I know I have referenced this before, but given where we are, I think its reference is appropriate. The film, The Candidate, has always intrigued me. Robert Redford plays a man running for Governor of California. The race between he and his establishment foe, Crocker Jarmon, is an intense one and on election night, when polls indicate that he has won, there is a celebratory mood around campaign headquarters. In a vintage Robert Redford moment, he pulls his campaign advisor into a private room and asks him the very same question that many 7-1 students might ask themselves now with the conclusion of the Final Exam:
“Now, what do we do?”
Celebration, spirits, and absolute pandemonium drown out any hopes of a meaningful answer.
While there is much to be mirrored from 1970s American cinema, I can only hope that we, as 7-1 stakeholders, answer our question differently.
The Final Exam is done. There are some students who will need additional time due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances to complete their exam. Yet, the vast majority of 7-1 students completed the week’s worth of testing their understanding of concepts in American History and showed a great deal of character and strength in the process. The use of the small piece of paper, the focus, and the discussion amongst peers about questions such as, “What did Harlan mean by that quote?” or “Who talked about freedom and chains?” were the types of discussion starters that I hoped would be generated by the exam. I also felt very proud about how students fought through an exam that constituted the very essence of “challenge.”
The grades for the exams have been posted at www.mygradebook.com and have been sent out to all stakeholders in an email “blast.” The trimester grades posted right now constitute where students would be if the trimester ended today. Obviously, in the short term, students might wonder what can be done to move their grades upwards or, perhaps if within close proximity, how to advance their status. I would think that one option that can be pursued would be to undertake the Constitution Extra Credit tasks that are going to be due on Friday, 3/6. This gives students just under a week to complete work samples that would expand their understanding of the Constitution and the issues related to it. Another option would be for students to complete a series of short answer prompts that will be assigned this week concerning chapter 8 reading. These are not mandatory, but will be worth about 10 to 15 points each. Finally, students will receive a progress report on Tuesday and is due with a parent/ guardian signature on Friday. This will be worth 20 points. These can be undertaken in the short term.
If students are concerned with a long- term focus of what to do now in the wake of the Final Exam, there are options available in this domain. Students have been given a copy of the Final Exam. If students make appointments with me, I am happy to go through a student’s answer sheet against the exam so that students can understand why their particular choice was incorrect, or engage in a conversation about “what happened.” If approached by students, I will be happy to rework their exam with them in an individualized manner. It should be noted that there will not be any revision opportunities for the exam, but if students are interested in sensing how they can improve in the multiple choice test taking domain, I would be happy to facilitate this process. Another option would be for students to harness their energies into the next assessment. After the week of ISATs, we will be starting our next unit, a student led teaching assignment on Chapter 9. This will be detailed in next week’s blog. In total, this assessment will be worth over 800 points into 3rd trimester.
If there is any lingering legacy from the Final Exam, I think it would lie in the validation of the importance in completing extra credit and additional work. Students who undertook extra credit opportunities prior to the exam found themselves the benefactors both in points and knowledge. I witnessed instances where students who completed the extra credit opportunities present before the exam did not need a strong exam score in order to maintain their high standard of work. I also witnessed cases of students who completed extra credit opportunities and fared very well on the exam (A record number of “A”’s were scored on this exam. In years past, we only saw four “A”s on this exam, while this year we saw over 10 A’s alone.) These students who scored so very well also were mavens of extra credit. Finally, I saw cases of students who might have not fared very well on the exam, but had completed extra credit in such strong quality and quantity whereby the exam’s effect was benign.
Yet, there is a flipside to this coin.
For students whose focus were elsewhere in the weeks leading up to the exam and failed to undertake extra credit, adequate preparation, or nightly study during the week of the exam, the effects were quite disastrous on a student’s grade. In addition, students who failed to complete any of the extra credit made available, there was a sense of opportunity lost and a sense of regret entering their psyche. Perhaps, this was the lasting testament of the Final Exam. While there will always be looming and rather large assessment, there will be an equal amount of opportunities made available prior to such high stakes assessment. At some points, all students have to make choices in demonstrating their commitment to success. This is the reality that confronts all learners, and played itself out in the life of 7.1 Social Studies Students.
We have short term and long term options that lie in front of us. Students will choose their paths and it is my hope that they choose well. Naturally, all of us await the choices of our students, 7.1’s emerging scholars. To all of them, I can only wish the best in their choices as we approach the last leg of our collaborative journey.
All best and happy hunting,
Mr. Kannan
P.S. In the attempts of gearing student choice towards taking a more active role in class discussions or ideas, please invite your students to visit and add to the class wiki whose link is found in the top left hand pane of the blog. As we strive to integrate technology and teaching into a new form or “teachnology,” contributing and adding to the class wiki might be one such way to bring together both domains.
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