Passing the Test

I have a student for the second year in a row. Last year, she was violent and sullen, with an attitude a mile wide. The first semeseter was sheer Hell. Girl invited drama. By second semester, she had settled herself down some, and was determined to get a passing grade or two. Still, I found it easier to walk on some eggshells around her, for fear of setting off an anger fit of first semester proportions.

Did I mention she is also in special ed? Girlfriend has some educational issues.

She wasn't enrolled in the fall, but by second semeseter, she was back. This year, though she is still master of the sullen stare, she was doing well. She showed up to class on time and completed her work. She still gets extra sullen when asked to work in groups, because she's a Drama Queen but knows it. She knows when she works with people she has pissed off before, bad things will follow. They'll get mad; she'll get mad; someone will get in trouble and maybe hurt. At least she's figuring it out?

I handed her a paper back on Thursday and asked her to make some edits to it. It's a good start, but it's still a rough draft. I want her to improve her draft and (gasp) learn something. She was immediately sullen, though. She told me she was just going to get more angry.

I asked her what was wrong.

She said she hated teachers who didn't take her seriously. I probed a bit, and she explained that two teachers both wanted her to make up all her work during 5th block, and she knew she couldn't get it done. They didn't believe her desire to learn, or her other responsibilities, or perhaps the extra help she actually (and legally) needs. (She is not the most communicative student, so sometimes I have to fill in the gaps.) The thing is, two teachers had set a deadline, and she knew she couldn't meet it.

The upshot: She is going to drop out of school.

I agreed that it must be very frustrating. I reiterated that she was doing well in class and I could tell that she had been working. I told her I hoped she found a way to stay in school. I told her even if she decided that our comprehensive high school wasn't the right spot for her, she would try to find an alternative program that could give her what she needed. There are alternatives and I could see that she was working much harder this year, and I wanted her to continue to be successful.

She agreed that she would at least talk to someone. Or consider an alternative. Or at least say so so that I'd leave her alone.

The next day, I ran into one of the teachers she was mad at and asked about her. He said that she was going better this year, but yeah, she had to get the test done or else. He didn't blink when I said she was talking about dropping out. She's doing a lot better, he said, but she just can't pass his tests.

I almost asked about the accomodations and modifications he was making for her, but I didn't. We were in the staff room at lunch, and I'm not it's my place to lecture him about IEPs. And, I'll admit that I don't have her IEP memorized, so I'm not what extra help she should get.

It left me cold, though. "She just can't pass my tests." Maybe she can't, but has she learned? Do the tests really show you what she learned. I discovered last year that she does poorly on multiple choice tests.

I guess this is why the special education teachers have been thanking me for the work I do with their students. I actually work with their students. The thing is, I'm just doing my job.