Although I enjoyed this chapter and feel there were many
great examples and classroom strategies given, there is one portion of this
article I would like to discuss and get the opinions of other pre service
teachers; standardize testing. This information can be found starting on page 22.
With the Bush administration passing No Child Left Behind and the Obama administration’s Race to the Top, test preparation in
schools is at an all time high. I completed a practicum this past fall at
Longfellow Elementary School here in Muncie and I was astonished at how much
standardize testing these students go through each week. Between
pre-assessment, comprehension, test preparation, online testing and
preparation, the list goes on. How are teachers supposed to teach all other
course materials and standards when students are forced to partake in an
obsessive amount of testing? The answer: They don’t. After talking with my
classroom teacher, she said the biggest stressor she has is finding time to
meet all of the standards and educate students on other subject matter. Since
schools main focus is now “test prep” and receiving passing scores, students
are only taught materials to “pass the test”, which generally includes reading,
writing and math. What about science, social studies, health or fine arts? Or
valuable life skills? Those subjects are put on the back burner in classrooms
and forced to be “taught” by worksheets for homework.
During my time at Longfellow, we learned the school received
an “A” rating, after being an “F” school six years prior. Although this is a
huge accomplishment, it was all due to the obsessive amount of testing. Yes the
students knew how to pass a test, but they still lacked the basic understanding
of other subjects, showed behavior problems towards peers, adults and
themselves and lack of useful knowledge of our society. I also saw how a child
reacts when they do poorly on a test. Their confidence disappears and they
become so upset and disappointed with themselves. Testing puts so much pressure
on students it is painful to watch.
My question is this: What is the obsession with standardize
testing? I understand, now, that teacher’s salaries and school funding can be affected
by scores, but what started this obsession in the first place? Was it because
students were failing or falling behind? Could there be another alternative
than preparing them and pressuring them to pass a test? What are some other
ways of assessment than taking tests?
Thanks for your thoughtful post, Taylor. It is true that there is an overemphasis on standardized testing and very often high-stakes associated with such tests. Particularly in early literacy development, since it's the focus of this course, how do you see this impacting what you'll have to do in the classroom? Given the information at the beginning of the chapter about the theories undergirding early literacy development, one can't help but wonder who is making these decisions. Definitely not those who truly understand early literacy development or those concerned with what's best for children. This is something teachers must negotiate on a daily basis - how to do what's best for kids while also doing what is dictated by the standards and assessed on high-stakes tests. Luckily, in chapter two and the Child Study Project you'll complete this semester, you'll learn about some more authentic assessments that do what assessment are really meant to do - help you learn about children and guide how and what you teach them.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response! My fear with all this testing, teachers will not have enough or adequate time to teach other materials and meet all other standards. Basically my fear is students are missing out on valuable knowledge, information and experiences because so much testing has to take place each week. I am looking forward to finding other solutions in this class and learning why testing decisions were made.
DeleteWow! You really summed up what pre-service teachers are thinking everywhere. Standardized testing was created as a way to measure where students were. Eventually the obsession came when people decided that they can use these test scores to decide teacher pay, school funding, and even holding students back. It's sad that at Longfellow Elementary School students knew how to pass the test but still had behavior problems. This proves exactly why standardized testing isn't the solution. What is disheartening to me is that third graders aren't allowed to move on to fourth grade if they don't pass. Have these people ever heard of a "late-bloomer?" Some students develop later in life, even academically. I know for a fact Glenda Reitz is trying to do something about the amount of testing teachers have to administer and students have to take. I feel confident in her ability to do this because she's been a teacher for over thirty years! That's the other problem with people who are creating these tests, how many of them have actually worked in education? It all confuses me! I am excited that this course will give us authentic assessments that we can use on our assignments. Authentic assessments will give more qualitative data, which is easier to understand. It's hard to read a test score and know where a student needs improvement.
ReplyDeleteThank you for responding! Yes I completely agree with you on late bloomers or students who may have test anxiety or a learning disability! I am interested too in learning who makes the education decisions and how many of them have actually been in a classroom before! I'm excited to learn more in this class on alternative ways of assessment!
DeleteI am so glad that you also found this topic important! I think that this was what stuck with me the most from chapter one, and I most definitely agree with what you had to say about standardized testing. I feel that students are being tested, or pre pared for testing more than they are being taught. I come from a family full of teachers, some in their beginning years as a teacher and others who are close to retirement. I always find it interesting to listen to them talk about how they continuously have to keep giving up time to teach for testing. I think that this is taking away so much from the children's education. Although, I did not attend school in Indiana. I wasn't very familiar with all of the testing in Indiana. My sophomore year I attended Glenda Reitz's speech at Ball State and I was blown away. The entire time she discussed all the testing that was going on in the classroom from pre-testing, comprehension testing, test preparation, online testing, and the states test. I felt that the students would have to be tested daily to fit all of that in. I also think that it is completely unfair to test all students at the same level, when you have students who might be on IEP's in your classroom. Not to mention the stress that can be put on the teachers with testing since their pay will be affected by the outcome. What are other ways that we can monitor a students comprehension without the overwhelming amounts of tests? I feel that this is a a question for not only teachers, but also the government implementing these requirements. It is hard to watch teachers leave their profession simply due to all of the new requirements we're expected to fulfill now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response! I completely agree with everything you said! I am excited to learn in this class some other ways of assessing students without testing and learning who makes these decisions on standardize testing and student's education.
DeleteAlright guys get ready for this lengthy one. I put my heart and soul into it!
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Excellent post Taylor! Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed your personal experiences at Longfellow and overall your presentation of how high stakes Standardized Testing affects the classroom. I volunteer at Longfellow and I completely understand what you are talking about. I worked as an afterschool mentor on Thursdays. My experience, like yours, was full of test prep. The students who stayed for the afterschool program sat for the majority of the time and completed their homework. This homework consisted of questions that you would find on your typical standardized test. At this point in the day, we all know that the kids are tired of sitting down writing and circling answers. I could see that the students started to dislike the learning process and considered their homework just another piece of paper, because that is what it was. Page after page of reading, math, and language were being drilled into these students’ minds, and you could tell that the kids were just tired of it. We all know that by the end of a school day all students are ready to get up out of their chairs and release their energy. They are kids. Moving around is what they do. To restrain a child to an additional 2 and a half hours of pencil and paper after a six hour day is absolutely not right. My personal philosophy for any afterschool program is that it has to be immersive, hands on, and a physical application of what the students are learning. This allows for this energy to be released in a constructive hands on way. Students value the learning process as they are actually “acting on” or doing something with the information, instead of circling just another bubble.
However, I am not blaming the administration for choosing this paper and pencil after school approach. They basically are being forced to do it. After all, what are schools nowadays being funded on? Test scores. How can teachers even make sure that they have a job in the future? Test scores. Which brings me to the point of my long and passionate response in which I may disagree with a couple of my fellow classmates. As teachers we have been trained that whenever we hear the word “standards” we think of tests. That leads us to think of high stakes standardized tests and how terrible these are and how they need to be replaced. Yes, I believe high stakes testing should be replaced. Yes, I believe individuals who have been in the education profession should be in charge. Yes, I believe the stakes are way to high and we as teachers cannot do all that we want to do. Yes, I am in favor of getting rid of high stakes standardized paper and pencil tests. However, I am not in favor of getting rid of standards. Let me explain. Standards provide a foundation or a guide along the lines to what should be taught. I believe standards are needed because they allow children to receive the same quality education. Let’s compare our emergent literacy example, in which we discussed in the previous blog postings, to teachers who do not have standards to go by. Without standards, teachers are a lot like parents who develop an early child’s emergent literacy level. One parent could develop their child one way and prepare them for kindergarten and another parent could develop their child in another way and have it not be enough. Teachers without standards similarly develop their students in different ways. Going into the next school year hypothetically would be a lot like going into kindergarten. The kindergarten teacher or the teacher next year has to start over and gauge the many different levels of understanding. Some students could be deprived of a quality education that other students could be receiving. With standards, this wide range of different levels drastically becomes smaller.
Continuing on...
ReplyDeleteThe most important question you asked in your awesome post Taylor is this. How should teachers be tested upon and funded? Obviously, paper and pencil standardized tests are not the answer. So what is? Unfortunately I do not have a definitive answer but I do have an idea. I propose that teachers submit a digital portfolio of the assessments that they assign their students. Here is how it would work. They would use the standards as a guide to what they should assess. This would ensure that all students are receiving the same education. However, they have the freedom to choose the type of assessment to give the students. For example, instead of just doing a typical paper and pencil test, teachers could have the option to make an assessment requiring students to create “something” that would showcase their understanding. Proper reasoning would have to be given by the teacher as to how the project fits in with the standards. Either the administration or a department within the education services at the state level would grade this digital portfolio. It is a stretch to say the least but it would give the teachers the opportunity to integrate certain areas into their curriculum that they might not have been able to do before. For example, A teacher could assign a project requiring students to create a visual representation and explain in writing what it all means. This would integrate the fine arts, which so often is forgotten about due to the high stakes testing. By eliminating the one method of how teachers should be graded (pencil and paper tests) and opening it up to a creative avenue would benefit both teachers and the students. Sure, the portfolio is not as simple to assess as the paper and pencil test, but it is a more representative assessment of how well the teacher is teaching and what the student is actually learning.
I know this is an extremely long post. Taylor had an awesome post and it was something I am passionate about! Hopefully this did not take a full day to read!
What a really thoughtful reply, Jacob. You bring up an excellent point - standards, in and of themselves, are not bad or necessarily developmentally inappropriate. They provide a clear guide for what teachers should ensure students should know and be able to do. This is vital.
DeleteI completely agree with you, also, that paper/pencil tests are not the best way to assess these standards. Digital portfolios, and performance assessment in general, are a great way to demonstrate mastery of standards. How could this work on a large-scale? This is what need to be explored.
Have you heard about Indiana Senate Bill 169 proposal? http://www.icpe2011.com/At_the_Statehouse.html
If you want to get fired up and angry about something, take a look!
Thank you for such a thoughtful response Jacob! I couldn't agree with you more! Standards are not the problem, it's the way standards are assessed! I think your idea of a digital portfolio is great and a better representation of what a child has learned and show off their unique talents! I would love to see this idea presented someday!
ReplyDelete