office conference room, if you dare stick your head past the security signs, you can find boxes and boxes of End of Course Assessments.  Counselors, teachers, and administrators have been working for weeks preparing testing lists, organizing rooms, training proctors, and getting ready for the tests that begin on Tuesday.  Before the last of these high-stakes tests are boxed for shipment out of the school, our students will have taken over 2,000 ECAs.  

One night last week, when I was unable to sleep, I tried to add up the individual hours spent on testing at Hamilton Southeastern High School alone.  I gave up when the numbers started getting too large.  As opposed to counting sheep, counting these mind-numbing numbers caused agitation rather than relaxation.

Some Calm in the Storm

In the midst of the noisy testing frenzy, I have found an interesting refuge, a bit of peace and quiet coming from HSE faculty and staff.  I hope that some of you reading this recognize that I am talking about you.  

I have been and continue to be grateful for the response from teachers and staff when asked to help.  May is not the easiest month of the school year.  It is filled with the end-of-year activities and stress.  Teachers, coaches, and students are completing courses, preparing for graduation, performing music concerts and theatrical productions, competing in athletic playoffs, and doing all of the other necessities required to wind down the school year.

In the midst of these activities and on top of the already busy schedules, teachers, counselors, and secretaries are often asked to be flexible to accommodate the added tasks required to complete the testing.  They are asked to adjust schedules, attend trainings, contact students, and proctor tests.

Here is the piece that is almost astounding: I have found that when requests are made to add the extra duties of testing, without exception, HSE teachers, counselors, and staff say, "Yes."  You continue to stay positive and respond professionally.  This is the quiet in the storm.  

I admire and appreciate your willingness to provide a calming presence during these stressful and noisy times.

So thanks to all of you who will go the extra mile during these final weeks of school and help get us through May.  You continue to rise to the occasion and pass this test.

It's a great day to be a Royal.  

Phil