Dear Arne, Stop the testing mania. It’s not working.
The bumps in the road for the Obama administration are not only in health care. With the emphasis on testing in their “Race to the Top” initiative, the White House and Ed Secretary Arne Duncan are taking their lumps.
The latest critic is author Herbert Kohl, whose book, “36 Children,” has been cited by Duncan as a major influence in his life.
Now, Kohl has published an open letter to Duncan in which he says, “I’m worried about the direction you’re taking education policy. In a recent interview with NEA Today, you said you read my book ‘36 Children’ in high school and wrote an essay about it in college. The book had a big impact on me,” you said, adding that it gave you ‘tremendous hope’ to address the ‘challenges that teachers in tough communities face.’ “But I’m afraid your emphasis on testing is only going to increase those challenges, especially in tough communities.”
If you have time, read Kohl’s letter, in which he concludes, “It is hard for me to understand how educators can claim that they are creating high standards when learning is reduced to the mechanical task of getting a correct answer on a manufactured test.”
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25 comments Add your comment
Tony
August 21st, 2009
6:24 am
Will the politicians and media listen? TestMania has become so entrenched that we have become addicted to getting the news of each new round of “bad” results. Even good results are twisted into “bad” results by the business roundtable, politicians and media.
The net effect of such intense focus on minimum level, multiple choice testing programs is an overall dumbing down of our students. So much energy is spent on minimum skills that teachers are not able to offer lessons that truly open the minds of our young people. Critical thinking is not allowed because we must focus on finding the correct choice to bubble on the test.
Upon our school’s most recent review of testing results (which were good), one recommendation given to us to achieve even higher scores was that we should spend more time on test taking skills. How ludicrous! I will not give in to such and will continue to maintain a climate where teachers are encouraged to develop and implement meaningful lessons for our children.
Herbert Kohl is absolutely correct. We must abandon the emphasis on over-testing our children before it is too late.
Dunwoody Mom
August 21st, 2009
7:33 am
One would think that the abject failure of “No Child Left Behind” should convince anyone that the emphasis on testing should be discontinued.
Elaine
August 21st, 2009
8:16 am
Bravo, Tony!
oldtimer
August 21st, 2009
9:44 am
The tests are really lower than basic. In the last year I taught, I had a bright learning disabled child who scored “advance”…..He could not read a lick. It was read to him. I made a request for special reading intervention for him and it wasdenied because he scored advanced on this “graduation” test.
Clueless
August 21st, 2009
11:55 am
If students can’t pass a test as basic as the CRCT, how are they going to think critically?
Dr. John Trotter
August 21st, 2009
11:59 am
I am glad that Kohl has written a book against the testing mania which has held our schools in its grip for the last 25 os so years. On our website at MACE (www.theteachersadvocate.com), we too have been railing against the “false gods” of standardized testing for years. Standardardized testing has actually harmed our schools and our students. A classic case of The Law of Unintended Consequences. Another book has been published recently on the egregious problem of administrative abuse of teachers in Georgia and about the subsequent harm that this does to our children and schools. Schnall interviewed 500 teachers in American. The book is named “When Teachers Talk.” We are about to link this book to our website. I remember that the headline in MACE’s Spring 1996 magazine was “Teacher Abuse Is Epidemic!” I will look up the link and provide it to you guys in a few minutes. Take care. http://www.whenteacherstalk.com Ah, here is the link. Enjoy!
Teacher&mom
August 21st, 2009
12:15 pm
Tony – please consider running for state school superintendent in the next election. Based on your thoughtful comments on this blog, you get my vote!
Maureen's accountability metric
August 21st, 2009
12:38 pm
“When Teachers Talk” sounds like an outstanding topic for this blog. Interviews with 500 teachers, written by a teacher with 35 years experience.
Is there any doubt that the abuse of teachers would have a direct, negative effect on instruction in the classroom?
If the “single lens” of the blog moderator is really “what’s best for students” wouldn’t this be not only a worthy, but essential topic of discussion?
Or is this another case where “what’s best for students” takes a back seat to what’s best for the AJC’s agenda?
Tony
August 21st, 2009
12:38 pm
oldtimer – a very good example of why “one size fits all” approaches do not work. From history, Thomas Edison is one of the most famous celebrities whose inventions changed history. Based on what I’ve read about him and his schooling, he would not have passed the test either. While people like him are more the exception than the rule, it is clear proof that there must be exceptions to the stringent rules that force schools into trying to make everyone “equal”.
Rich
August 21st, 2009
4:05 pm
We need to stop the teaching for tests. Ted Kennedy’s “No Child Left Behind” may have been well intended, but it is not working. Our schools need more parental involvement and support, from most of the parents. 20% of the parents do 80% of the involvement.
Veteran teacher, 2
August 21st, 2009
5:13 pm
The politicians work for us! Let’s get together and stop the foolishness now!!
ScienceTeacher671
August 21st, 2009
5:46 pm
The supposed goals of NCLB, including eliminating ethnic achievement gaps and ensuring that children with special needs were taught rather than simply warehoused, were worthy goals. On the other hand, it’s not very realistic to say that all students will be working at grade level – we might as well say that all students will be of average weight and height, or that all students will be able to pass a physical fitness test – not gonna happen, and some students are simply not capable.
However, as stated above, a student does not even have to be minimally competent to pass the Georgia tests, and there are very few consequences if s/he does not pass. There is also little or no remediation for children who aren’t performing at grade level; they just continue being socially promoted as they were before NCLB. Many of the students who minimally pass (and their parents) do get to enjoy the illusion that they are actually “proficient” when they are anything but.
If the tests actually had consequences, they might act as a motivating factor for some students. If the tests actually measured at least minimum competency, and if we provided meaningful remediation for students who were not competent, testing might matter. As it is, it’s a waste of time and money.
Beautiful Monte
August 21st, 2009
5:51 pm
Tony, don’t take this the wrong way, but PLEASE don’t describe Thomas Edison as a “celebrity”.
Edison was a scientist and inventor, and he was famous, but he wasn’t a celebrity, per se. Paris Hilton is a celebrity, but I doubt she can change a light bulb, much less invent one.
Tony
August 21st, 2009
7:27 pm
I don’t understand what’s wrong with describing Thomas Edison as a celebrity. According to dictionary.com it seems he is an excellent example. At least he was famous for something substantive.
ce⋅leb⋅ri⋅ty
/səˈlɛbrɪti/
–noun, plural -ties for 1.
1. a famous or well-known person.
2. fame; renown.
Paris Hilton? Is that a hotel in France?
Mary
August 21st, 2009
8:35 pm
If I see another standardized test at my school, I’m gonna puke! Why can’t the powers that be admit that this isn’t working? It’s not as if the public is demanding more more more tests. We clearly aren’t happy with it. I’m still hopeful that the Obama admin will eventually tackle this issue – as soon as they deal with those two other nagging issues that have us in a vice grip – the economy and healthcare. It’s unfortunate, but I think the new leadership is just trying to work with the crappy educational policies they inherited because they are too consumed with some staggering issues affecting the country. Let’s all pray that we can jump off this testing train to nowhere in a couple of years.
concerned
August 22nd, 2009
5:18 am
Can someone count and publish the amount of money spent on testing? Who is getting the money? Gwinnett County must be spending a fortune on the Gateway tests. I would like to know the total spent in one year and then see what alternative uses for that amount could do for students that need extra academic time to get to par with other students. A teacher will certainly know by the end of August who is going to need additional resources to be successful. One standard test can be used, but duplication of efforts is a huge waste of money and human resources.
Miss Brooks
August 22nd, 2009
8:25 am
This country needs to get rid of standardized testing, all the educations coaches and top heavy central office personnel, teachers who can’t even speak with correct grammar let alone teach it, demand parental involvement, and go back to teaching the basic 3R’s with an emphasis on math and science. Most of the so called gifted programs have students in them that don’t have a lick of common sense.
ScienceTeacher671
August 22nd, 2009
8:50 am
Like Concerned, I’d like to see an article or a study “follow the money,” particularly as it relates to Georgia testing.
I see a need for some standardized testing, so we know where our students’ strengths and weaknesses lie. HOWEVER, our current state tests imply strengths where there are none, and we don’t adequately address the weaknesses.
To me, the problem is not the testing per se, but that we don’t use it appropriately.
32 Years In
August 22nd, 2009
11:56 am
Let’s read that book and then have a discussion. It would be interesting and fun to have a “book talk” about its content. http://www.whenteacherstalk.com
Maureen's accountability metric
August 22nd, 2009
12:05 pm
I wonder if we should believe the 500 teachers interviewed in the book that the lack of teacher support is a “pressing” issue, or the blog moderator who is safely ensconced in a downtown hi-rise?
Gwinnett citizen
August 22nd, 2009
12:25 pm
My middle school uses CRCT scores as a standard for placing students in remediation or enrichment courses. I teach a math enrichment course for students who have achieved a level 3 (Exceeds Standards–or Expectations–can’t remember the exact phrase), which is a score of 850 or above. I have found that level 3 scores do not always correlate to higher level thinking abilities. I have level 3 students who just can’t problem solve. They can follow all of the basic algorithms, but really have a minimal grasp on math concepts. The CRCT does not measure critical thinking. It’s a test to see if kids can do the basics. And what the state considers “exceeding” is pretty pathetic.
ScienceTeacher671
August 22nd, 2009
3:11 pm
Gwinnett citizen, compare their CRCT scores with their ITBS scores or some other objective standard. For some if not most of the Georgia tests, students who “exceed expectations” are merely working at grade level, and sometimes just barely so.
N. Ga. Teacher
August 23rd, 2009
12:06 am
I am surprised that noone mentioned a reprehensible reason behind standardized testing, which is the paranoia that schools (and teachers of course get the brunt of this) are “not doing their job” and must be “watchdogged” via standardized tests. This began in the 1970s or 80s, when it was noticed that many “graduates” could barely read or write. Not cooincidentally, this was also about the time that public schools lost control of discipline and judges starting siding towards wayward parents. In the 1950s and 60s, kids who were not at school to study and learn were given the boot, and the ones who graduated EARNED it. The word of the teacher, who was with that kid all year, was taken as law and supported. The high school grads then not only knew their 3 “r’s”, but also other academic subjects like history, and they usually had good life skills learned from votech classes like carpentry and auto mechanics. They were generally in good shape because they took P.E. four years, and their manners and other social skills were good. Getting past the “watchdogging” thing, the second real problem with standardized testing is that it eliminates a lot of interesting educational investigations, field trips, and teacher individualism and innovative teaching in the classroom (which occurs a lot in the great private schools and a precious few public school classes) in favor of hammering home standardized objectives. In a way we treat public school kids like factory raw materials, expecting “outputs” that remain within tolerance limits. Kids are individuals and we need to respect and cultivate the strengths and interests that they have. Last, I can’t think of ANY standardized tests that don’t reflect basically one thing: the socioeconomic status of the family. NCLB has not solved the problems of educating the masses, but has merely focused a brighter light on disparities among groups created mainly by home lives.
Mary
August 23rd, 2009
12:29 am
Well said N. Ga. Teacher!!! Your last point highlighted the dirty little secret of standardized tests – they are generally biased against low income folks. (Mind you, I said nothing about race, so let’s not even go THERE.) There’s a lot of research and theory out there to explain this phenomenon, so I won’t try to go into explaining how it works. If you really care enough to know, the information is just a google away.
The ironic thing is that the very people who should be most outraged about the whole testing craze (the low income families) are least likely to be blogging, making themselves heard, or flexing their political muscle. They’re too busy trying to keep a roof over their heads and put a meal on the table. On the other hand, the upper-middle class and wealthy (whose children tend to do well on these types of tests) don’t have any pressing motivation to put an end to the testing nonsense. And these are the types of people in power, making the decisions, and shaping policy. This leaves it up to a few determined souls who probably did well on standardized tests but know it’s not the best thing for the masses – at least not the way it’s being done now. Somebody’s got to stand up for what’s right and best for our children!
Jeny
August 23rd, 2009
7:27 pm
As the parent of children whose education has been salvaged through NCLB, I am grateful beyond words for the ability to remove my children from dangerous, failing schools at the middle school and high school level and place them in performing schools 12 and 17 miles away from our home.
Were it not for NCLB, we would have these choices: home school (not practical as a single working parent) or private school (not affordable as a single working parent), or leaving them in the dangerous non-performing neighborhood schools our home is assigned to (unacceptable to me as a parent no matter whether I am working or not–I prefer my children alive, unmolested and well-educated).
When we bought our house 12 years ago, these schools were not assigned to our neighborhood. The middle school and high school that were assigned to our subdiivsion were considred performing and were more than acceptable to me. In fact, I based my decision on where to buy (in large part–next to how much I could afford) on the schools assigned to this subdivision.
However, due to booming growth in our county and a SPLOST, new schools have been built resulting in attendance boundaries being adjusted several times. Unfortunately, this left our subdivision in the worst peforming high school and middle school zone in our county.
I had planned on selling our house before the kids began middle school. Unfortunately about the time my kids hit middle school age, the housing market fell apart, I was laid off and we were unable to sell our house and leave for a bettter school zone.
So…while I do not agree with teaching to the test (which is, in essence, all that NCLB does), the end result is that my children (and so many others) who would otherwise be trapped in non-performing schools have the means and ability to escape the horrific non-performing schools and to get a much better education in a safer environment elsewhere within their school district. Since school vouchers for private schools appear to be light years away (if ever), NCLB is the *only* way kids like mine will ever be able to get a good public education. We could *never* afford to live in the school districts where we currently attend school, and yet, we are able to legally attend these schools and get the good education my children are entitled to receive.
So, thank God for NCLB!!!