Standardized testing: the TCAP in Tennessee, the HSPE in Washington, the ISAT in Illinois. We’ve all taken the tests. We’ve all been in those hot, student-filled rooms for agonizing hours trying to rack our tired brains for the answers that we are expected to give.
Why?
For one thing, teachers are supposed to be more accountable because they are ‘measured’ by these tests. However, according to W. James Popham, a UCLA profesor, many teachers end up teaching ‘to the test’ instead of creatively and effectively teaching their subjects. How is this fair to the kids that are being taught in their classrooms?
When I was in high school, we had to take a standardized test, the HSPE. The students laughed at the name, and the teachers laughed at the content. I was in an honors English class, supposedly writing and reading more than the ‘standard classes’. However, when it came time to prepare for the HSPE, this was not the case. I can remember one particular day when our teacher told us not to think too much about the test, because, being honors students, we would over analyze and mess it up.
We were encouraged not to think to our full potential. We were encouraged to think in the simplest way possible to get through the test and just to pass.
What kind of test should support a teacher who tells you not to do your best?
This particular test was not measuring whether our teacher was a good teacher or not. It was measuring whether they could teach us to pass the tests. Teachers often are put under such pressure that they give up creative ideas and teaching methods for melancholy approaches. Teachers are pressured to teach students a narrow set of test-taking skills instead of skills that could be worthwhile.
According to a Los Angeles Times article by Howard Blume, some teachers are even willing to cheat to obtain higher test scores. One unnamed teacher in particular confided in another instructor that she would, in fact, cheat if her job was on the line.
Teachers should not have to fit standardized testing into their scheduled lessons. They should only have to focus on their subject material.
According to a Los Angeles Times article by Howard Blume, some teachers are even willing to cheat to obtain higher test scores. One unnamed teacher in particular confided in another instructor that she would, in fact, cheat if her job was on the line.
Teachers should not have to fit standardized testing into their scheduled lessons. They should only have to focus on their subject material.
I completely empathize with you on this subject! I remember the week before my own standardized test, my AP English teacher stopped the interesting book we were reading and analyzing to review what she called "dumb stuff you should remember for the test." These tests are a serious problem in our educational system because teachers stop teaching important, interesting, though provoking material and have to focus on teaching so that kids perform well on the standardized tests. This kills teachers creativity and are not effective way of evaluating a teachers effectiveness and students knowledge. My question is, how many states are still requiring these tests? I know my school stopped giving standardized tests the year after I had to take it, but what about other schools and states? I would be interested to know.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you!! I always found it super boring and ineffective when all the teacher taught was things that we had to know for the tests. I mean I was there to learn about science, and math, and English. Not how to fill in a small, circular bubble with a number two pencil. These tests are a serious definitely a serious problem in America. And actually, yes there are still schools that do require standardized testing. Not all schools require them, but there are enough that it is still a problem. Even some middle schools are still requiring students to take standardized tests. Most high schools require these tests, and some even require the students to pass these tests to graduate. This is not fair for the students. Many stress unnecessarily over these tests, and this stress causes them to not do as well as they could have.
DeleteSad though it is, your first comic is totally accurate! It really helped convince me of the point you were trying to make. Coming from a school system myself where standardized tests were the bane of every student's existence, I can definitely relate. I hadn't thought about it quite in this way before, and I commend you for bringing it up. I'm Canadian, and in Alberta (my province), we had standardized tests at the end of every subject in Grade 12 that accounted for 50% of our overall grade. The year after I graduated, enough students had complained and these creativity-killing tests were changed to only account for 30% of our grade. This semester, several of my professors (including Meridith) have really encouraged creativity over the conformity that standardized tests promote.
ReplyDeleteOne question that I have though:
If we agree that standardized tests stunt creativity and aren't even an accurate measure of intelligence and understanding, how could we effectively and accurately measure this? Without standardized tests, how would you propose making sure the quality of education received in Georgia is the same as that received in New Mexico or Connecticut?
I definitely agree with you! In our high school, students had to pass certain portions of these test to graduate. I can't imagine being held accountable for 50% of our grades from just one test. I don't feel that this is a fair evaluation of the students. Even 30% is a bit harsh. I can definitely relate to the BYU teachers here. I love having teachers who actually want us to be creative and open-minded. I have learned much more about my writing (for example) that I ever did in the four years of high school where I was required to write a certain way. As for reform, teachers could give feedback to students, telling them where they need the most work, and what they're doing well in. Students could take more part in the discussion and lessons instead of teachers standing in front of students for the whole class. Though these are just a couple ideas, I feel that they would help teachers or other evaluators to judge how well their students are actually doing in their classrooms.
DeleteI have always hated standardized testing! In fact, California has a standardized testing called the CAHSEE in which you have to pass in order to graduate from high school.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is quite unfair because some people are smart in terms of these standardized tests: multiple choice and regurgitating facts and vocabulary words and getting them right in a short amount of time is their forte. However, there are people who are smart in terms of other things.
Therefore, standardized testing might exeplify one quality of intelligence, but what about the others?
However, if standardized testing was a measure of how well a teacher taught, then what about those students who never paid attention and did horrible in class but scored perfect on those tests? If not the standardized testing, what should measure a teacher's performance?
In addition, standardized testing also measures whether a college should admit a student or not. What should be the new measuring stick (for lack of a better word) for intelligence or admittance into a college?
I totally agree with you! For these poor kids that aren't the best at taking tests, these standardized tests are probably the worst part of the whole school year. Multiple choice and regurgitating facts aren't helping these students at all. There are some people who are definite test-takers. I do agree with this. Standardized testing shouldn't be about just testing one quality over another. If we have to test kids to see how they are doing in school, or to see how their teachers are teaching, it should be done differently. I agree with everything you are saying! For those kids who don't pay attention in class, is it easy to get a solid, decent score on the test. This wouldn't be helping the student, nor would it be helping the teacher be evaluated correctly. As for tests like the ACT and SAT to get into college, these actually weren't the kinds of tests I was talking about. I was more talking about the kinds of standardized testing that occur in high schools and middle schools.
DeleteI really enjoyed your picture of protesting teachers! I find it interesting that many teachers dislike the idea of standardized tests just as much as many students do.
ReplyDeleteI do have a little difference of opinion as far as standardized testing goes. In elementary school, standardized testing was pretty much a sign of the devil, but in high school it was different. I enjoyed it. We got to take a week off of learning our regular material and having homework. The parent advisory council brought snacks for everyone in between classes and the tests really weren't too bad. Our teachers just taught. They didn't teach "towards the test", and our school was still nationally ranked.
Now, maybe I attended a high school that wasn't quite the norm, but is standardized testing really that bad? If a school has good teachers, shouldn't their students do well on those tests regardless of how they teach?
As I understand, schools receive funding based upon how well their students do on these tests. What sort of regulations exist on these funds? Which schools get them?
If standardized tests aren't used, how else would the teachers and students performances be evaluated and compared? Without such tests, the systems in place for college admittance would need to be drastically changed in order to accurately evaluate students' academic capabilities. How could this be done?
Isn't it interesting that even teachers don't want to teach to standardized tests? I find it somewhat encouraging that even the teachers don't want students to have to take these tests. I have to disagree with you on you opinion on high school standardized testing. I found that most students, at least in my high school, stressed way too much over what was going to happen the week of standardized testing. They also stressed because we had one week where we would do some tests, and then we would have another couple days a few weeks later where we do more tests. This stressed students out to no end to realize that they weren't finished with the tests after the first round. You say that if teachers are good, then students should do well on the tests. But that isn't the case. What about those kids who don't test well in those kinds of settings, or even on those kinds of tests? My dad, for example, is a doctor, and he is a marvelous one. He has always done well in practice, but he was never the best test taker. He just couldn't focus on those kinds of tests. There are other ways for teachers to be evaluated. They could talk to their students and see how they are doing in their studies and have that be evaluated. As I stated in the above comment, teachers could have their students actively participate in their classes. This would be a clear sign as to whether the students know the material, and it would also help the students to learn better.
DeleteAs for the funding, I'm not sure that schools get funding for administering these tests, rather they have to administer the tests if they receive federal funding. However, if we were to eliminate these tests throughout the nation, this would not be a problem.
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