Comments on: Dadgum It, I’m Mad as Heck

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:59:07 +0000

Thanks, Lori. I’m off to check out the sites you listed! Didn’t realize there was much organized effort to combat the misuse of standardized tests, so I look forward to visiting the sites. Hopefully the readers of this post will do the same.

By: Lori Walton

Lori Walton — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:58:41 +0000

“Watch out – I have a real frustration here that may turn into a protest in this post.”

Dear Anne,

There is a national protest already underway that could use a voice like yours to forward the cause. Please visit http://www.unitedoptout.com.

Other organizations who share your frustration and have baked up their words with action are: http://www.fairtest.org, http://www.rethinkingschools.com, http://www.parentsacrossamerica.org.

Until educators stop being mad and start acting out, education policy will not change. The opposition has a narrative that is stronger than the national will of teachers and just strong enough to convince the naive and apathetic.

Thank you for the thoughts you share on this blog, the words you use to inspire learning, and the passion you bring to STEM education.

Lori Walton

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:24:31 +0000

You know I agree with you, Lindsey! Love of learning is what guantees that learning will happen. And I do agree that we are harming our students. I had an 8th grade student who was from a high-risk situation, and had a lot of capability. She had been “beaten down” in throughout her life and she was gaining confidence as teachers in our school worked with her. I remember when she got her test scores back. At this point they were still understandably low. She grew angry and said, “I knew I was stupid!” And she quit trying. One test – one life. We never got her back – it was so near the end of the year that we didn’t have time to undo the damage. The next year she was off to a big high school, still convinced that she didn’t have what it takes. Test scores don’t give big pictures, or even true pictures. They give isolated snapshots. They MUST be taken in context with solid, formative assessments to have any semblance of validity.

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:16:38 +0000

Thanks, Elizabeth, and by all means, keep hanging on! Do you realize how many teachers have entered the profession since high-stakes testing became the norm, and how much that has affected the thinking about what and how to teach? Scary. We have some of the most creative, energetic, and educated teachers coming into the profession today that I’ve ever seen. And lots of them are leaving because they know that “rule by testing” isn’t the way to engage, inform, and educate students. I agree with your idea of meaningful formative assessments – we can’t do without those. And who better to develop those than informed teachers?

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:11:14 +0000

I totally agree, Dianne – I’d have to go AWOL with my teaching today with the strict adherence to step-by-step pacing were required . . . especially since I started teaching when I had freedom to work toward student mastery by allotting the time to specific objectives as needed, and I had time for more inquiry-based teaching and learning.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:47:14 +0000

Anne,
One of my biggest moral struggles as an educator of young children is how high-stakes tests ZAP the love of learning right out of my students. Even 5-yr.-olds become anxious when I sit them down and explain that they are going to be timed for 1 minute as they rapidly name letters and sound out make-believe words. I watch their love of learning smile transform into a frown and immediately feel like a horrible teacher. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe assessments can provide data to guide learning! I constantly assess my kiddos using formative and summative assessments that measure authentic learning to inform my instruction. But- high-stakes tests that measure isolated skills do not provide me with rich data, and harm my students. So, can STEM and standardized assessments coexist? I am yet to be convinced.

By: Elizabeth Stein

Elizabeth Stein — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:13:07 +0000

Very well said, Anne! I am both enraged (right along with you!) and comforted by your post. I am still trying to hang on to the belief that instruction, rich with best practices, naturally prepares students for these tests. The hope is that they are ready for the standardized test based on consistent, effective instruction, which includes an appropriate mix of meaningful formative assessments. Yet, you bring up so many great points to support the fact that our passion for teaching and making the learning process for students meaningful is in jeopardy of being sabotaged. And yet, I’m still hanging on…there is nothing else to do.
Thanks for your insights!

By: Dianne Martin

Dianne Martin — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 04:57:48 +0000

Anne, I totally agree! I could not have stayed in teaching 32 year if my last ones had been in the classroom where ALL the testing was required. I hate the way it saps so much creativity out of the classroom. I feel for the teachers I work with trying to fit in a good quality teaching.