Testing Miss Malarkey
Author: Judy Finchler Illustrator: Kevin O'Malley
Publisher: Walker Publishing Company, Inc. Date of Publication: 2000
Summary:
This story is told from a child's perspective of the craziness and havoc that come with standardized testing in schools. The young boy is in Miss Malarkey's class and notices the "grown-ups" in his life are acting quite strange. THE TEST is coming and not only is his classroom teacher looking a little ragged but his mom is packing protein bars in his lunch, the lunch lady is serving a ridiculous amount of fish and his principle is literally about to lose the hair off his head. In the end, the normalcy of the students life returns while the teachers celebrate the results of THE TEST.
*I truly enjoyed this book! With all of the testing that is happening this spring you can see the tenseness come into our classrooms with all of us older folks trying to get the students prepared. This is a fun, light way to discuss this daunting TEST in the classroom. The most relate-able sections of this book were all of the descriptions of what THE TEST does to the adults in this students life. His teacher isn't getting enough sleep and is trying to incorporate test materials any way she can into her class while constantly reminding the students this test isn't graded but still to do their best. The gym teacher is trying to get the students to relax and learn some yoga techniques to "release the mind" and the lunch lady believes everyone needs a truckload of fish to do well with the testing. This story plays on what we generally define as the main roles in the schools we grew up in: teacher, student, parent, lunch lady, janitor, principal, etc. I also found a fun, short lesson plan that may relieve some of the craziness associated with all of these big TESTS that have little to no meaning to the students and are truly more of an assessment for the district and school.
Link to lesson plan for Testing Miss Malarkey:
http://www.spokenartsmedia.com/StudyGuides/Testing%20Miss%20Malarkey.pdf
This would be a good book for a read-aloud before a class takes standardized testing! I have been working in a school this week during the eighth grade MCA tests - some students are truly frightened by them, and this book could give the ordeal a humorous twist. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteKathleen Brockway
I agreee that this would be a great book to read before standardized tests. It's great that the teacher's point of view is presented, as I think the stress and strains of teaching are rarely portrayed in children's lit.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the school in the book made adequete yearly progress. Sadly, probably not.
I completely agree about the tense atmosphere of MCA testing season. Glad to read a post about looking at testing with some humor & forbearance.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a cute book with a good message. Test anxiety is no fun and it is hard for students to take those long tests. It is a good idea to get practice taking tests and to make it into a fun activity. The children could relate to this book and it could take some pressure off. Nice find!
ReplyDeleteYour review of "Testing" made me giggle! There is such an absurd amount of energy put into never-ending testing in schools in the spring. A recent national review said that the U.S. is on the wrong track regarding rampant testing! Other counties don't test half as much as we do, and they get better results from their kids (Finland, Canada, and others).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments all! This is one of my favorites I'm all about humor in the classroom its a great way to deal with the anxieties of not only test taking but growing up as well!
ReplyDelete