The newest history sol's are ridiculous. The state doesn't provide teachers with really any material to prep their students and there is so much potential material cover. The recent results aren't good across the county and it's not fair to the teachers or students!! How can the state not give any information beforehand and then ask super specific questions???

Where can the county scores be accessed? Are you referring to elementary, middle or high school scores? Thanks!

Your test administrator has them and then usually dustributes them to each department. I was talking about high school, specially world 1

Pickles Wrote:
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> Your test administrator has them and then usually
> dustributes them to each department. I was talking
> about high school, specially world 1


I've heard the same about the US/VA history one.

I teach world history 2 and we did the best with what we knew. I covered all the standards but it wasn't the content that's at issue here its the question types. For years the sol has been a straight recall test...whose this dude when did this happen where is this....this year the test was more read this document or look at this primary source and interpret not saying we don't do that in my class but if you have no idea what's coming on the test its rather hard to make sure students really are prepped for it.

Ultimately though the biggest thing is the states utter disregard for teachers....its been almost 13 years since the sol was first given and in 13 years while math science and english have gleaned tons of information...social studies teachers have been given 1 practice exam of 60 questions and 10 released test items. And all those questions at this point do nothing to help students have an idea what to expect before they sit for the exam.

Imho the state of virgina is more secretive than the cia when it comes to history sols.

But we know what to do to get kids better ready for next year and kids honestly are ready to take sols more seriously than they have in the last 6 or 7 years.

It's history. Who gives a shit?

My biggest beef with the history SOL is the sheer quantity of information that a kid has to memorize. Memorization skill is really not what should be tested (modern careers value higher level thinking)---it should be analysis (which sounds like what they are aiming for with the primary source document interpretation example in the last post). That said, it is hard to use a multiple choice format for interpretation. It seems that an essay or written paragraph would be better. When does a boss ask you to answer the question and here are the possible answers?? And one is right.

I was trying to help a student from another country with practice English SOL questions. One passage had a reference to "Billy the Kid". The student was supposed to recognize that this was an example of an allusion. The other choices were things like metaphor, etc. My student had no idea who "Billy the Kid" was. I'm not saying that he shouldn't know this, but this is just one example of difficulties these kids face.

Jack Dale wants to do the SOL tests in January. My thought is that yes, some kids will pass, but many will fail and then you will have two tiers in the classroom. What will the teacher do? Maybe the school could then reschedule the "passers" so they could go into a more "honors type" classroom?? Meanwhile the "failers" would have the dreaded remediation class?

There is probably no good answer to the testing conundrum. I think the more we try to push pegs into holes, the more we find that there are many shapes that don't fit. That's why the teacher is in the room---and that is why people love teaching (at least they used to). Many shapes present a very interesting and ever changing situation that a teacher must "figure out" and deal with. It is a very dynamic process that smart people love (and so they aspire to become teachers---at least it used to be this way).

One reason for the government "secretiveness" on these tests is that if the public knew the whole story and how much money has been spent, they would be outside schools picketing. Just take heart in knowing that tests can never define you as a person. You are much, much more than any single test!! The teachers know this, but I'm not sure the government has figured it out yet.

"Jack Dale wants to do the SOL tests in January"
Where did you read this? Would this mean the kids are tested from the material from the previous year as well? He really wants to show that public school is not as good as private- they do not have to give SOLs, let alone right after their winter break.

Yes, it was reported in the Post. It would be on the current year material. I think the thought is that FFX County kids can pass at semester. Then they could spend second semester doing things that are more relevant and interesting than what "teaching to the test" gives them.

Government that is far removed from communities should be doing the "big" things---like planning roads or whether or not we should be taking military action in Libya. It should not be figuring out what questions to put on an SOL test. I guess this is why we are in such a mess in this country.

At present, the SOL encompasses close to a year's worth of material.Will the full amount be tested in Jan? They would have to adjust the amount tested, and I don't see them cutting back the amount of material on the test. Would this mean there would be about twice as much to be taught?

back Wrote:
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> Yes, it was reported in the Post. It would be on
> the current year material. I think the thought is
> that FFX County kids can pass at semester. Then
> they could spend second semester doing things that
> are more relevant and interesting than what
> "teaching to the test" gives them.

The problem with this idea is that it'll play to what parents are already complaining about nothing to do after the test. Plus, what Jack Dale fails to understand is 75% of the test comes from what is covered from February forward. The World History II SOL does the bulwark of it's focus on World War I to the modern day not on the Reformation through Imperialism...US History Test is 65% World War I to the present in US History. Most teachers don't get to World War I until the end of the first semester which is at the end of January. So this brilliant plan would mean we teach faster than we do now.

I understand the complaints about post SOL movie stuff and agree school should start earlier and end earlier but when a vote was put up there (FCPS applied for an earlier start; they didn't get it). As teachers we do the best with what's put in front of us despite the bureaucracy being making foolish and poor decisions.

Next weeks WaPo article about SOL scores by Jay Matthews will address how teachers were deficient in their teaching this year...never mind the fact that as I've already said in my previous post; we had very little knowledge of the way questions were going to be asked...and I kid you not they told us you will have primary sources and images on your test. Seriously, what the hell am I supposed to do with that knowledge.

I've already had a dept meeting post SOL where my assistant principal without lambasting us basically said we can do better and we should have done better without directly calling us all out. That's what Dale is doing which is what Area supers are doing which is what head principals are doing which is what assistant principals are doing which stops with department chairs because they actually understand what happened this year.

Like I said before we will get better now that we have some knowledge besides primary sources and images will be on test.

meep Wrote:
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> At present, the SOL encompasses close to a year's
> worth of material.Will the full amount be tested
> in Jan? They would have to adjust the amount
> tested, and I don't see them cutting back the
> amount of material on the test. Would this mean
> there would be about twice as much to be taught?

Virgina always a step behind...if they want more thinking they should be ripping off ny regents style exams...those tests actually ask students to demonstrate skills. Further the dept of education releases the test every year unlike va.

I just read jay mathews awesome commentary om honors for every child and no basics. Have decided that I support it and the parents in the endeavor as long as they drop the .5 that students get toward their gpa for taking and honors class. Weights for ap/ib are one thing but if every kids in honors then they don't need a weighted grade.

This is the most idiotic thing mathews has come up...if honors does not exist the cream will take ap/ib making scores higher but smart kids will be in regular courses and you would hope and I know this is not always the case...that teachers would then teach the class up. Offer opportunities for enrichment to the kids that want it and the kids that don't...well they don't have to take it but my bet is some will.

But like I said no weights we can have 1000 honors courses for all I care.

Please, learn how to write before you post again.

ok i have a sol test again today and i failed it 3 times and still dont know alot but im getting better at it. its 10:05 here on Tuesday December 13, 2011 in Stuart Virginia