What is Meaningful?

I wish I had some funny stories from my standardized test grading job. There have been some funny moments, but you had to be there for most of them.

Tonight we had to fill out a survey about our time working with this company. One of the questions was "Do you feel like your work is meaningful?" The only options were "yes" or "no" with no ability to explain my answer. I selected "no." I'm a big fan of education, but I'm not a big fan of standardized testing. My two weeks of grading these tests has only made me detest them more. One reason is that the grading is very inconsistent from state to state. Say there are three parts to a question and the second two parts depend on the first. If a child answers the first part incorrectly and then proceeds to answer the second two using that incorrect answer, most states would not give the child any credit for it. But some states do give credit for that. For instance, there's a state, let's call it...Shmassachusetts that tries to give the child as much credit for their work as possible. So a child can give an answer that ranks as a "3" in Shmassachusetts, but in another state a child with that same answer could get a "1" or even a "0." Fair? I think not.

So no, this work I've been doing is not meaningful, especially when I compare it with other jobs I've been fortunate to have. Rebuilding lives after hurricane Katrina? Yes. Working with Dreamers to help them succeed? Yes. Working at a drugstore on the Eastside? Yes. Grading standardized tests that don't really measure intelligence or ability? Nope.

Tomorrow is my last night. I am glad.