High-Stakes Testing / Moving

Well, yesterday was power packed... I woke up late, but still was able to ride into work on my bike. I am so glad I was able to do so, since the weather was so nice. I also probably saved myself $5 in gas! At work I administered my semester final for the first groups of students.
It's amazing to me how many asked if they had to take the final. Did they think that by asking me enough times I would end up canceling their test? What would we do instead... talk? Not that I don't like talking to my students, but wouldn't a student who spent hours studying want to show how much that time was worth? Well, maybe I'm an idealist. These kids are probably more nervous about how this will effect their grade and for that reason would rather not have to face a high pressure testing situation. I don't blame them for that. I just hope that they realize that in college, they will face many high-pressure situations and this is practice for those times.
On the other hand, high-stakes testing is something that I have always disliked in principle. I know that some students don't test well. I also know that there a re alternative forms of assessment that can address the problem of assessing students with varied learning styles. The problem is that of time, desire, effort, and bias. My time is precious and as this being my first year of teaching, I have had to create and design all of my own labs, assignments, and lesson plans. Do I have time to devote to designing multiple tests? Not if I want to run a lot (and I do!) or have some social life. I think I would go crazy if my entire life was about teaching. So, next is effort. I put a lot of effort into creating and designing the components of my classroom. I wish I had more to give, but my desire for other things limits that. Last is bias. This may be the second greatest reason why I don't make alternate forms of testing. I don't feel that I can effectively judge alternate forms of work. Assessing a paper or project and assigning value to those in a way that is consistent is something I struggle with. "So why don't I so more so that I get more practice?" Well, I'm glad you asked. I didn't take the time to design another test because I didn't think about it ahead of time. Sounds lame? Well, that's the truth. I will do it better next time.
There are always alternative methods in teaching and I will explore them more and more as I continue to educate young minds. My plan for teaching next year is to get a substitute position or become a para-educator in the district where I end up moving. That might be in Flagstaff or in the Seattle area. I had thought that AZ was the place to go, but it I want to be in a place where I am close to at least one friend... so if Matt or Mike don't go to AZ, then I don't think I will either. Oh choices... I don't mind being up in the air a bit, but it would be nice to know where I am headed so I can make more permanent plans.