May can be a month unlike any other. Leaves fill out the trees. Mosquitoes sing their sweet, bloodthirsty song. Lawnmowers throttle back to life. Sweaters settle in for a long summer’s nap. Students and teachers look to the thinning calendar and—Oh no! How few days are left? There’s so much to do! So much! Noses back in the books! Pencils sharpened! We’ve got tests to take.
The best laid lesson plans of even the most organized teacher can come undone when May walks into town. On top of end-of-grade assessment tests, you found that yellow sticky note you slapped into your plan book back in October, reminding you to revisit dependent clauses. And you got around to opening that file on your desktop that details your plans for skill-building with graphing and quadrants. Can you squeeze more in before testing?
Perhaps T. S. Eliot was wrong when he presented April as the cruelest month. Perhaps it is May, the month of blooming flowers and cracking Louisville sluggers, with its end-of-grade tests, spring student concerts, and ever-tightening schedules?
How is May shaping up for you? Is everything lined up before testing starts or are you facing a frenzy of last-minute loose ends?
For the students and teachers in my district, SBA testing, progress monitoring, and benchmarking are all done. Teachers are frantically working to complete tasks listed on check out forms that seem to grow longer and more complicated year to year. Kids are coming to school, but the sun is up later and they are playing for longer periods of time in the evening. They come to school tired and a bit cranky. We have 8 more days of class! Here’s to summer vacation!