I have learned so much already from my externship, it is hard to pin down just one “AHA” moment and call it my biggest. Going to work at the DPI, I somewhat expected to find serious policy wonks who were disconnected from the classroom, had low regard for teachers, and who lived by the rule that they were in charge and teachers just needed to do what they were told. Instead what I found was a wonderful bunch of professionals who believe they are there to serve the public and support schools and teachers as they work to improve public education in NC.

My mentor, Dr. Tammy Howard who is the director of the assessment division, is driven by the idea that students from all regions of North Carolina deserve a solid, equal education and she believes the testing and accountability office can help ensure that for all schools. It is easy to see that the staff has bought into this ideal and is working to fulfill their mission to “promote the academic achievement of all North Carolina public school students and to assist stakeholders in understanding and gauging this achievement against state and national standards.”

As I speak to my colleagues about my externship I always make a point of telling them how much of the staff is former classroom teachers who moved to DPI as another way to serve in education. I let them know how much the staff at DPI appreciates what we do in the classroom and how they are eager to hear from us as we share our experiences with the EOG’s and EOC’s as well as the new MSL’s and constructed response questions. It is reassuring to know that the folks at DPI are there as a resource for us, that they care about both students and teachers, and they are our partners as we work to offer the students of NC the high quality of education they deserve. The opportunity to meet and interact with the assessment staff has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my externship and I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to get to see the behind the scenes work that goes into building and maintaining standardized testing in NC.

Every day I am assessing my students, encouraging them to think about what they are doing, and working to develop high quality formative and summative assessments that let me know what my students have learned and what they are able to do. Just the other day, as I was going over our first major test, I was reviewing the most missed questions and discussing with them what the correct answers were and why they might have chosen the incorrect answer. Getting them to see how questions are written, analyzing what their misconceptions were, and correcting the errors they made on the test, allowed them to analyze their own test taking and studying strategies. Further, this type of analysis allows me to address their misunderstandings and gives me insight into how I can develop lessons, incorporate labs and discussions, and use technology to better teach a concept to my students.