“What meets the standard?” “What is the criteria?” “How long does it have to be?” “How many paragraphs do you want?” These questions are common in today’s standardized learning environments. We as teachers strive for our students to succeed so we unpack the standards, integrate them into our classrooms as best we can and try our best to keep up. But I have to question...what are we really teaching our students? To be good test takers? What are our roles as teachers now? To become assessors rather than teachers? EVERYTHING is based on data. How do we keep up with what is expected while instilling the desire to question and investigate and strive for success into our young students’ minds?
Many times I am afraid we are giving them mixed messages about achievement. Consistently, baseline tests are given with the purpose to group students by ability so more efficient teaching can take place to fill gaps of concepts not yet mastered. We tell them, “Don’t worry. This does not go on your report card.” “It’s more information for me, so I can see where you are and where I need to go next in my teaching.” Their reply, “So this doesn’t count? It doesn’t matter?” The conversations that follow can be very confusing and frustrating. If students don’t understand the point of what they are expected to do, they do not invest in it. Computerized tests of such formative assessments for math, pop up a percentage score when it is complete. The student is concerned. They see a 68%. I have to tell them, “The score doesn’t matter, it’s finding out for me what needs to be taught.” We are giving our youth, mixed messages! They want to do well, but they still feel the pressure and stress, no matter how you try to conceal it. I have to question not just PARCC testing but ALL of this excessive data collecting as did Johnson and Richer in saying, “This contributes to the cycle of self-doubt, struggles, and potential failure for my students.” (Johnson and Richer, RIC, July, 17, 2015)
Many times I am afraid we are giving them mixed messages about achievement. Consistently, baseline tests are given with the purpose to group students by ability so more efficient teaching can take place to fill gaps of concepts not yet mastered. We tell them, “Don’t worry. This does not go on your report card.” “It’s more information for me, so I can see where you are and where I need to go next in my teaching.” Their reply, “So this doesn’t count? It doesn’t matter?” The conversations that follow can be very confusing and frustrating. If students don’t understand the point of what they are expected to do, they do not invest in it. Computerized tests of such formative assessments for math, pop up a percentage score when it is complete. The student is concerned. They see a 68%. I have to tell them, “The score doesn’t matter, it’s finding out for me what needs to be taught.” We are giving our youth, mixed messages! They want to do well, but they still feel the pressure and stress, no matter how you try to conceal it. I have to question not just PARCC testing but ALL of this excessive data collecting as did Johnson and Richer in saying, “This contributes to the cycle of self-doubt, struggles, and potential failure for my students.” (Johnson and Richer, RIC, July, 17, 2015)
School Improvement Plans are shared with parents and school committees. What is the common thread, that all in favor, need to see to prove school achievement? DATA! Looking at the PARCC score data from the previous year, even though it is old and no longer valid, all those involved want to see an increase in scores. Ridiculous expectations are made in SLO’s set by administration to close the “gap” and aim for higher achievement. If not met, those SLO’s are not met, and teacher’s status as highly qualified will decline. “However, simply setting Academic experiences must be designed to increase students’ sense of self-efficacy as well.” (Johnson and Richer, RIC, July 17, 2015) Are we losing our focus of teaching the whole child? I can’t help but think we are skimming skills from the top and not giving students enough time to dig deep into analyzing, predicting, and thoroughly learning any one content. Time is always against us. Thirty-six percent of teachers are reporting spending “over 15 hours preparing students for the content of the test” (Johnson and Richer, RIC, July 17, 2015) What could I do with 15 extra hours? I know, I could actually teach!
Don’t get me wrong. I do think standards are important. I like having a guideline of what they need to know, and how I’m going to get them there. But I do feel that long are the days where a teacher’s own creativity and ideas and theories were considered in a professional manner. Many teachers feel they are not heard or their expertise is simply not good enough. I wonder if that culture is slowly seeping into our students’ perception of their learning as well. A rubric can say “Almost There” but to a student, it is a failing grade. They did not “meet the standard.”
Don’t get me wrong. I do think standards are important. I like having a guideline of what they need to know, and how I’m going to get them there. But I do feel that long are the days where a teacher’s own creativity and ideas and theories were considered in a professional manner. Many teachers feel they are not heard or their expertise is simply not good enough. I wonder if that culture is slowly seeping into our students’ perception of their learning as well. A rubric can say “Almost There” but to a student, it is a failing grade. They did not “meet the standard.”
As teachers we need to think of ways to instill self-worth in our students. Bring out their uniqueness and inspire them to question the norm. In class we are learning how important it is to incorporate current events and political views into literacy. Now that we are into our third year of PARCC testing, it could be a topic that could be explored and brought to engage students in expressing their point of view. I am curious if such an inquiry has been investigated.
Great post! I like that you point out the mixed messages we send students about the test. When I was younger they told us that the score didn't matter and didn't go on our grades. Because of this there were so many students that didn't even try when they had the test in front of them. This also makes it so the scores aren't accurate for the school and the student. The school I worked at does try to stress the importance of the test and why they need it to the students. They actually try to make testing week (more like month) more fun for the students to get them to relax. Of course there are many who don't test well regardless, but they noticed that since they tried to make it more relaxing and stress the importance, scores went up all around.
ReplyDeleteTerri, you hit it right on the head with so many things. As a student, I'm all about the numbers, and how they work toward my grade. I understand that mindset of "does this count??" completely. If I took a baseline assessment and came up with a 68% I'd freak out too. Something I'll look into as a teacher is how to do baseline assessments without a number grade attached--just a check for "complete" once it's finished. Your point about whether we have lost the ability to teach the whole child was particularly important--if we teach only to a test, I think you're right, that we are skimming from the top. After reading the standards, I do think that the kind of deeper exploration is possible while still following the standards. And I made the same point, without educator input, there is definitely something missing. :)
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