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Blog: FCAR
Speakout
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By Brenda, a Florida fourth grader
My name is Jesse Kovalcik, I work for a not-for-profit aftercare in Florida.
As an after school counselor I see how much the students, teachers, and parents
all hate the FCAT. The kids really are under a lot of pressure and the closer we
get to the test the worse behavior becomes, they are scared. Of course nothing I
could say could be as powerful as something a student wrote themselves. This is
from a 4th grader named Brenda, she gets good grades and is consistently well
behaved. She titled it "Describe how you feel about the FCAT"
How I feel about the FCAT is that I feel scared, really really serious about it.
It's almost 2 weeks without stopping the test. We don't even eat lunch. I hope
this time it is much easier than last time. And a lot shorter. This year they
increased. I'm not trying to be mean but George Bush should quit with his
brother the governor. I wonder what George Bush would get on the (Big Test)
FCAT.
Mind you this was entirely without coaching, one of our volunteers simply asked
her how she felt about it and this is what she produced. I can't attest to the
validity of any of her statements (we don't even eat lunch) because I am only an
aftercare teacher, but it is obvious to me the negative impact the test has on
these kids lives. They simply can't handle the pressure. Do what you will with
this story, I hope that it can make an impact on those who make decisions about
this sort of thing.
Thanks, Jesse
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