NCLB and TCAP and English Language Learners, oh my!

And so--anyway, one of the best things about my job as an ESL teacher is that I can spend all class time with my kids teaching rather than testing. One of the worst things about my job is how much class time is used up in testing. If this sounds contradictory, it is. While I don't "give grades" to the students in my pullout classes, I must test, and test, and test them in order to fulfill the dictates of the No Child Left Behind law. Each student must be tested annually with the ELDA, or English Language Development Test. Beginning in 3rd grade, each must be tested with the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP. In 5th and 8th grades, each student takes the TCAP Writing Assessment. And this week, I'm participating in a field test of a new ELDA K-2 Screening Test.

NCLB has brought a lot of attention to education and especially to equality of services for students across social and economic categories. I just can't help but wonder if there isn't another way to accomplish this without the amount of testing that has resulted. Last school year, I spent 19 instructional days administering standardized tests. This year, it will be even more. Four weeks of 36 weeks of instruction spent in testing doesn't seem like the most beneficial use of my time. Sigh. I'm suffering from a bad case of B.A. (bad attitude) right now.