I need to rant for a minute. As you all should know (if you happened to glance over at the “Hiyas” little mini about me paragraph), I am a computer lab “teacher” at a local elementary school (grades K-5). This job requires me to administer several tests throughout the school year. These are the tests I have to give: PLATO K-12 Assessment, STAR Reading, STAR Math, STAR Early Literacy, Scott Foresman Online Reading Assessment, and Math Facts in a Flash. The STAR tests are given around 4 times a year. PLATO is twice a year (and lasts for a whole month). The Scott Foresman test is new this year. We’re the only school in the district who is giving this test (because I am smart and figured it out). I predict next year it will be given multiple times. It’s taken 3 weeks and everyone is still not finished. Math Facts isn’t really a “test.” It’s more of a quiz. The students have to do Math Facts at the beginning of every computer lab class. They have to answer 40 multiple choice math problems. The goal is for them to answer all 40 correctly in 2 minutes. If they do, they move to the next level. The point is to get kids to be able to quickly tell you what 24 + 32 is or what the square root of a number is and not have to add it up on fingers and toes.

I know that tests can provide educators with essential information about a student such as what areas they have weaknesses in or what their reading level is. Since all of the tests mentioned above have to be done in the computer lab, this takes away huge amounts of the school year that I could use to teach students how to use Microsoft PowerPoint, create web pages, do digital art, etc. Computer lab is considered a “special” class. Students expect special classes to be fun. Yes, there are times when computer lab has to be more serious (when talking about internet safety for example), but for the most part, the students should be enjoying the time they spend in the lab. Knowing they have to test when they come is discouraging. It seems like to me that all I’ve done this year is test, test, and test. If I feel that way, I know the students must feel that way as well.

When I was in elementary school, we did not take nearly as many tests as students today are required to take. I turned out just fine. Of course, back then times were different. I grew up in a rural area, my school was small. Everyone’s parents were married. Moms stayed home with the kids. Terms like “ADD” or “ADHD” didn’t get thrown around. It was just different. Nowadays, students have so much going on at home.

If students are constantly tested, they aren’t being taught. That’s the way I feel about it. I wish teachers didn’t have to worry so much about test scores. At some schools, teachers are very competitive about their class test scores, and they are compared to other teachers. Ultimately, the teacher is held accountable for their students and their performance. Not only are students testing in my computer lab, but they’re being tested in their regular classrooms. I don’t mean chapter or unit tests or spelling tests (of course they have those), but I mean tests where you have a booklet and have to bubble in answers. I just found out yesterday, we’re going to have to start giving some math test with scan-tron sheets. I guess I’ll be the one scanning all of the sheets for that.

The problem with the tests I give in the computer lab is that they are all multiple choice. This means a student can get lucky and guess right or guess wrong. I have seen several gifted students who “failed” their STAR tests. Why? The test is boring. They are above and beyond what that test is trying to measure.

Posters. This is another issue. In Kentucky, students have to take what is called the CATS test in 4th and 5th grade. Teachers in these grade levels hang posters of every imaginable thing on the walls. (I have even seen teachers hang things on the ceilings.) Why so many posters? Because if you teach a lesson using a poster and it is documented in your plan book, the poster may remain on the wall during testing. So….hanging up all 50 math vocabulary words is okay as long as you refer to those words during a lesson. This means that during the state CATS test, students just have to know where to look for the answer they need. Now, I’ve been with classes as they tested. I’d say the majority of the kids know the answers and do not rely heavily on the posters. But, there are kids who know those posters are going to be there for them, so they don’t try to commit as much to memory.

Oh, I forgot to mention. Students with IEP’s or 504 plans (Special needs students have these. Special needs can be everything from a mild mental disability to having ADHD.) do not test in their regular classrooms a lot of the times. These students need accommodations like a reader or a scribe. For this reason, they need to test in a different location. Therefore, they do not get to use the posters. What sense does that make?

Testing has just gotten way out of hand. Schools need a way to compare themselves to other schools and to the national average. And don’t even get me started on the No Child Left Behind Law. What does NCLB mean? That every child is pushed ahead.

The number of students tested has risen sharply since the No Child Left Behind Act took effect. Illinois, for example, used to test only third, fifth and eighth graders but now tests students in third through eighth grades.

To meet NCLB requirements, states administered 45 million reading and math exams during spring 2006. At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, they will give about 56 million tests because they must add a science exam at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

What’s more, each state has its own test, and many want them customized, said Michael Hansen, chief executive officer of Harcourt Assessment, which no longer administers Illinois’ tests but still is involved in developing and grading them. (Read more here)

Testing certainly has a place in schools. Teachers do need to ensure that students are learning the content. However, continually testing to see what the students already know is overkill. Spending so much time on testing to see what they know is taking away time from actually TEACHING the students. It cannot be “the solution.”

This article has makes some good points. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Whatever solutions are possible, our educational system must deal with issues of funding, educational research, politics, parenting and home environments, teacher training, assessment, technology, institutional leadership, community and business alliances, accountability, human services, and local economics. Testing alone will do very little to change the true nature and productivity of our schools.

This is not what Americans want to hear, but it’s that simple.

-- Filed in: Education, Opinions, Rants ()