Learning That Matters

The other day I posted the following statement on social media, "When was the last time any of us had to take a standardized test in our careers? Answer = never. So why is this done to kids incessantly?" I should have clarified my comment a bit more by explaining that I was referring to repetitive standardized tests being taken while in the same job with the same school, company, or corporation.  My point was that there seems to be a disconnect in terms of how many times K-12 students are now subjected to standardized tests compared to the majority of professions. Yes, many career paths require entry-level exams and those that identify essential skills sets needed to do the job. Some jobs even require routine re-certifications. Many, however, do not require another test once a passing score has been achieved.

Image credit: http://technologyembedded.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/john-dewey.jpg

The problem I have is that most jobs in both the public and private sectors utilize differentiated means to evaluate job performance. Goals are established collaboratively while keeping or losing a job isn't determined by how well you can bubble in or electronically respond to answers on a test. Now let’s make a connection to learning.  Ask yourselves this, can you clearly make a connection to the results of a standardized test you took and its impact on your current job? I sure can't because most of the tests I took lacked any relevancy and meaning in terms of what I really wanted to do with my life. Sure the SATs and GREs were important benchmarks that I had to score a certain level in order to move through higher education, but I was not one bit passionate about taking them. I can also emphatically state that both exams did absolutely nothing for me in terms of my career in education. There are so many problems with standardized tests that I can go on and on writing about them.

So why did I take them? The answer to this lies in society's overreliance on attempts to quickly and efficiently quantify learning. This is not learning but forced conformity into a system that focuses more on numbers than actual skills that can help one succeed in life. This comment from Lain Lancaster on the Google+ thread sums things up nicely:

"I'm baffled by your country's rush to standardization all across education systems (tests, common core etc.) when research has pretty much proven it's the opposite of what education should be.  (I'm in Canada) Not only that, but thanks to modern technologies, society in general is moving away from mass production/consumption to individualized production/consumption. Yes standardization is easier, and produces lots of pretty data, but there's scant evidence that it’s effective anywhere in realm of education."

So we continue to press forward in a direction that virtually everyone knows is wrong and misguided.  Why do companies like Google go out of their way to provide their employees with spaces where they can play and relax? Play has been stripped away from students so there can be more time to prepare for the tests. The best learning experiences I ever had were experiential in nature. They involved play, creativity, failure now and again, tinkering, collaboration, and meaningful feedback.  If life is all about preparing for and then excelling on standardized tests will that allow society to push forward and solve the plethora of pressing issues that our world faces today? The bottom line is that life is not a standardized test and results on these will rarely determine how successful our students will be in life. We all would be better served if school focused more on preparing students adequately to excel in the real-word instead of wasting time forcing them to take test after test that they see know value in. If true learning is what matters than we should model that in education.

So what are you thoughts?

Testing For What?

Cross-posted at the Huffington Post.

NJ Spotlight is a fantastic resource for me.  They are unbiased in their approach to educate citizens on numerous topics, with education being one of them.  I recently came across an opinion piece titled Putting New Jersey's High School Diplomas to the Test.  The article focused on NJ's relentless push to increase standardized testing and institute end of course exams that students would have to pass in order to graduate.  It really got me thinking about the direction we are headed in and the negative consequences that it will ultimately have on our learners.

Image credit: http://dhayeseng100fall2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/standardized-testing-comic3.jpg

It is safe to say that the situation in NJ is no different than many states across the country.  For many misguided and misinformed reasons, politicians think that the education system in the United States is not up to par.  As a result, marching orders have been sent down to each state’s DOE to hold teachers and schools more accountable.  New laws have been passed and mandates implemented with little or no input from educators.  To make matters worse, schools and educators are being asked to quickly adhere to these mandates with inadequate training, preparation, and field testing.  I am a firm believer in accountability measures that are backed by research, but less so in those that line the pockets of special interest groups.

So when and how did all of this school failure rhetoric begin?  The NJ Spotlight piece points this out with a little history lesson in NCLB:

"NCLB was a dismal failure in raising academic performance or narrowing gaps in opportunity and outcomes. But its over-reliance on mandated testing did succeed in creating a narrative of school failure that undermined support for public education and led to a decade of bad policy in the name of reform."

The ultimate goal should be to develop a love for learning amongst our students and prepare them to be successful in any college and/or career they choose.  Achievement is great and what we should strive for, but actual learning and growth is much more important.  The centerpiece of the majority of education reform efforts is standardized testing.  Students will NEVER come to school excited to take one of these tests.  They yearn for true authentic, relevant, meaningful learning experiences that inspire inquiry and the desire to learn more.  This is the key to college and career readiness in my mind.

Are we really testing students to determine if they are college and career ready? Like many others I am a bit skeptical of this.  Here is an excerpt from the NJ Spotlight piece:

"In fact there is little evidence that an exit testing policy leads to better prepared graduates, improved college participation or completion rates, or benefits to a state’s economy. Less than half the states have high stakes graduation exams, and several that did recently ended them. A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that “challenging standards-based exams reduce graduation and increase incarceration rates.” The study found no corresponding positive effects on employment or earnings."

If that wasn't eye-opening enough here is another piece from the article that I found as a compelling argument against graduation tests, or any standardized exam for that matter, that will be linked to a student graduating:

"Current graduation tests don’t reliably measure what they pretend to measure (“intelligence,” “academic ability,” “college readiness”), and they don’t measure at all qualities all high school graduates should have (responsibility, resilience, critical thinking ability, empathy). The new tests are not likely to be much better. They must be given over computer networks many schools don’t have and will still mainly consist of multiple choice questions that assess a narrow range of skills and curricula." 

Please take a look at the entire NJ Spotlight article for more insightful information about the road ahead. So what are we really testing students for?  I have my opinions please share yours.  Maybe this dialogue will resonate with policy and decision makers so that they can right the ship before it crashes.

Children Stressed to the Breaking Point Due to Standardized Testing

Recently New York City made public teacher evaluations based on student standardized test scores.  This proceeded the state of New York's decision to change how educators are evaluated, in part by connecting the standardized test scores of students into final ratings.  The following letter was shared with me by a friend whose daughter is in the New York City Public School System.  She plans on sending this to officials in the NYC Department of Education to inform them of the potential that more standardized testing will have as a result of recent reform efforts.

Let me start off by saying that I have tried to draft this letter at least four times without the anger and the frustration that I am feeling.  Unfortunately, I have come to the realization that it is an impossibility to do so.   As my daughter is 12 years old, and already faces the stress and anxiety because of these standardized tests, I feel it necessary, as a mother, to voice my opinion.

Image credit:  http://laeducationtruth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/boy-taking-exam.jpg

I believe that it is an injustice to all of these children that their level of understanding and competency is judged by a test.  As educators and as leaders of our society, you should be ashamed of yourselves.  Who gives you the right to give my child and all the other children any undue stress and anxiety?  Who gives you the right to tell me that my child will not go forward to the next grade even though she has an 85 to a 90 average?  How on earth do you justify stressing out children to the point where they are actually getting themselves sick over the demands that you are placing on them?

As our children grow, they are also supposed to be learning.  How can these kids learn anything in school when the way they are being taught is ludicrous?  You expect all these children to learn at the same rate and expect them to comprehend on the same level.   Every child is different in their own way, so how can you base their level of understanding on one end-of-year test?  Not to mention that our children are spending so much time learning things that they will never, ever need to know in life.  Do you really think it is appropriate that they spend 2 weeks on learning about rocks and minerals?  Do you really think it is fair that they are given one day to learn new math and the next day go on to learn something new again? How do you justify this? 

           

Yes, there are some children out there that are able to keep up with YOUR standards, the majority cannot.  In my daughter’s school alone, many kids that were in ARISTA or Honor roll dropped, on the average, at least 4 points.  They are now being enrolled in tutoring services or test prep classes which they never needed before. 

            

As a parent, education is obviously one of the things we want our children to have, but just as high on the list of priorities are morals, discipline, and confidence.  There are children out there who have some, or none, of these other values.  My daughter, in particular, cannot find the confidence in herself because no matter how well she does in school, the end result is passing these standardized tests.  A child like mine, who struggles with such high test anxiety, although she is receiving the help for this anxiety, still has trouble passing these tests.  She has been in summer school the last three years just because of these tests, but has maintained an 87 average.   Does this seem fair? She is a wonderful student, works hard, gets good grades, focuses, and does what needs to be done on a daily basis.  But still, the Department of Education feels the need to push her confidence to the lowest level.  I guess these other values that make our children well developed and a valuable part of society have no relevance.  I am assuming you can find some sort of loophole to validate this fact as well.  

            

There are children out there that are barely passing their classes, but just because they find themselves lucky enough to pass these tests, you, as educators, feel like you are doing your job.  Well, my daughter surpasses what needs to be done on a daily basis, as do many other children; the message you are sending is that the school year does not matter, only your assessments and standardized tests do.

I hope you are aware that many other parents feel the way I do, and even your own teachers do not agree with your education process.  This is a disgrace, as these are the people teaching our children.  Please know that this letter, although it criticizes the education process, is also to help you understand what these children are going through on a daily basis.


With all of this being said, what are your thoughts on standardized testing, it's role in education, impact on students, and the data being used to evaluate educators? Is this the direction that educational reform should be headed in? As a parent of two young children my response is a resounding NO!