As a student of the public school systems I feel it important to say that the education that I received was excellent. I began school in 1978 and graduated in 1991, the only “standardized tests” we incurred to my recollection was the California Achievement Tests. I believe that my teachers gave me the education that I needed to make a career for myself without all the pressures of testing.
With this being said, I believe that there has to be a standard education system throughout the country. Children in the rural parts of North Carolina should be receiving the same education that children from urban Michigan are receiving. The problem that I have with testing is, it will take at least one generation to make all children all over the United States on the same level. We must take into consideration that all children are not coming to the public schools at the same developmental levels. They do not and have not had the same experiences and therefore it is unfair to expect children from all regions to miraculously “get on the same level”.
As a teacher I struggle everyday with leveling the playing field for my students. The “No Child Left Behind” ideal is a nice thought. But how are we going to teach our curriculum and get children where they need to be when we have some children that are developmentally years behind the others. I am expected to teach particular concepts in x-amount of weeks and no more. If the students do not understand it then we will have to revisit it throughout the year. This is ridiculous in my opinion. If my students as a whole are having difficulty, then I should be able to make that call for the sake of my students. Instead I must push forward and teach new concepts. Testing has put so much pressure on schools and teachers that we are not doing what is best for the children, because in the end there are some students that we have to “leave behind” so that we meet our required percentages in testing.
Do I believe we should be held to certain standards, yes indeed. All students worldwide should be taught the same concepts at the same age. Do I believe that standardized testing is important? Yes I believe it is important that there are checks to be sure our students are learning the required skills. However at the same time it has made teaching and even learning a rush to the finish line. Teachable moments are wonderful, but as a teacher we had better pray that it fits into our deadlines.
Standardized Testing In Europe
Beginning in the late 1970’s in the United States, high schools began using exit examinations to ensure that students were meeting the minimum state requirements for graduation. By 2001 all states were implementing some type of graduation exam. Today testing is based on the curriculum and performance standards have been developed in all fifty states.
In European countries, examinations based on state standards have been common. Different regions within Europe, however, handle the testing differently. In France they are set by the state and conducted and scored by the schools. In the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Romania and Slovenia the tests are also set by the state, however they are conducted and scored by external or semi-independent agencies. The Russian Federation not only conducts and scores their tests, they are also set by the schools. There tests are in accordance with the government guidelines but there has been no attempt to standardized them or make them comparable. The tests are strongly curriculum based, since the objective is to certify that individuals have reached a specified level of learning. Students are allowed to retake the tests if they fail, and the tests are created at medium-low stakes. In the Netherlands, the weightings are 50-50 with in school performance and examinations. This allows students to show their skills in ways that are not easily measurable in the examination format.
I have always questioned why each state sets their own standards for students when they are expected to be performing at the same level.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Netherlands idea of doing a 50/50 setup and assessing their performance and their knowledge of the content.
Jenny I enjoyed reading about how you were tested when in school. I graduated from high school in 1993 and we were tested for everything. What makes me upset is that every child is different and develops differently how can a test measure the differences? Thanks for sharing your post it was interesting.
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