The
mission of most schools over the past fifty to one hundred years has been to
graduate students who excel on standardized exams. Lichtman, Grant (2014-08-13).
I agree and it is still prevalent today. Students are required to pass the ACT/SAT and colleges look at this score as a process of admission to their college, especially the elite colleges like Yale and Stanford. The students are now being required as low as 3rd grade to take standardized tests to use as performance indicators. How is this effective? The work world doesn't revolve around standardized tests, pre se. There are professions like education and health fields that require standardized tests to get into the field. Most professions look at quality of work. Standardized tests are made so that the most of the participants fall in the middle range, some fall in the high range and some fall in the lower range. Is this fair? This is great for those people that do well on tests but what about those who have the knowledge but have test anxiety? Teachers are encouraged to do other forms of assessment like portfolios yet the politicians want the students to perform well on standardized tests. When will teachers be able to teach the way they know is best for the students?
Politicians wouldn't have much say if we could get back to local and state control of education. Our forefathers never intended Federal government to be involved in education. Unfortunately schools have become prey to all the money hooks (grants, etc) and now dance to the politicians tune. I could be wrong....but look at what entities are behind the standardized tests. Someone probably has more information about this but there is one main textbooks company - Prentice Hall.
Standardized tests are less expensive and easier to grade. I feel like the politicians believe that those tests make things easier for us. They are easy to compare and use to collect data, but they do not show a student's true potential and ability.
I disagree with the statement that the mission of most schools is to graduate students who excel at standardized exams. Most of the small communities that I have taught in know that their students will one day be the leaders, professionals and care givers in their communities and they desire them to be well rounded successful individuals. Nevertheless, I think testing in schools has progressively taken over our teaching. Federal dollars via grants, etc commit our school districts to standards or "rules".
The only test I remember taking in high school was the ASVAB. Those of us who were planning on attending college took the ACT. We lost very little class time to standardized testing in high school. In grade school we took a standardized test each spring. Fast forward to when my children were in school. My four graduated in 1998 and 2000, 2004 and 2006 and their standardized testing looked pretty much the same as when I was in school. They all took the ACT several times (once a year) and I think that helped them become familiar and comfortable with that. Fortunately they all missed the CSAP state assessment wave. Their small school catered as much as possible to teaching each student at their level and making the curriculum fit individual need. Many students went on to complete college, several receiving prestigious scholarships.
In the past five years I've seen schools add even more testing in addition to the state mandated ones. In many schools a week of classroom instruction is lost in the fall, a couple of weeks mid-winter for state assessments and another week is lost at the end of school. Most of the time the tests don't give us any new information about a student and for those who are struggling the tests are just one more stressful situation. I've recently been working with a small group of 8th graders who struggle with reading. Their class is starting a book about the Holocaust and they recently completed a project that I mentored them on. The book they will be reading is about a boy their age who lived through being interred in Auswitch. We talked about some books that share more information about this time in history and each one of those boys ask to read one of those books. They are REALLY interested and right now two of them have books checked out. In the past, getting these boys to read has taken an "act of Congress".
I agree that "Teachers need to be able to teach" - reaching individual students in different ways to help them be successful in life!
I agree that teachers want to make their students well rounded to survive after high school, however (and I think you touched on it) their hands are tied because what is required by schools to show progress...ie standardized tests. There are a couple states that waived the Common Core standards but are now struggling to find money to fund the schools. When will the government allow teachers to teach? I don't see the government telling business owners how to run their businesses or telling doctors how to perform surgeries....
I agree with your statements about all of the increased testing and the anxiety it brings. My school is losing numerous weeks of teaching/learning for testing 3 times a year, progress monitoring, and state assessments.
When preschoolers are feeling the anxiety of testing and you hear teachers complaining about the teaching time lost due to testing you the time spent is long and tedious. It makes me sad when I sit in a SAT team and the children are talked about as LNF and LNS numbers and not who they are.
I believe schools are judged by scores on standardized tests. I feel my school has gone overboard with testing. The teachers are complaining because they feel like they do not have time to teach. My school tests 3 times a year beginning in preschool and then there is the state assessment. This year grades 3 and up did MAP and the act prep test. I feel all of this testing is just going to make students not like school, get out early, or drop out. A certain test score does not decide how well one will do in life! It sometimes gets one scholarships for college, but no always.
We do test often, and it's starting at lower levels. I think some testing is important if the data is used to guide instruction, but it feels like we're having so much testing that there is no way we can use all of the data. We've gotten to the point that we educate the brain, but what about the rest of the child? Are we raising aware citizens or creating excellent test takers?
I agree the mission of school has been to graduate students with high scores, but come on this is not the real world. I remember stressing over taking the Praxis and my Comps and for what reason? Does my ability to regurgitate theories have anything to do how I teach students? I know that 4 year colleges have upped the ACT score students must have for admittance because their theory is that if not they will not be successful and will drop out. I feel like we should be more practical in what we expect if we through these high scoring test takers out on the street do they have the life skills/common sense to survive? I feel that test are made to pigeon hole a student’s ability and are not an accurate measure of what the student truly knows!
But it's so much easier to grade answer ABCD quickly and by computer and not human hand.....I feel for those kiddos who struggle with taking tests because they know (because they have heard it) that they have to do well because the school district is counting on them to score well.
I agree I feel that the schools are too focused on standardized exams and what they score rather than if they will be able to be functional adults in the real world. An example of this from the other day is a girl was working in the sped room working on money ( how to count it, what each piece its etc.). This girl is in the 7th grade. I feel however the school is more focused on her test scores meaning standardized exams rather than if she will be able to function as an adult.
I disagree with the statement. I feel schools are judged by their scores on standardized tests but its not their mission to graduate students who excel at standardized testing, that would leave a lot of students out, including myself - I passed standardized tests but certainly did not excel at them. I do think that NCLB/AYP put more emphasis on standardized testing and the focus in schools sifted to passing standardized tests more than anything else. I see schools today providing more of a well-rounded education than was available 50-100 years ago.
Recently I read an article about Google studying the relevance between college GPAs and the possibility of hiring a beneficial employee: After years of looking at the data, Google has found that things like college GPAs and transcripts are almost worthless in hiring. Following these revelations, the company is hiring more and more people who never even went to college." I believe that standardized tests are not realistic and students should be taught communication skills, social skills and how to think as an individual. Standardized testing is an easy way to assess multiple students at the same time, but it is not beneficial for students.
I agree life skills is a important thing that many students do not have even though the standards are making the students have critical thinking skills. They want them to think exactly the way they want them to answer not taking into consideration opinions that may be just as right. One of our assessments they use for preschool test on vocabulary wants them to say the word exactly as the test wants them to answer. Such as a picture of shoes and they say slippers then they can only take shoes as correct even though slippers would be another word for shoes and it shows they understand what the picture is. I just think sometimes it is getting way to literal for students.
There has been so much pressure placed on standardized testing by AYP in the past years that I feel teachers basically "taught to the test" and that was pretty much the whole curriculum. Also teachers are under such pressure to have their students perform for the test that I think we sometimes lose sight of what we really want the outcome to be in education.
I completely agree Marcy! I have seen that happen many times where teachers have practiced the test, just so that their students will pass. It's sad really, because it doesn't do anything to help the kids. I totally agree that we do lose sight of what we really want the outcome to be because we are so focused on the test and what is going to happen when the kids don't pass the test. What can we do to change that thinking??
I was talking with a teacher a couple days ago about possible interventions for a kiddo. When we were going over the student's schedule to figure out when these strategies could be implemented, about the only time that worked was during Computers. When I brought this up, the teacher automatically shot it down because that was when the class had state assessment prep time. In my head I'm thinking, "Ok, if we don't get this kiddo some more individualized intervention time, he's not going to do well on the test anyway, and he's DEFINITELY not going to do well as his academics progress." I don't know... I hope she changes her mind about things. I guess we'll see.
I feel testing is a huge. I feel that the pressure is on the teachers because if their students don't make progress through aims web testing or state testing then this reflects on them as teachers. I feel the districts are seeing kids as the number on their testing. If the students test scores show low, even though it is not developmentally appropriate, then the district takes that number and says this is the number I want them at because this is the what aims web says they need to be at. Often times I think about this, some students need time to think not how many can you do in a minute, then parents are told they are low. I just think wow I don't test well and if I was a student in this generation I would be one that failed or was a drop out because you look like a failure when your friends all can pass testing but you can't. A test score does not show what a student knows and how fast you can be doesn't show a learning disability.
We need to get back to teaching kids to being better prepared for life after high school. Some are going to go to college some are going to get jobs and raise a family. Kids are leaving high school without the appropriate knowledge of what is expected of them when they get out into the real world and have to pay bills buy groceries make make payments on cars and houses. They need to learn how to spend their money wisely and to be able to save money when the time is right for retirement when they get to the certain age to be ready.
There's nothing wrong with getting students to graduate who excel at standardized exams. But what about the other students that do not excel on standardized test? They have just as much of a right to graduate as well. They put in the time, went to the classes, got their homework done, and kept their grades up but yet they didn't do well on standardized tests... I'm one of those people that didn't do well on tests on any kind of test but I kept my nose to the ground, worked hard, studied harder than most, got decent grades, and still managed to graduate high school and go to college. I disagree because (all) kids should have an opportunity to the best of their abilities to take the test but more importantly be able to go to any level college (vocational, community, university) if given the opportunity.
I think that it has become more prevalent in the last 10-15 years, especially with No Child Left Behind. I don't see that becoming any better, especially since federal funding is so tied to test scores. I think we're missing what's important in education. A test score on an exam won't measure a student's potential or guarantee success in college. When we start testing at such a young age and basing the teacher's salaries and evaluations on the test scores, I think we're off the target. We need to find the right balance of testing/data collection and purpose for education. Right now, it seems like we teach so students pass tests, not so they are successful.
Education has become governed by businessmen who desire quantifiable data to "prove" our success. When compared to other countries, especially those in Europe, we fall short of any kind of success. Student mastery of concepts and execution of that understanding is at the heart of foreign education. Preparing the youth for their future is at the heart of their education. Assessments are not always in the form of "tests." The only data they need comes from the examination of the students' knowledge and performance... not from a scan tron.
I'd agree, we've seen more of a focus in test scores among school leadership, when those scores are high stakes and tied to funding, it's left them with little choice.
I think too much emphasis has been placed on standardized tests to measure student abilities as well as general performance of schools and districts. I think that information is good to have and helps drive instruction, but I don't feel like that has been the mission of the education over the last 50-100 years. I remember taking standardized tests when I was in school but didnt' feel like I had been taught to the test. I think since NCLB, more districts are "teaching to the test", but we mustn't lose sight of the whole child.
While most schools would profess that their mission is in someway to provide equal opportunity to all learners, to create a safe learning environment, and to encourage students to become positive members of a democratic society... that is not truly what they are preparing students for. At the heart of every school has been the goal to graduate as many students as possible AND to have high test scores. Sadly, schools have been assessing their achievements based on the students' success on standardized tests. The true measure of success, in my opinion, would be examining the graduation rate from colleges/technical programs and the students' overall successes in life. Are they positive members of society? What are their contributions to society? Schools are in the "business" of making people, not generating test scores. At the end of the day, people change the world. Test scores are entirely subjective and irrelevant anywhere beyond the realm of education.
I have a group of 4th graders that I give and grade spelling tests for. Each week I have one student who just does terrible. I finally said to this student, "Don't let spelling ruin your day. With today's technology you really only have to just get close and then the computer, iPad, phone, or whatever will spell it for you." Getting throughly caught up on grades is unhealthy - and I know, cause I was there. On the flip side of that however is one if the reasons why students struggle with the CCSS. As an adult who has gotten two degrees, I learned how to think outside the box... And get 'As' (I'm obsessed), but that was over the course of almost 20 years a marriage and two kids.
It will take specific guidance to show students that getting the answer right the first time is great, but it probably means they weren't being very creative.
I feel that achievement should not be measured on a single test score. I feel it is setting the kids up for failure at a early age. I myself have anxiety about test taking. I will admit I over analyze and usually end up with the wrong answer. While taking my education testing I knew going in it was pass or fail and I sure did not want to look like a failure. I think the score of the test is irrelevant especially in a child's life. How do you know what this child went through right before coming to school? Was this child dealing with stressful situations at home, school or in general? This affects test scores tremendously. Was this child told they were going to be punished if they did not pass by parents or by the school? Anxiety of a 3rd grader must be very strong at this point to get that passing score. The immense feeling these students must have before even walking into to take the test. I feel the score does not reflect how well you will succeed in life or through the remaining school years. I will give an example of a high school student who really did not care about school just wanted the end diploma and move on. I was a para helping with the testing for this group. This kid was the first one done just answered randomly. He didn't care if he passed or not. He raised his hand saying he was done with the test. I said go back and look to make sure you are satisfied with your answers. He said I am I don't really care. I said okay then submit. There were students trying their hardest to do the best that they knew how and wanted so bad to pass. Scores were revealed the student who randomly choose answers passed with one of the top scores and the other students who sit until they had no more time left barely passed or didn't pass at all. Now is this measuring performance or achievement of students. I can tell you the student that passed did not graduate from high school and the students who barely passed are the ones in college making a life for themselves. I just think it is sad that we have to go off of one score to see if teachers are teaching, students are gaining and most of all if they can pass one test. It is not about any of these things. It is about students applying their skills they are taught to real life skills. I feel it is not a relevant thing for many students and may be causing anxiety and stress among the ones that want to succeed and do well in life. Success should not be measured on a single test that shows pass or fail and given to schools to analyze teachers and students. Kids see the scores as I am a failure or I totally rocked that test. I think to often the kids that look at the score as failure give up with heads low in reality they probably could have been a doctor. One test score can make or break a child and I think it is sad that we are putting the teachers through the system of pass or fail and this tells us all about who you are as a person.
Even coming in late to this discussion I find I have to write my opinion before I read any one else's for fear of being swayed. :) I do not agree with this statement, inasmuch as I believe there to be a huge difference between 100 years ago (1914/5) and only 50 years ago (1964/5). The most significant child labor laws were only passed in the 1920s, prior to that a great number of children never even went to school much less worried about graduating. Thus how could standardized testing achievement have really been a concern.
Standardized testing was born out of necessity on a variety of levels. Not only is it cheaper and easier - as another poster mentioned (I peeked) - but it sets a definitive bar for which all schools can say, "here, this is where we are going." A problem with that bar of course is that it doesn't take into account where students are starting from. A problem that would have been less prevalent in its earliest days because in the origins of standardized testing there was less diversity in schools.
Additionally I see this statement as something that we can only say as we look backward. We have become aware that fewer students/graduates are able to effectively and efficiently problem-solve and/or communicate. We can look now and see that some previous teaching methods got us to this point, but to say that educators had this end result in mind from the beginning is unfounded.
I disagree with that statement because I have graduated in the past 30 years (UGH!) and I don't remember having the school freaked out about testing. We would take the CAT tests in grade school and that was always an emphasized day and then a couple tests like that in high school and that's all I remember. I would really say it's been the past 10-15 years at the most. Even teaching back in the early 1990's I don't remember testing being like it is now. And I still go back to my old argument of how we try to compare our students to the world when the world doesn't allow sped students or slow students to even be counted or go to school past a certain age and we have to allow for everyone who isn't in the "norm" to be counted for or against the scores.
I agree with the statement that most schools want to graduate students who excel on standardized tests. While I don't, at all, believe in the philosophy, I do think that is what is happening. So much of school, especially recently, is based on testing. Funding is tied to testing, teacher evaluations are tied to testing, etc. It actually kinda makes me sick because not every child is a good test taker. Some students will NEVER score as proficient on a state assessment and may NEVER score at benchmark on DIBELS or Aimsweb or any other test that they take. Just because a student doesn't test well does not mean that they will not grow up to be happy, healthy, productive citizens. It simply means that on the one day that the test was taken, they didn't do well. The problem with the standardized tests is that they are a snapshot of a student's school year...one day does not define who they are as a student and how they progressed along the continuum of learning. It is so frustrating to me, especially for our SpEd students who try so hard, and yet fall so short each time they are tested. We know they are growing and are making gains, but it hardly ever shows up on an assessment. It is so sad and disheartening for me and for them. I would like to hope that the pressure of testing will go away and get easier for our kids; however, I don't see that happening anywhere in the near future. I think it is going to continue to get harder and harder on our kids.
I hate to say that I would agree with this statement. I do not believe that it was an intentional goal for school systems. However, using standardized tests were believed to prepare students for the real world. In reality, standardized tests only cover a portion of knowledge application. I feel it is important to have a way of measuring progress and setting goals (standards) for our teaching. However, a standardized test should not be the sole deciding factor of a student's ability to be successful at further education.
I'd agree that high stakes testing places too much emphasis on the knowledge, and maybe application levels of skills. CCS attempt to bring that focus back around to get in some synthesis and application, and a true in depth understanding of the concepts. Even those standards don't encompass the "21st century" skills. There have also been those few teachers, though they've not necessarily been reinforced in later years, that teach beyond the standards and refused to teach just to the test.
Completely agree. If this wasn’t such a huge focus, I don’t feel like teachers or students would have as much anxiety and stress when the time to take these standardized assessments rolled around. And I’m not trying to say it’s unwarranted either. With so much riding on how these kiddos perform, I’d be freaking out too! It just sucks that teachers can’t be teachers and be able to do what they’re passionate about. It sucks for the kids too. I feel like if we could let teachers do their thing, they might get more excited to teach/learn/try new things, and this excitement for education could, in turn, have a more positive effect on the students.
I agree and it is still prevalent today. Students are required to pass the ACT/SAT and colleges look at this score as a process of admission to their college, especially the elite colleges like Yale and Stanford. The students are now being required as low as 3rd grade to take standardized tests to use as performance indicators. How is this effective? The work world doesn't revolve around standardized tests, pre se. There are professions like education and health fields that require standardized tests to get into the field. Most professions look at quality of work. Standardized tests are made so that the most of the participants fall in the middle range, some fall in the high range and some fall in the lower range. Is this fair? This is great for those people that do well on tests but what about those who have the knowledge but have test anxiety? Teachers are encouraged to do other forms of assessment like portfolios yet the politicians want the students to perform well on standardized tests. When will teachers be able to teach the way they know is best for the students?
ReplyDeletePoliticians wouldn't have much say if we could get back to local and state control of education. Our forefathers never intended Federal government to be involved in education. Unfortunately schools have become prey to all the money hooks (grants, etc) and now dance to the politicians tune. I could be wrong....but look at what entities are behind the standardized tests. Someone probably has more information about this but there is one main textbooks company - Prentice Hall.
DeleteStandardized tests are less expensive and easier to grade. I feel like the politicians believe that those tests make things easier for us. They are easy to compare and use to collect data, but they do not show a student's true potential and ability.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the statement that the mission of most schools is to graduate students who excel at standardized exams. Most of the small communities that I have taught in know that their students will one day be the leaders, professionals and care givers in their communities and they desire them to be well rounded successful individuals. Nevertheless, I think testing in schools has progressively taken over our teaching. Federal dollars via grants, etc commit our school districts to standards or "rules".
ReplyDeleteThe only test I remember taking in high school was the ASVAB. Those of us who were planning on attending college took the ACT. We lost very little class time to standardized testing in high school. In grade school we took a standardized test each spring. Fast forward to when my children were in school. My four graduated in 1998 and 2000, 2004 and 2006 and their standardized testing looked pretty much the same as when I was in school. They all took the ACT several times (once a year) and I think that helped them become familiar and comfortable with that. Fortunately they all missed the CSAP state assessment wave. Their small school catered as much as possible to teaching each student at their level and making the curriculum fit individual need. Many students went on to complete college, several receiving prestigious scholarships.
In the past five years I've seen schools add even more testing in addition to the state mandated ones. In many schools a week of classroom instruction is lost in the fall, a couple of weeks mid-winter for state assessments and another week is lost at the end of school. Most of the time the tests don't give us any new information about a student and for those who are struggling the tests are just one more stressful situation. I've recently been working with a small group of 8th graders who struggle with reading. Their class is starting a book about the Holocaust and they recently completed a project that I mentored them on. The book they will be reading is about a boy their age who lived through being interred in Auswitch. We talked about some books that share more information about this time in history and each one of those boys ask to read one of those books. They are REALLY interested and right now two of them have books checked out. In the past, getting these boys to read has taken an "act of Congress".
I agree that "Teachers need to be able to teach" - reaching individual students in different ways to help them be successful in life!
I agree that teachers want to make their students well rounded to survive after high school, however (and I think you touched on it) their hands are tied because what is required by schools to show progress...ie standardized tests. There are a couple states that waived the Common Core standards but are now struggling to find money to fund the schools. When will the government allow teachers to teach? I don't see the government telling business owners how to run their businesses or telling doctors how to perform surgeries....
DeleteI agree with your statements about all of the increased testing and the anxiety it brings. My school is losing numerous weeks of teaching/learning for testing 3 times a year, progress monitoring, and state assessments.
ReplyDeleteWhen preschoolers are feeling the anxiety of testing and you hear teachers complaining about the teaching time lost due to testing you the time spent is long and tedious. It makes me sad when I sit in a SAT team and the children are talked about as LNF and LNS numbers and not who they are.
DeleteI believe schools are judged by scores on standardized tests. I feel my school has gone overboard with testing. The teachers are complaining because they feel like they do not have time to teach. My school tests 3 times a year beginning in preschool and then there is the state assessment. This year grades 3 and up did MAP and the act prep test. I feel all of this testing is just going to make students not like school, get out early, or drop out. A certain test score does not decide how well one will do in life! It sometimes gets one scholarships for college, but no always.
ReplyDeleteWe do test often, and it's starting at lower levels. I think some testing is important if the data is used to guide instruction, but it feels like we're having so much testing that there is no way we can use all of the data. We've gotten to the point that we educate the brain, but what about the rest of the child? Are we raising aware citizens or creating excellent test takers?
DeleteI agree the mission of school has been to graduate students with high scores, but come on this is not the real world. I remember stressing over taking the Praxis and my Comps and for what reason? Does my ability to regurgitate theories have anything to do how I teach students? I know that 4 year colleges have upped the ACT score students must have for admittance because their theory is that if not they will not be successful and will drop out. I feel like we should be more practical in what we expect if we through these high scoring test takers out on the street do they have the life skills/common sense to survive? I feel that test are made to pigeon hole a student’s ability and are not an accurate measure of what the student truly knows!
ReplyDeleteBut it's so much easier to grade answer ABCD quickly and by computer and not human hand.....I feel for those kiddos who struggle with taking tests because they know (because they have heard it) that they have to do well because the school district is counting on them to score well.
DeleteI agree I feel that the schools are too focused on standardized exams and what they score rather than if they will be able to be functional adults in the real world. An example of this from the other day is a girl was working in the sped room working on money ( how to count it, what each piece its etc.). This girl is in the 7th grade. I feel however the school is more focused on her test scores meaning standardized exams rather than if she will be able to function as an adult.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the statement. I feel schools are judged by their scores on standardized tests but its not their mission to graduate students who excel at standardized testing, that would leave a lot of students out, including myself - I passed standardized tests but certainly did not excel at them. I do think that NCLB/AYP put more emphasis on standardized testing and the focus in schools sifted to passing standardized tests more than anything else. I see schools today providing more of a well-rounded education than was available 50-100 years ago.
ReplyDeleteRecently I read an article about Google studying the relevance between college GPAs and the possibility of hiring a beneficial employee: After years of looking at the data, Google has found that things like college GPAs and transcripts are almost worthless in hiring. Following these revelations, the company is hiring more and more people who never even went to college."
ReplyDeleteI believe that standardized tests are not realistic and students should be taught communication skills, social skills and how to think as an individual. Standardized testing is an easy way to assess multiple students at the same time, but it is not beneficial for students.
I agree life skills is a important thing that many students do not have even though the standards are making the students have critical thinking skills. They want them to think exactly the way they want them to answer not taking into consideration opinions that may be just as right. One of our assessments they use for preschool test on vocabulary wants them to say the word exactly as the test wants them to answer. Such as a picture of shoes and they say slippers then they can only take shoes as correct even though slippers would be another word for shoes and it shows they understand what the picture is. I just think sometimes it is getting way to literal for students.
DeleteThere has been so much pressure placed on standardized testing by AYP in the past years that I feel teachers basically "taught to the test" and that was pretty much the whole curriculum. Also teachers are under such pressure to have their students perform for the test that I think we sometimes lose sight of what we really want the outcome to be in education.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Marcy! I have seen that happen many times where teachers have practiced the test, just so that their students will pass. It's sad really, because it doesn't do anything to help the kids. I totally agree that we do lose sight of what we really want the outcome to be because we are so focused on the test and what is going to happen when the kids don't pass the test. What can we do to change that thinking??
DeleteI was talking with a teacher a couple days ago about possible interventions for a kiddo. When we were going over the student's schedule to figure out when these strategies could be implemented, about the only time that worked was during Computers. When I brought this up, the teacher automatically shot it down because that was when the class had state assessment prep time. In my head I'm thinking, "Ok, if we don't get this kiddo some more individualized intervention time, he's not going to do well on the test anyway, and he's DEFINITELY not going to do well as his academics progress." I don't know... I hope she changes her mind about things. I guess we'll see.
DeleteI feel testing is a huge. I feel that the pressure is on the teachers because if their students don't make progress through aims web testing or state testing then this reflects on them as teachers. I feel the districts are seeing kids as the number on their testing. If the students test scores show low, even though it is not developmentally appropriate, then the district takes that number and says this is the number I want them at because this is the what aims web says they need to be at. Often times I think about this, some students need time to think not how many can you do in a minute, then parents are told they are low. I just think wow I don't test well and if I was a student in this generation I would be one that failed or was a drop out because you look like a failure when your friends all can pass testing but you can't. A test score does not show what a student knows and how fast you can be doesn't show a learning disability.
ReplyDeleteWe need to get back to teaching kids to being better prepared for life after high school. Some are going to go to college some are going to get jobs and raise a family. Kids are leaving high school without the appropriate knowledge of what is expected of them when they get out into the real world and have to pay bills buy groceries make make payments on cars and houses. They need to learn how to spend their money wisely and to be able to save money when the time is right for retirement when they get to the certain age to be ready.
DeleteThere's nothing wrong with getting students to graduate who excel at standardized exams. But what about the other students that do not excel on standardized test? They have just as much of a right to graduate as well. They put in the time, went to the classes, got their homework done, and kept their grades up but yet they didn't do well on standardized tests... I'm one of those people that didn't do well on tests on any kind of test but I kept my nose to the ground, worked hard, studied harder than most, got decent grades, and still managed to graduate high school and go to college. I disagree because (all) kids should have an opportunity to the best of their abilities to take the test but more importantly be able to go to any level college (vocational, community, university) if given the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI think that it has become more prevalent in the last 10-15 years, especially with No Child Left Behind. I don't see that becoming any better, especially since federal funding is so tied to test scores. I think we're missing what's important in education. A test score on an exam won't measure a student's potential or guarantee success in college. When we start testing at such a young age and basing the teacher's salaries and evaluations on the test scores, I think we're off the target. We need to find the right balance of testing/data collection and purpose for education. Right now, it seems like we teach so students pass tests, not so they are successful.
ReplyDeleteEducation has become governed by businessmen who desire quantifiable data to "prove" our success. When compared to other countries, especially those in Europe, we fall short of any kind of success. Student mastery of concepts and execution of that understanding is at the heart of foreign education. Preparing the youth for their future is at the heart of their education. Assessments are not always in the form of "tests." The only data they need comes from the examination of the students' knowledge and performance... not from a scan tron.
DeleteI'd agree, we've seen more of a focus in test scores among school leadership, when those scores are high stakes and tied to funding, it's left them with little choice.
DeleteI think too much emphasis has been placed on standardized tests to measure student abilities as well as general performance of schools and districts. I think that information is good to have and helps drive instruction, but I don't feel like that has been the mission of the education over the last 50-100 years. I remember taking standardized tests when I was in school but didnt' feel like I had been taught to the test. I think since NCLB, more districts are "teaching to the test", but we mustn't lose sight of the whole child.
ReplyDeleteWhile most schools would profess that their mission is in someway to provide equal opportunity to all learners, to create a safe learning environment, and to encourage students to become positive members of a democratic society... that is not truly what they are preparing students for. At the heart of every school has been the goal to graduate as many students as possible AND to have high test scores. Sadly, schools have been assessing their achievements based on the students' success on standardized tests. The true measure of success, in my opinion, would be examining the graduation rate from colleges/technical programs and the students' overall successes in life. Are they positive members of society? What are their contributions to society? Schools are in the "business" of making people, not generating test scores. At the end of the day, people change the world. Test scores are entirely subjective and irrelevant anywhere beyond the realm of education.
ReplyDeleteI have a group of 4th graders that I give and grade spelling tests for. Each week I have one student who just does terrible. I finally said to this student, "Don't let spelling ruin your day. With today's technology you really only have to just get close and then the computer, iPad, phone, or whatever will spell it for you." Getting throughly caught up on grades is unhealthy - and I know, cause I was there. On the flip side of that however is one if the reasons why students struggle with the CCSS. As an adult who has gotten two degrees, I learned how to think outside the box... And get 'As' (I'm obsessed), but that was over the course of almost 20 years a marriage and two kids.
DeleteIt will take specific guidance to show students that getting the answer right the first time is great, but it probably means they weren't being very creative.
I feel that achievement should not be measured on a single test score. I feel it is setting the kids up for failure at a early age. I myself have anxiety about test taking. I will admit I over analyze and usually end up with the wrong answer. While taking my education testing I knew going in it was pass or fail and I sure did not want to look like a failure. I think the score of the test is irrelevant especially in a child's life. How do you know what this child went through right before coming to school? Was this child dealing with stressful situations at home, school or in general? This affects test scores tremendously. Was this child told they were going to be punished if they did not pass by parents or by the school? Anxiety of a 3rd grader must be very strong at this point to get that passing score. The immense feeling these students must have before even walking into to take the test. I feel the score does not reflect how well you will succeed in life or through the remaining school years. I will give an example of a high school student who really did not care about school just wanted the end diploma and move on. I was a para helping with the testing for this group. This kid was the first one done just answered randomly. He didn't care if he passed or not. He raised his hand saying he was done with the test. I said go back and look to make sure you are satisfied with your answers. He said I am I don't really care. I said okay then submit. There were students trying their hardest to do the best that they knew how and wanted so bad to pass. Scores were revealed the student who randomly choose answers passed with one of the top scores and the other students who sit until they had no more time left barely passed or didn't pass at all. Now is this measuring performance or achievement of students. I can tell you the student that passed did not graduate from high school and the students who barely passed are the ones in college making a life for themselves. I just think it is sad that we have to go off of one score to see if teachers are teaching, students are gaining and most of all if they can pass one test. It is not about any of these things. It is about students applying their skills they are taught to real life skills.
ReplyDeleteI feel it is not a relevant thing for many students and may be causing anxiety and stress among the ones that want to succeed and do well in life. Success should not be measured on a single test that shows pass or fail and given to schools to analyze teachers and students. Kids see the scores as I am a failure or I totally rocked that test. I think to often the kids that look at the score as failure give up with heads low in reality they probably could have been a doctor. One test score can make or break a child and I think it is sad that we are putting the teachers through the system of pass or fail and this tells us all about who you are as a person.
Even coming in late to this discussion I find I have to write my opinion before I read any one else's for fear of being swayed. :) I do not agree with this statement, inasmuch as I believe there to be a huge difference between 100 years ago (1914/5) and only 50 years ago (1964/5). The most significant child labor laws were only passed in the 1920s, prior to that a great number of children never even went to school much less worried about graduating. Thus how could standardized testing achievement have really been a concern.
ReplyDeleteStandardized testing was born out of necessity on a variety of levels. Not only is it cheaper and easier - as another poster mentioned (I peeked) - but it sets a definitive bar for which all schools can say, "here, this is where we are going." A problem with that bar of course is that it doesn't take into account where students are starting from. A problem that would have been less prevalent in its earliest days because in the origins of standardized testing there was less diversity in schools.
Additionally I see this statement as something that we can only say as we look backward. We have become aware that fewer students/graduates are able to effectively and efficiently problem-solve and/or communicate. We can look now and see that some previous teaching methods got us to this point, but to say that educators had this end result in mind from the beginning is unfounded.
I disagree with that statement because I have graduated in the past 30 years (UGH!) and I don't remember having the school freaked out about testing. We would take the CAT tests in grade school and that was always an emphasized day and then a couple tests like that in high school and that's all I remember. I would really say it's been the past 10-15 years at the most. Even teaching back in the early 1990's I don't remember testing being like it is now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I still go back to my old argument of how we try to compare our students to the world when the world doesn't allow sped students or slow students to even be counted or go to school past a certain age and we have to allow for everyone who isn't in the "norm" to be counted for or against the scores.
I agree with the statement that most schools want to graduate students who excel on standardized tests. While I don't, at all, believe in the philosophy, I do think that is what is happening. So much of school, especially recently, is based on testing. Funding is tied to testing, teacher evaluations are tied to testing, etc. It actually kinda makes me sick because not every child is a good test taker. Some students will NEVER score as proficient on a state assessment and may NEVER score at benchmark on DIBELS or Aimsweb or any other test that they take. Just because a student doesn't test well does not mean that they will not grow up to be happy, healthy, productive citizens. It simply means that on the one day that the test was taken, they didn't do well. The problem with the standardized tests is that they are a snapshot of a student's school year...one day does not define who they are as a student and how they progressed along the continuum of learning. It is so frustrating to me, especially for our SpEd students who try so hard, and yet fall so short each time they are tested. We know they are growing and are making gains, but it hardly ever shows up on an assessment. It is so sad and disheartening for me and for them. I would like to hope that the pressure of testing will go away and get easier for our kids; however, I don't see that happening anywhere in the near future. I think it is going to continue to get harder and harder on our kids.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say that I would agree with this statement. I do not believe that it was an intentional goal for school systems. However, using standardized tests were believed to prepare students for the real world. In reality, standardized tests only cover a portion of knowledge application. I feel it is important to have a way of measuring progress and setting goals (standards) for our teaching. However, a standardized test should not be the sole deciding factor of a student's ability to be successful at further education.
ReplyDeleteI'd agree that high stakes testing places too much emphasis on the knowledge, and maybe application levels of skills. CCS attempt to bring that focus back around to get in some synthesis and application, and a true in depth understanding of the concepts. Even those standards don't encompass the "21st century" skills. There have also been those few teachers, though they've not necessarily been reinforced in later years, that teach beyond the standards and refused to teach just to the test.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree. If this wasn’t such a huge focus, I don’t feel like teachers or students would have as much anxiety and stress when the time to take these standardized assessments rolled around. And I’m not trying to say it’s unwarranted either. With so much riding on how these kiddos perform, I’d be freaking out too! It just sucks that teachers can’t be teachers and be able to do what they’re passionate about. It sucks for the kids too. I feel like if we could let teachers do their thing, they might get more excited to teach/learn/try new things, and this excitement for education could, in turn, have a more positive effect on the students.
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