In Blackhawk Middle School it was May 10th .The anxious students walked into their first period Language Arts in a decent mood, until they found out what the week had in store for them. You see, this week was going to be a great war between Their minds and their computer screens. “Why do we even have to take Istep.” One person grumbled. Their teacher Mr. Bobby had no response so he just droned on about the rules . The computer screens all were opened up to the “enter seal code” screen as they sat and waited for their teacher to continue with the instructions.
One student took it upon to himself yell out ” I’m not doing Istep!” as he got up and stormed out of the room. The teacher picked up the phone and started telling the office about the outburst. Other students used this time to converse amongst themselves. ” I really wish students were not required to take Istep.” Said Noah with great solemnity. “It would make me enjoy school a lot more than I do now.” The teacher put down the phone, settled the students down, and began to recite the four-digit seal code.
“4489” Said Mr. Bobby succinctly. ” You may begin.” At first it seemed like the test was impossible and the students were very perplexed. They slowly went about each question, carefully considering each answer choice. The teacher sat in his desk chomping on an apple and flipping his pencil, as he watched the students struggle with the material he hadn’t taught them. The students on the other hand were tapping their sweaty palms on the keys as they filled with despair. One student had completely given up and resorted to changing the theme on his computer.
Some students started to wrap up their tests although most of them felt unsure about their final answers. They began to feel a little relieved at the fact that the test was about to end. The teacher tossed his apple rind in the garbage as he cleared his throat and read aloud. ” This concludes section one of language arts. You may exit the page and restart your computer.” The students immediately followed his directions except for a couple boys who waited a few moments in hopes of gaining attention for it.
The students all chatted to each other about which questions they struggled with which provided them a lot of talking points. They ended up with one question bouncing off the walls of their brains. “Why do we even have to take ISTEP?” The teacher jolted up from his leaned back position and tried his best to answer the question . “It is an important test that each of your futures. Rather than asking that question ask yourself if you would like to repeat this grade.” The girl who asked the question was not content with that answer and that left the teacher with an uneasy feeling as she walked out of the computer lab.
Later that day, the students gathered a group of 64 other students and had them sign a petition to remove Istep from their school. “I read online that 65 is the required amount of students it takes to change any rule in our school district.” She said later that week when she was interviewed. The other students took time to congratulate one another on what they had just achieved. All that they had left to do was turn in the petition to the principal. They tried their best to walk all together as they marched into Mrs. Groening’s office. “Wow you actually got in done huh?” She said looking through the names on the list . ” Well, good for you guys.” The students responded with a flat ‘thank you’ as they strolled out of the room. One student named Zachary Walker was asked how he felt about the students no longer having to take Istep he had this to say.” I think it’s awesome that Istep isn’t going to be taken here at Blackhawk anymore. After all, standardized testing leads to overall worse academic performance because students would only improve their test taking skills. Washington post says so.”
Not taking some standardized testing is always an option as long as math and reading tests are taken. Be that as it may, students should not have to take over 8 hours of testing per week. That is simply too much. But whether it be signing a petition or taking a stand in some other form, students should do what they have to do to make sure no child is left behind (when it comes to basic rights).