Evaluate Me, Please is a must-read post at the “Teach From The Heart” blog.

Please read the entire post, but here’s an excerpt:

I teach children, not targets or standards, so please don’t walk into my classroom expecting to see me teaching a specific skill at an exact moment in time. That’s not how it works here.

Don’t assume you know my kids as well as I do. That little boy with his back to me? Yeah, I know he’s off-task, but six months ago he would’ve thrown a desk when he was angry. Now he just turns his back. If I leave him alone, he’ll calm down and eventually apologize. If I say something to him now he’ll explode. Ask me about it later, but right now, trust that I know my kids.

If you want to know how far I’ve taken my students, then look at where they were when they came in my room and where they are when they leave. I do good work, but I can’t bring a child who is three years behind up to grade level in one year. If I could, believe me I would.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments.

Thanks to Darin Johnston for the tip.