Peformance Evaluations
My daughter is currently in the second grade. Next year begins the wonderful world of standardized tests which are demanded by the state and "No Kid Left Behind". When I was growing up, we had the yearly Citiwide examinations to test our math and reading skills, but that was nothing compared to what the system wants now.
Back in the time of the dinosaurs, the most preparation that you received for these tests was practice filling in little circles and the importance of reading all of the instructions were stressed. Unbelievable as it may be, our teachers weren't worried about what we knew, because they had spent the better part of six months teaching us and helping us develop thinking ability.
Fast forward to the future -- the school system spends 6 months teaching children how to take the test properly, and if they learn anything about how to learn and why they need to learn, that's by accident. I'm not blaming the teachers -- I come from a family of educators and they're just as disgusted as I am. As a matter of fact, they are my biggest cheerleaders for homeschooling! My cousin is working with a group of unmotivated students right now, but she can't do the creative things that she'd like to create synergy because she has to teach to a test!
So, although I must teach her how to be a lab rat for the standardized tests, I have renewed my pledge to make sure that she learns how to learn and how to do her own research and how to reach her own conclusions, none of which can be taught with this ridiculous emphasis on standardization. I am fortunate, however, to be a part of a cybercharter school that understands that learning and mandated standardized testing are 2 separate activities.
I read a report on this very subject of testing and unproductiveness of it all. It also elaborates on why my family of educators are all in favor of homeschooling. According to this article,
We need to be creating a nation of thinkers and doers, not test-takers who outside of the testing area are ill-equipped to handle the vagaries and challenges of life.
Back in the time of the dinosaurs, the most preparation that you received for these tests was practice filling in little circles and the importance of reading all of the instructions were stressed. Unbelievable as it may be, our teachers weren't worried about what we knew, because they had spent the better part of six months teaching us and helping us develop thinking ability.
Fast forward to the future -- the school system spends 6 months teaching children how to take the test properly, and if they learn anything about how to learn and why they need to learn, that's by accident. I'm not blaming the teachers -- I come from a family of educators and they're just as disgusted as I am. As a matter of fact, they are my biggest cheerleaders for homeschooling! My cousin is working with a group of unmotivated students right now, but she can't do the creative things that she'd like to create synergy because she has to teach to a test!
So, although I must teach her how to be a lab rat for the standardized tests, I have renewed my pledge to make sure that she learns how to learn and how to do her own research and how to reach her own conclusions, none of which can be taught with this ridiculous emphasis on standardization. I am fortunate, however, to be a part of a cybercharter school that understands that learning and mandated standardized testing are 2 separate activities.
I read a report on this very subject of testing and unproductiveness of it all. It also elaborates on why my family of educators are all in favor of homeschooling. According to this article,
"Where once a test was a measure of what the teacher taught and the student
learned, some assessments based on new standards seem to be created to drive
someone's idea of curriculum redesign and teacher education reform. Often in
media accounts of progress in standards and assessment, the words "children,"
"students," "curriculum," or "learning" are nowhere to be found. Testing is not
about teaching and learning; it is about testing."
We need to be creating a nation of thinkers and doers, not test-takers who outside of the testing area are ill-equipped to handle the vagaries and challenges of life.
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