This is the week. Both Scooter and Skeeter are taking their high stakes tests this week. These are the results of the No Child Left Behind acts that categorize various state schools according to their kids scores on these exams. It is an emotionally draining week for kids, teachers, and administrators a like.
The schools hold rallies, play games in preparation, and write encouraging cards to one another as they psych up for these exams. Apparently to mixed results. They then use these exams as bench-marks for evaluating students, teachers, and the schools themselves.
Skeeter (3rd grade) brought home a card that read “You’ll do really well on the exam!” over a construction-paper flower. I asked her who gave it to her and she shrugged and replied “I dunno, some second grader.”
So at her school the second graders make encouraging cards for the third graders. Thus they spread the anxiety level for students across two years instead of one. By the time the exams roll around (this morning) the kids are bundles of stress, nervously anxious about the exams.
We have several teachers in our Sunday School class at our home church. They tell frustrating tales of aggravation in having to “teach to the test” in terms of both materials and testing methods. The entire year is geared toward a one week period in March. So teachers tell me that very little gets accomplished after the exams.
I like accountability and think it is important to evaluate teaching. (In fact, I am an advocate for post-tenure review on the university level). But we have developed a system where the principals are under pressure from the state (via federal school rankings), the teachers are under pressure from the principals (via teaching evaluation) and the students are at the bottom end of the pyramid, bearing the weight of the entire system.
I’m not sure we could’ve developed a more dysfunctional system of educational accountability if we had intentionally set out to do so.
The schools hold rallies, play games in preparation, and write encouraging cards to one another as they psych up for these exams. Apparently to mixed results. They then use these exams as bench-marks for evaluating students, teachers, and the schools themselves.
Skeeter (3rd grade) brought home a card that read “You’ll do really well on the exam!” over a construction-paper flower. I asked her who gave it to her and she shrugged and replied “I dunno, some second grader.”
So at her school the second graders make encouraging cards for the third graders. Thus they spread the anxiety level for students across two years instead of one. By the time the exams roll around (this morning) the kids are bundles of stress, nervously anxious about the exams.
We have several teachers in our Sunday School class at our home church. They tell frustrating tales of aggravation in having to “teach to the test” in terms of both materials and testing methods. The entire year is geared toward a one week period in March. So teachers tell me that very little gets accomplished after the exams.
I like accountability and think it is important to evaluate teaching. (In fact, I am an advocate for post-tenure review on the university level). But we have developed a system where the principals are under pressure from the state (via federal school rankings), the teachers are under pressure from the principals (via teaching evaluation) and the students are at the bottom end of the pyramid, bearing the weight of the entire system.
I’m not sure we could’ve developed a more dysfunctional system of educational accountability if we had intentionally set out to do so.
3 comments:
Yeah, whose idea was NCLB anyway? And who voted for him??
(unfortunately, I did...)
You voted for Ted Kennedy?
My 6th grader has the tests spread over two weeks...at least there is no home work for me to do...I mean for him to do...
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