Teacher: Mother Nature Helps 3rd Graders When It Comes To TAKS Test
O’Shea Keleher Elementary School in East El Paso doesn’t have a football team, but it does have pep rallies.
The campus held one Thursday afternoon, ahead of next week’s round of TAKS testing. The festivities included words of motivation from UTEP Head Football Coach Mike Price.
The younger faces in the crowd belonged to O’Shea’s third graders. This will be their first time tackling the TAKS.
Tedious testing can prove problematic for students who are so young, O’Shea teacher Juliette Blahuta told ABC-7.
“It’s difficult because they are still little kids,” she said. “They’re not used to taking tests.”
Like all Texas teachers, Blahuta prepared her students with practice tests and extra tutoring for those who needed it.
But she told ABC-7, with this particular age group, she can always count on a little help from Mother Nature.
Third-grade students, typically 8 or 9 years old, seem to change over winter break, she said.
“We’re usually concerned about the maturity,” Blahuta said. “Then, at Christmas it seems like, ‘OK, we got it!'”
Blahuta added the TAKS test has become more difficult in recent years, now concentrating on questions requiring “higher order thinking” skills.
To see past TAKS tests, click here
