As the weather gets warmer, and the flowers and trees start to bloom and blossom, it can only mean one thing...no not that spring is here, but rather, it's time for the state's standardized testing again! Each year, courtesy of our current President's administration, our students are subjected to take 3-4 days of testing that looks to gauge whether our students can read, write, and do math & science "on grade level". These "high stakes tests" are a way of our federal government saying two things:
1. Here are the problems with our public education system
2. Here are the ways our teachers are failing our students
In essence, these tests, which are designed by people who know nothing about teaching, or who have been out of the classroom for years, prove absolutely nothing but that we can bore our students to tears. They prove that our students can read and comprehend a story about dolphins, that they can't create a story based on a picture prompt - all things I know that are applicable to what they will have to do when the reach the real world. I'm sure that when Joey goes on his first real job interview, his future employer is going to ask him a question to see whether or not he can create a story based on a picture that he shows him. What do these tests teacher our students? The answer, NOTHING.
2 comments:
As a third grade teacher, I obvioulsy share in your frustration with regards to testing. Lucky you, though, that you got to wait until May to test! Third and fourth graders tested in the middle of March. What sense does that make? The kids have not even learned 1/3 of what they need to learn in third grade. Nuts. Rumor has it that that might be different next year. Maybe one day they'll just do away with them...haha!
You know, you mention the federal government. Which, by all means I do agree with you. After all, it was the President's administration that approved the NCLB Act. However, in the Act itself it states that the actual tests are up to the individual states to choose. This means that New Jersey, being a high achieving state, chose a more difficult standardized test (or an easier one depending on who you ask). I think that this Act is fabulous in theory. However, it just isn't realistic. Unless all states are given the exact same test, we have no one to compare to other than districts within NJ. These tests are supposed to promote critical thinking and creativity of students. How creative can they be when they are given a format to write in? How much critical thinking are we testing when students have a few hours to complete short answers and multiple choice questions? Does the world really work this way? Will students be walking around the rest of their lives answering multiple choice questions? I don't think so. To quote a colleague of mine, "Students who are spoon fed and are taught by robot type teaching will ultimately become robots." We are creating critical thinkers all right, ones that think alike and not for themselves. While I do not think they will ever get rid of NCLB (since too much has been invested in it), I do think they should think about changing it.
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