Hello All,
We hope this weekend finds you well. I am writing to communicate some work that will be coming up for our third-year students, MCA testing, but thought it a good opportunity to share with our whole community how standardized testing fits into the big picture here at GRS.
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As stated above, third-grade student will be taking Reading MCA tests on Monday. There is no need to plan differently for this time. Students will do this work during the morning work period. Please see the words below, written by Erik Arke, to better understand how we recognize the importance of this work in context.
"The results of the test (i.e. "how the children score") is not important to us necessarily, but we want to help them feel confident about taking it. We are well aware that these tests do not indicate the progress of the whole child, and this whole child is whom we educate at Great River. The test is a very narrow window on who the child is, and even that window is distorted by the medium by which the data is gathered. Nevertheless, we do some preparation, and we encourage the children to work their hardest and do their best on the test. Placing pressure on them to do well would only result in anxiety. If they ask you about it, please do not make it a big deal. Perhaps ask them how they feel about it, and discuss whatever feelings they have. The most important thing is for them not to feel that the results of the test will reflect who they are as a person. The results will certainly not!"
Best,
Nadine McNiff
Nadine McNiff
Lower Elementary Guide
Great River School
1326 Energy Park Drive
651-305-2780
"The child's development follows a path of successive stages of independence, and our knowledge of this must guide us in our behavior towards him. We have to help the child to act, will and think for himself. This is the art of serving the spirit, an art which can be practiced to perfection only when working among children." (The Absorbent Mind).
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