Who takes the FCAT

I wrote the following on a mommy board I belong to. The question was opened up... "Do you agree with the student performance teacher pay bill just signed into law in Fl?"



Who Takes the FCAT? Children do....



The Children who paid attention during the year...whose parents volunteer in school..the children who genuinely like school...who like their teacher...children who love to learn...children who pride themselves in doing a good job....



Who else takes the FCAT?



Children do....



The Children who didn't get to bed till 10:00 that night....the child who didn't eat breakfast the morning of test day..the child who has been absent over 16 days. The child who just doesn't "care" about school...The children whose parents don't care about school either...The child that hates school...the child whose attention span is too short....Children who are stressed at home...Children whose parents decided to split up that week...Children whose electricity was just cut off in their home. Children who are so stressed out at the mere mention of FCAT, because the school is that stressed out as well.



Who else takes the FCAT?
The exact same FCAT as the rest of the children?



Children who are struggling to learn the English language. Children with ADD. Children with ADHD. Children with emotional problems. Children with learning disabilities. Children who have a hard time staying in their seat for an extended period of time. The child with a tummyache on test day. These children..all of them...hold a teacher's salary in their little hands. It doesn't matter the gains they have made in the classroom that year. The small successes that teacher has seen those children reach. It doesn't matter about the C's on their report cards..the B's on their report cards...the A's...or the fact they finally may be reading on level. The fact that this teacher pours her heart, soul, and sometimes her own pocketbook into her profession.




The FCAT is all that matters. Usually 3 or 4 days of testing.



And you think teachers are mad? Rightfully so.