In Alexander Russo's, This Week in Education on the Scholastic website, John Thompson questions Bill Gates and his love of standardized testing in his blog entitled, "Thompson-The Two Sides of Testing". In his blog, Thompson reveals a sad story of a little boy named Ryder who's love of learning dissappeared as a result of having to try and learn for standard tests. Mr. Thompson asks, Mr. Gates, just because you love standardization, don't impose it on the rest of us." (Thompson, 2010)
I completely agree with Thompson. At what point are we going to align what and how we ask our teachers to teach with needs instead of standards. If we are asking them to teach for testing, why then to we ask them to learn and try and implement strategies such as differentiated instruction in their classroom? Not all students learn the same way or at the same pace. Some kids learn best by listening, some by doing and some through watching. Then, you could also get into some psychology of it all. If we are teaching to meet standardized testing, what about those students with learning disabilities? What about the students that are gifted, yet aren't recognized because standardized testing doesn't allow for them to fully grow beyond there potential? So, they get bored. So, isn't standardized testing then best for those you fall in the middle? So, why then standardized tests?
I work in a small Christian school and we do not have to conduct the mandated state test (MEAP in Michigan). We have an IOWA test that we give, however, it is more to see where we as a school need to focus and where we need to focus our attention on individual students. There is no "teaching to the test" going on because we are not held accountable for the results.
ReplyDeleteMy nephews go to a charter school here in Michigan. The school has gone a differnet route this year with MEAP test prep. The students are required to access a testing website at home and complete a battery of online tests. The feedback is then given to the school and they adjust the focus of instruction based on the needs of the kids (still teaching to the test). My sister said this was nightmare! The boys were crying and worried about what they were doing on the test. They didn't want to come home after school and then sit on the computer taking tests all evening. I feel very blessed that I don't have to put my students through this type of testing.