I'm not surprised that some see more testing as the solution. Some people seem to think that testing is the answer to everything in education. They are looking for a bottom line, but we are working with children, not numbers. No matter how hard they try they cannot take children out of the equation, so therefore "they" (the powers that be) will never get the numbers crunched and lined up into neat little rows, but until they realize this, we are doomed with more testing. It's sad really.
Lisa I totally agree with you. Too many think the education system can be run like a corporation (and they do such a good job there too) and it just can't. Like you said children add too many variables. The teachers that are there everyday with the kids are the ones who are the most familiar with these variables and are the best equipped to make the needed adjustments. Throwing more tests at the problem will do nothing but more harm!
This is exactly what's happening. Total focus was on reading & math, in elementary school, and so, just as was predicted and expected, everything else was pushed out (science, social studies, even writing). But now look at those middle-school test scores, ouch! How to compel elementary teachers to restore the curriculum? Since all incentives now focus on test results, add more tests.
It's also disturbing to see how focus has shifted to "testable and frequently tested" content standards, while more complex or difficult-to-test standards are pushed out.
The pressure comes from the big corporate foundations, who pushed the NCLB/RTTT laws, which forced the DoE to force states to force districts to force principals to force teachers to "teach to the test."
I considered running for my local school board a few years ago, but discovered that school boards really have no genuine authority or power. Isn't that really what the school board members were saying in the article? They can't order district administrators to order teachers to restore social studies (or science) to the curriculum -- in theory, they could, but all the incentives would still rest on reading and math, and schools that restored a balanced curriculum would surely be labeled as "failing" after the next testing cycle.
It really is sad isn't it Mark! The thing that really upset me about the article was the fact that it wasn't the school board, but the Board of Education for the state of Nebraska. What they were saying really is the only answer was more tests but they don't have enough money right now to implement them. Thank goodness for that I guess!
I'm not surprised that some see more testing as the solution. Some people seem to think that testing is the answer to everything in education. They are looking for a bottom line, but we are working with children, not numbers. No matter how hard they try they cannot take children out of the equation, so therefore "they" (the powers that be) will never get the numbers crunched and lined up into neat little rows, but until they realize this, we are doomed with more testing. It's sad really.
ReplyDelete❀Lisa
Effective Teaching Articles Blog
Lisa I totally agree with you. Too many think the education system can be run like a corporation (and they do such a good job there too) and it just can't. Like you said children add too many variables. The teachers that are there everyday with the kids are the ones who are the most familiar with these variables and are the best equipped to make the needed adjustments. Throwing more tests at the problem will do nothing but more harm!
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what's happening. Total focus was on reading & math, in elementary school, and so, just as was predicted and expected, everything else was pushed out (science, social studies, even writing). But now look at those middle-school test scores, ouch! How to compel elementary teachers to restore the curriculum? Since all incentives now focus on test results, add more tests.
ReplyDeleteIt's also disturbing to see how focus has shifted to "testable and frequently tested" content standards, while more complex or difficult-to-test standards are pushed out.
The pressure comes from the big corporate foundations, who pushed the NCLB/RTTT laws, which forced the DoE to force states to force districts to force principals to force teachers to "teach to the test."
I considered running for my local school board a few years ago, but discovered that school boards really have no genuine authority or power. Isn't that really what the school board members were saying in the article? They can't order district administrators to order teachers to restore social studies (or science) to the curriculum -- in theory, they could, but all the incentives would still rest on reading and math, and schools that restored a balanced curriculum would surely be labeled as "failing" after the next testing cycle.
It really is sad isn't it Mark! The thing that really upset me about the article was the fact that it wasn't the school board, but the Board of Education for the state of Nebraska. What they were saying really is the only answer was more tests but they don't have enough money right now to implement them. Thank goodness for that I guess!
ReplyDelete