If the test wasn't around the corner, I would be planning a debate for my eighth graders around the banning of books, a culmination of a great literature unit on The Chocolate War and WWII. Instead, I need to give a practice reading test.
Need is relative. A debate would help my students with some of the same skills they need to do well on the test. If it were November or February, I would go with the debate, but we have two weeks before April break, and when the kids get back from that break, the test is on Tuesday. I know that I've taught my students a lot about reading and writing this year, but frankly, it's crunch time, and now I have to teach them to study for *this test.*
I am not a fan of this test for so many reasons. Luckily, at my school I also don't feel a huge amount of pressure to "teach to the test." There is an understanding that good teaching that gets at standards and essential academic and life skills takes precendence over "test prep." Nonetheless, there is the lingering knowledge that our school lives and dies partly by these tests... and the idea out there that a teacher's worth is determined by the amount his or her students grow on the test...
Mostly, I don't think it's right to send students into a test without some practice and a sense that they know what's coming and that they can do it... even though my students have already made it into high school, and their middle school test scores will soon become irrelevant data points.
Anyway, just taking a moment to remark on the fact that I just spent two hours inputting the test questions, answers and standards for each question into a computer program so it can grade the multiple choice questions electronically, instead of planning a debate. Instead of allowing students to build sound evidence-based arguments on real issues, I am giving them practice choosing the best of someone else's answers to someone else's questions on a text with no context. Feels like a loss to me...
[image credit: en.wikipedia.org]
Well said
Posted by: Stephen Lazar | March 26, 2012 at 12:20 PM
OH -- I sooooo agree with your post!! I am also lucky enough to work in a school where good teaching is highly valued. Nonetheless, the "two weeks to the test" mode is alive and well here, too.
We need to find a way out of this pressure-cooker in education so that we can all get back to real teaching that engages learners.
Posted by: Pam Ross | March 26, 2012 at 09:36 PM
We spend 21 school days before our big test prepping students for it. This is appropriately called The 21-Day Diet. Appropriate because it cuts out all the "fat" of authentic learning and gets right to the heart of the matter with test prep.
I am very concerned, which is why I support the group http://dumpduncan.org
It is time for some serious change.
Posted by: Carol Singletary | March 27, 2012 at 08:54 AM
feels like a loss to me too...
Posted by: PortageMainPres | March 27, 2012 at 01:05 PM
I commend you on your thoughtful efforts on behalf of your students. Without a doubt in my mind, you and your school are making good choices for tough issues. It does seem like a loss to me as well - BUT your decision is a logical one. The good news is that it was a considered one on your part!
Posted by: JCBJR | March 27, 2012 at 01:50 PM
Thanks for posting this. The loss and frustration goes beyond the students and teachers. I have been trying to observe preservice teachers in classrooms and it is absolutely impossible because teaching has virtually stopped weeks ago in too many schools around the city. Not only are students not learning anything, neither are the student teachers. Forget best practices, there are no practice going on. Loss is an understatement.
Posted by: Bisola Neil | March 27, 2012 at 02:27 PM
Unfortunately seems to be the trend with so much weight put on that one assessment. For us, it's not just the school's evaluation but 50% of our teacher evaluations as well. I struggle very much with doing test prep, when I know the time could be spent on something more valuable. We are even required to it for the testing we now take in Kindergarten! So sad.
Posted by: jtrayers | March 27, 2012 at 04:36 PM
In my district we give "common assessments" every 3-4 weeks throughout the school year. We also have nine weeks tests each quarter. Now, here it is a month before our May test dates and I still haven't covered all the skills that my students need! How does this make sense?!
Posted by: Tested Out! | March 28, 2012 at 12:38 PM
I am glad to hear that i am not the only one. I would love to have a projext in which my students have to budget their spending, calculate thier taxes, apply thier own discounts, etc. I will beable to incooparate many units in a way that is relevant to my students. But I am limtited with time and curriculm. My students miss out on the opprtunity of true learning.
Posted by: michelleg | April 02, 2012 at 11:14 PM
If the Test Wasn't Coming....I would be reading The Cage by Ruth Sender. My students and I would be discussing her experiences during and after the Holocaust.
I also find it difficult to inform my students about the test when I have been given so little information. I agree the test questions have become trickier. Many questions are worded with phrases such as most likely, least likely, the BEST....this leads to problems when the state answer and the most logical answer do not add up.
Posted by: Meredith Martino | April 03, 2012 at 12:08 PM
It's been my experience (32 years worth) that if you teach the curriculum and make sure that students have mastered skills, the test scores come. I know many teachers who fall back on test prep, etc., but these things are truly NOT necessary if you have really taught the kids what they need to know.
Posted by: Becky von St. Paul | July 02, 2012 at 04:27 PM