State Mandated Testing

So much FUN! Every year we totally screw up the daily schedule to work in the tests that our juniors and sophomores are required to take in order to prove to the state that we teachers are doing our job.   Many of our students do NOT feel that the test is a reflection on the tests, so they really don't care how they do.  Frustrating!  So for 3 morning now in a row I have been monitoring 30 students (only one of whom I knew prior to the testing.  Many of them are more concerned with prom, sports, and how much longer before we get out for summer.  Others have worked diligently all three days, dedicated to doing their best, rewards or no rewards.  A few have struggled as they discovered questions that they felt covered content they had never learned.  In about an hour this year's testing will be history, at least until scores are returned in the fall.  But I'm left wondering yet again, how well I'm teaching my students, and especially how well I'm motivating them to play an active role in their own education.  And that will lead me to rework, revamp, rethink everything I teach next year.  In the end, I know I'm becoming a better teacher!