Mrs. Schaefer, the school's literacy specialist, found that she was required to work more with students who would be taking the CMT (Connecticut Mastery Test) standardized tests and the teachers who were instructing them and that made her lose out on time with others. "One stood up from his seat and approached her – Matthew, a tow-haired, seven-year-old she had spent considerable time with the previous year," Berler wrote of one of Schaefer's encounters with students. "Mrs. Schaefer could tell from Matthew's expression that he was both hopeful and sad. More than once he had stopped her in the hallway. 'Can I read with you?' he would ask.... Second graders did not take the CMT. Mrs. Schaefer knew there was no way she could explain this to him. 'Matthew,' she had told him, gently, 'I'd love to read with you, and when I do have a moment, I promise I will grab you.' Saying no to Matthew – turning down a child in need – cut against everything Mrs. Schaefer stood for."
