We walked in on a discussion of “The Great Gatsby” in Katrina Delgado’s class. As they talked about the classic novel’s themes of ambition and social climbing, you’d have to forgive the students if their minds wandered to a more immediate issue: taking the FSA exam. This is testing season in Florida’s public schools. At the high school level, every 9th and 10th graders must pass the Florida State Assessment.
“I want them to know they’re more than just a test score, they have more to offer,” said Delgado.
So she sent her students at Coral Gables High School a letter, which she read out loud to one of her classes during our visit.
“Dear students, the FSA does not assess all that makes each of you special and unique,” Delgado read. “The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you the way I do.”
Delgado knows what every parents sees at home. Testing season means monster stress on our kids. She saw a version of the letter and tweaked it, she says, to fit her own students.
“The scores you will get from this test will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything, there are many ways of being smart, you are smart, you are enough, you are the light that brightens my day, most of the time, anyway,” Delgado read, as the class erupted into laughter.
What effect did her letter have?
Local
“It definitely relieved some stress,” said freshman Isabella Burgos-Sosa. “Made me feel a lot better.”
“It gave kids a very good sense of how to feel before going into a very big test like this, it made me feel more secure,” added classmate Van Galex.
It’s not just students. Delgado’s effort made an impression on parents, too.
“And I really want to see more teachers like that,” said Magali Sosa, who says she noticed a palpable change in her daughter’s attitude after she read her teacher’s message.
“It lifts them in a way that they’re in a better mind set to go and take a test, as opposed to having all that anxiety which has been building up since the beginning of the school year,” Sosa said.
The FSA is here to stay. Educators say it provides useful benchmarks on academic progress. Delgado shows there’s more to preparing for the test than just drilling the kids on facts, figures, and writing skills. Consider, she says, the child’s mental state going into the exam.
“So while you’re preparing for testing season, while you’re in the midst of it all, remember there is no way to test all the amazing and awesome things that make you, you,” Delgado reads to the class. “I wish you all the best on your exams this week, love, Mrs. Delgado.”
The burst of applause from the classroom tells you what the students think of their teacher.
You can read the entire letter below.
