If it's spring, it must be testing season

OMG!!! It's testing season! Those of you in school or with children in school understand what this means or maybe you remember #2 pencils, scantron sheets, multiple choice questions... At our house testing season is particularly long and stressful.

First up is the HSAP for my sophomores in late April. Three days of writing, reading, and mathematics that serve as a gateway to graduation. Three days of being with unfamiliar students in an unfamiliar classroom for hours on end, reading from a script and watching the clock for me.

Then there is THE TEST that stresses me beyond all others - the AP Literature and Composition exam for my seniors on May 6. This test determines if they receive college credit for the work we've done all year. Normally, we prep from Spring Break to the exam with practice tests and exercises. This year I'm adding the ever-helpful banging my head against a wall to our pre-testing activities. (This comment will require you to infer for full meaning.) For this one, they are on their own on test day. I'm not allowed anywhere near them for the three hours of the test so I sit and worry.

Next, Sara and Owen will have PASS testing in mid-May. It is similar to our HSAP, but on their grade levels. Here, there's not much I can do except make sure they rest, eat well, and get to school on time. Funny, I never worry about them during testing. I guess it is because I know their teachers are worried enough for us all and I trust my own children to take these things seriously.

This year Sara will also have state End-of-Course (EOC) exams for her two high school courses, Algebra 1 and English 1, in late May. Hopefully, these will go well too.

Finally, we've have the teacher-created final exams for Sara and my sophomores on the last days of school. Yucky to create, yucky to take, yucky to grade. Owen isn't there yet, but his time is coming.

To prepare for all of this fun are endless reviews, studying, cramming, overeating, crankiness, and praying...that's just me. I'm not sure about the kids :-) Though I am not superstitious normally, there is one welcome sign that all will turn out just fine. It is the rose bush that my very first AP class bought for me. It has bloomed and prospered every year and so have my students. As I turned into the driveway yesterday afternoon, I saw the first blooms of the year.