"My eighth grade student Tony came to me in September 2005, with an Oregon reading assessment score of 216, which means he was reading at approximately the fifth grade level as an eighth grader. On his statewide assessment test in reading this year, he scored a 230! He had gained almost three years' growth in one year. But he felt like he had failed the test-and failed me-because he had not met the benchmark score of 231.

 "He was not the only student who had shown significant gains in reading only to feel like a failure because the score still wasn't good enough. This breaks my heart.

"Over my seven years as a teacher, I have collected two file cabinet drawers full of practice materials and sample tests to help my students solve the reading assessment puzzle. Depending on how they feel on a specific day, how they slept the night before, what is happening in their family life, or the amount of test anxiety they have, they do well on the test or not. I do not teach only to the test, but we do practice test-taking skills and strategies more than I'd like. I feel like I am creating a generation of test takers, but not critical thinkers. They ask for help and practice because they are stressed, and I try to teach them the skills they need in reading.

"I want to assess my students, but I also know that it needs to be realistic and not make them feel like they are not good enough when they still achieve tremendous growth."

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