Perdue’s stand on CRCT reopens debate over whether two-hour tests are appropriate for 7-year-olds
UPDATE: Here is an AJC link to statewide CRCT scores.
In his overruling of the Legislature’s decision to end the CRCT in first and second grade to save money, Gov. Sonny Perdue was concerned that students would not be ready for the test in third grade. “Our preference is that the Department (of Education) find a way to use the funds budgeted so that a student’s first time taking the CRCT is not in the third grade, where passage is necessary before moving on to fourth grade,” said the governor’s spokesman Bert Brantley.
It is still not clear how the state Department of Education is going to pay for the CRCT in the early grades. Brantley says the governor will work with DOE “to analyze their budget and identify a way to shift the funds necessary.”
The governor’s action reopens the debate over whether it makes sense to test such young children. Few states test these grades.
I asked GSU early childhood professor Caitlin McMunn Dooley for her reaction to the governor’s action:
I’m just so disappointed. As a parent of an up-coming second grader, this angers me that my child will be subjected to pressures, stresses, and a narrowed curriculum because of an over-emphasis on tested skills. Note that these tests do not assess the entire curriculum. They test a margin – sometimes as narrow as 20 percent — of the objectives taught across a year.
As an educational researcher, it completely disappoints me that our governor does not appreciate the heap of evidence against early grades testing. The American Psychological Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children, International Reading Association, among other professional organizations, have explicit policy statements that warn against this kind of large-scale, high-stakes testing of young children. Some researchers have even called these types of tests academic abuse.
Researchers, educators, and parents know that the early grades CRCT is inappropriate. Only one other state tests in grade 1. Only a handful in grade 2. Even in these other states that have tests in early grades, their tests take an average of 30 minutes–some are as short as a 10 minute reading test. The early grades CRCT takes 2-3 hours to administer. It is unreliable as a tool to measure what kids know because it’s more a measure of their attention span than academic learning. Yet, our governor continues to put pressure on educators to use these scores as a gauge for schools and teachers.
A more reliable tool would be useful. A less time-consuming test would be useful. The early grades CRCT is not useful. I highly encourage the Department of Education to conduct a study of these tests so that we can improve the information that teachers and parents of young children receive.
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68 comments Add your comment
Educator for Life
June 9th, 2010
8:33 pm
We now know perdue (I refuse to respect him and capitalize his name) does not make educational decisions that will increase student success and teacher support. Everything this governor has done has resulted in teachers (really the students) getting the short end of the stick. Actually, we don’t even get that. He is a joke, but I think the next person will play the same game too!
Gwinnett Teacher
June 9th, 2010
10:51 pm
Perdue is a joke. He has lost touch with his roots. For goodness sakes, the guy’s mother was a teacher. I wonder what she would think about all of the funding cuts to education, furloughs, lack of cost of living increases, abandoning the step pay system, lack of bringing teachers to the table, expanding class sizes, standardized testing 6 and 7 year olds, over-testing all of our kids, ram rodding political maneuvers despite clear teacher objections, etc? In talking to hundreds of teachers, no one is happy with the direction our leadership is taking us, no one is consulted, and it just keeps spiraling out of control. It’s time to change to a Democrat and pray that they will listen to teachers more than the Republicans have. Teachers got rid of Roy Barnes because they felt disrespected, but we leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire. It may be a choice of bad and worse, but I think we’ve already had worse in Perdue. Unfortunately, Oxendine sounds like the worst. He sounds even more driven by political dogma than an ability to reason and think than Perdue. I’ll hedge my bets and vote for Roy. I don’t like it, but it sounds like the safest bet. I’ve never voted for a Democrat before, but it’s time for a change. It’s time for teachers to send a message to Republicans in this state that teachers matter and teachers vote.
ScienceTeacher671
June 9th, 2010
10:56 pm
Maureen, can’t speak for any of the other tests, but it appears to me that the state lowered the cut scores on the Physical Science EOCT from the winter administration to the spring administration. I dare say the statewide results aren’t out yet since apparently some districts are still not out for summer.
Teaching in FL is worse
June 10th, 2010
12:54 am
Science Teacher: Agreed-the test scores were inflated for CRCT scores in elementary; no doubt about it. I smirked when I saw Cathy Cox announcing it with a tear in her eye.
OverlyInvolvedMom
June 10th, 2010
7:05 am
So what will happen if I just don’t allow my 1st grader to come to school on testing days and refuse to allow her to take a make-up test? Seriously, what will APS do to us? I’ve been researching online about opting out of the test but can’t find any data.
EduPoli
June 10th, 2010
12:19 pm
@catlady, One of the reasons for the governor’s concern may be that there was a drop in performance on the CRCT this year in the early grades. We are reporting statewide scores later today, but I understand that reading and language dropped on one grade and math in the other.
Maureen
Maureen, removing the test will not worsen any drops in tests scores. It will, however, allow for more classroom instruction. Our schools assess all year preparing for the CRCT. Remove the tests and allow teachers to teach students. The only reason any state administers these tests (today) is to compare to other states and countries. This isn’t a race or contest. Let’s teach students to mastery of standards, not teach how to successfully take a test.
high school teacher
June 10th, 2010
1:16 pm
“where passage is necessary before moving on to fourth grade…” THIS IS A LIE. The only tests that restrict students from moving forward are the graduation tests. I teach 9th grade and have many students who failed the CRCT sitting in my room each year. What a lie.
Sign of things to come
June 10th, 2010
2:10 pm
There would be no drop if there were no testing. Testing a 6 year old is dumber then the test itself. Why dont we start testing them for entrance into kindergarden for heaven sakes.
Kids should be tested in reading, english and math at levels 6-8 and 10. Reasoning is 6th to move on to middle, 8th to move on to highschool and 10th to make sure they are getting the proper instruction before the last two years of school which gets much harder. Then the graduation test in which if you dont pass that you dont graduate. Thats all the testing needed on students.
Thats how it was in the olden days when I went and thats how it should be now. You can also keep the calculators out of the kids hands until highschool. Teach our kids math; not how to use the calculator. They will test much better that way.
Sandra
June 10th, 2010
2:11 pm
It’s been a long time since I was in school in Georgia and right now I’m glad we live in UK as my 7 year old is a daydreamer and a chatterbox. She wouldn’t be able to take a 3 hour test in silence. I can’t remember what 1st grade is like in the US but here most 7 year olds are in 2nd grade as children who turn four before the new school year starts are in reception (kindergarten). You can wait and start your child when they are five but most don’t. Last week the kids were off for a one week break and my 7 year old had to either read five chapters of a big book or five smaller books and write a short description of what they were about, learn 25 spelling words (read, spell and write), math work, draw a picture of a butterfly garden and write a description of why they chose to draw what they did and had 6 questions about butterflies that she had to look up and answer (One of which was “How long to butterflies live? and another was “How do butterflies taste their food?). All answers had to written out in full sentences with correct punctuation and capitalisation and preferably in cursive. It was due yesterday the 10th. Is it the same in the states? All I can remember doing is coloring and playing with a barrel full of monkeys!!
Sandra
June 10th, 2010
2:28 pm
Sorry if this double posts. I don’t think my first one did so reposting and hoping this one gets in.
Its a good thing I spell check. 
It’s been a long time since I was in school in Georgia and right now I’m glad we live in UK as my 7 year old is a daydreamer and a chatterbox. She wouldn’t be able to take a 3 hour test in silence. I can’t remember what 1st grade is like in the US but here most 7 year olds are in 2nd grade as children who turn four before the new school year starts are in reception (kindergarten). You can wait and start your child when they are five but most don’t. Last week the kids were off for a one week break and my 7 year old had to either read five chapters of a big book or five smaller books and write a short description of what they were about, learn 25 spelling words (read, spell and write), math work, draw a picture of a butterfly garden and write a description of why they chose to draw what they did and had 6 questions of butterflies that she had to look up and answer (One of which was “How long to butterflies live?). All answers had to written out in full sentences with correct punctuation and capitalisation and preferably in cursive. It had to be turned in yesterday (9th).
Sonny Perdue Is an Idiot
June 10th, 2010
2:30 pm
Once again, Sonny has managed to piss the people of Georgia off. As a parent, I am absolutely disgusted with the fact that he is insisting the DOE find it in their budget to produce the CRCT test to 1st and 2nd graders. This is all about MONEY and nothing about our Children! It is the most ridiculous thing to think that its appropriate for 6 and 7 year olds to take 2-3 hour long tests for 2 days. These kids will be horrified. It’s too much on them. Please people let’s fully understand this – Sonny Perdue is actually trying to enforce the public school system to put STRESS and PRESSURE onto our 6 and 7 year old children. I SAY WE BOYCOTT. Every single parent who has a child or children in the state of Georgia NEEDS to boycott this. We all need to come together, no matter our color, background, etc. We need to ALL unite and boycott this insanity. Furthermore, we need to vote against every single person linked to Sonny Perdue. Spread the word to everyone you know and let’s BOYCOTT!
Kimberly
June 10th, 2010
2:35 pm
H.L. Mencken:
“The erroneous assumption is to the effort that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence …. Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues and other such montebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else.”
The CRCT, “teaching to the test”, any other standardized testing, politics involved in education, and yes, even teachers’ unions (and I daresay, that epithet – tenure!) all are leading us down the road of becoming sheep enslaved to the government.
Sandra
June 10th, 2010
3:18 pm
Third times a charm?????
It’s been a long time since I was in school in Georgia and right now I’m glad we live in UK as my 7 year old is a daydreamer and a chatterbox. She wouldn’t be able to take a 3 hour test in silence. I can’t remember what 1st grade is like in the US but here most 7 year olds are in 2nd grade as children who turn four before the new school year starts are in reception (kindergarten). You can wait and start your child when they are five but most don’t. Last week the kids were off for a one week break and my 7 year old had to either read five chapters of a big book or five smaller books and write a short description of what they were about, learn 25 spelling words (read, spell and write), math work, draw a picture of a butterfly garden and write a description of why they chose to draw what they did and had 6 questions of butterflies that she had to look up and answer (One of which was “How long to butterflies live?). All answers had to written out in full sentences with correct punctuation and capitalisation and preferably in cursive.
Concerned Parent
June 11th, 2010
12:31 am
@Educator for Life – Like you, I don’t think 3 days of testing is going to stunt a 1st or 2nd grader for life, BUT I do know that b/c of the tests, teachers structure the ENTIRE school year around the test. If it were just the testing, who cares, but the tests dictate the tone and content of the entire school year – in a negative way. So, maybe there’s a way to have teachers get back to a normal teaching year that is interrupted by a few days of testing??
I left teaching
June 11th, 2010
8:08 pm
After 20 years I had simply had enough. I was in Gwinnett in middle schools. For many years (8?) we had the HIGH STAKES SUPER SCARY GATEWAY TEST in seventh grade. For the most part students, teachers, and parents dealt with it with humor, good teaching strategies, and a couple of days of review before the test. It wasn’t always pretty, but there were some positive outcomes for kids.
Anything positive about HIGH STAKES testing vanished under an onslaught of pressure and paranoia after a couple of years of the CRCT. What caused the change, you ask? In my county it was when the county office began to pressure local school principals to have the highest possible test scores, even at the very best schools in the county. (maybe the county was under pressure from the state, but that doesn’t excuse what happened)
The good principals found ways to work around all this county office pressure and keep teachers doing good teaching for their kids. The bad principals immediately began to bully and pressure teachers over test scores. Now, all principals and teachers are under the pressure. Most teachers are caring adults who genuinely want the best for the children for whom they are responsible. You put enough pressure on people and the results will not be positive.
I don’t know if this has been a deliberate conspiracy to destroy public education. I do, however, fear that this will be the outcome.
Give kids a CRCT every day..1st grade, 2nd grade, 12th grade…it really doesn’t matter.
What matters is that all this tension and pressure on children runs contrary to human nature.
I left teaching
June 11th, 2010
8:58 pm
And before somebody says it
NO, the profession is NOT better off without me. For 19 of my 20 years I was an outstanding educator. I have a file drawer full of evaluations and notes from parents, students, and colleagues to prove it. I even had good test scores after the testing MANIA started.
I just got sick of it all.
I was in private industry for 10 years before I went into teaching. I worked under a total quality management strategy. 100% quality products and constant improvement is something that BUSINESS
I left teaching
June 11th, 2010
9:02 pm
OOPS…posted to early
something that BUSINESS can aspire to.
Schools are not a BUSINESS, people. When we try to manage schools as we would a business our children and our future will suffer.
And a TQM strategy for an artificial product like scores on a basic skills test (the CRCT) is asinine!
Third grade teacher
June 11th, 2010
9:43 pm
To OverlyInvolvedMom- I understand that you don’t want to subject your child to the high stakes testing, but if a school has a low attendance the day of testing, it affects their AYP (Annual Yearly Progress). If AYP is not met, it means your student’s school gets less money, supplies and support. Your child per say would not get penalized personally, but it does affect the schools budget.