On the heels of my gripy post from yesterday, I spent another session invigilating standardized state tests for my students this morning. The teacher I was working with is new to our school district, and in stark contrast to my opinion that we over-emphasize these tests, she couldn't get over how lax we are. To her, there was too much noise (our computer lab is off the cafeteria), unclear directions for the proctor (she wanted to know exactly what words to say when a student asked any question), and non-existent test security (no one monitored the two of us to be sure we weren't improperly assisting the students).
Her last job was in Texas, and she told me the story that they tell all teachers down there before they administer their first state assessments: Seems there was this teacher who was telling her husband about her day. They were in their backyard, and she mentioned something about the TAKS test. Her neighbor overheard the conversation and reported her, and she lost her teaching license.
Urban legend? Texas tall tale? Whatever it is, I'm thankful we haven't gone that kind of cowboy cuckoo around these here parts.
Yet.
I've lived in Texas. Cowboy cuckoo is an apt description of how things were when I was there. Sounds like they still are.
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