Today is April Fools day. What better way to celebrate than with the start of the testing season?
All my teacher-friends know what I mean when I say “testing season.”
For my non-teachers readers, this time of year makes teachers miss the week before Christmas break. Yes, I MISS the cookie and Santa-crazed week before Christmas break in kindergarten during testing season. It is the time of year during which as least 95% of our students will take a test which will determine their proficiency in that subject area, and our effectiveness as teachers. One test is used to determine if the previous 140 days of blood, sweat, and tears was effective. Standardized testing is a cruel joke we play every year on our students, and it needs to stop.
One. Test.
I, for one, am incredibly happy that I am not being tested today, because I am certain I would fail…not because I don’t know the material, but because I do not feel well. You see, last night, I caught a rough strain of food poisoning. I still feel terrible, but in to work I came….because…testing.
As I sit here, having horrible flashbacks to last night, and writing “clean the bathroom” on my to do list, though I doubt I will forget….I wonder….how many of my students were sick last night, or had to work late to help pay the bills, or didn’t eat over the weekend because there’s no food in the house and they only eat at school.
One. Test.
The scores from today will be used to judge my effectiveness, and that of my colleagues, as a teacher. The scores from today will determine whether these students graduate. These scores are the single worst measure of my students and their capabilities, yet their and my futures are determined by it.
The work my students put into their presentations last week, and how much progress they have made will not be reflected in this test. This test is a waste of their time, and taxpayer money…yet I walked around a room for 3 hours today administering the first part of a test which will determine their futures.
I’m not supposed to say that. I’m not supposed to come out publicly against this abusive system, but someone must speak up.
10 Days
In the next 2 months, of school, I will get to teach for 2 weeks…10 days….the rest is testing, or meetings about testing. If that is not a wholesale denial of FAPE, I do not know what is.
Schools across the country will be closing their libraries, media centers, and/or computer labs for testing as this testing season kicks into gear. Computers are confiscated for testing. Teachers will be denied access to technology, and students will be denied access to resources to help them complete projects and learning activities.
Is this fair?
Our testing focus is completely out of control. The ones who are suffering most are the students, especially those with special needs. Administering standardized tests to many students with special needs has been an absurd joke for several years….cruel and absurd.
We can do better for the students. We must do better.
What are our alternatives? How can we fix this system?
It is time to listen to teachers….You know, the ones going in to work despite some nasty food poisoning. Those are the ones who know, first-hand, the true cost of standardized tests. They can give all of us valuable insight into the problems and possible solutions.
Let’s stop this April Fools joke now. Standardized testing is a cruel joke. Listening to teachers about how to best teach and support the students, that is the answer.