My students took their first of two End of Grade tests today. Today's test was in math. They worked very hard and for that I am very proud of them! I wish the test were graded on effort. Unfortunately it is not. And...unfortunately these tests are structured in a way to keep the population of students I work with “in their place.” That leaves them confused and disappointed when they get their scores back... wondering what they did wrong when in fact they did everything right. That leaves teachers like me feeling like crap because we worked both hard and smart together all year long only to see poor results after testing.I try to tell my students not to let one or two days (or tests) define you. I also try to live by that. So why do I get so upset each year when the test scores come out?