The Community Forum on Standardized Testing
Last night I had the opportunity to participate in a Community Forum on “The Battle Over Standardized Testing” hosted by The Ledger. The forum was comprised of multiple education experts and parents.
Of particular importance was the emphasis on the scant research on the benefits of standardized testing on student outcomes. Moreover, we discussed the issue with using these test results as a way evaluate teacher performance and school effectiveness.
I feel very strongly about this. As Dr. Richard and I often discuss in our Paedeia podcast (found on our blog and on iTunes), we are putting pressure on our children that many of them cannot withstand. I had the opportunity to talk with a few parents after the forum last night and heard more stories of children buckling under the pressure. These students – who were once confident, happy children – have turned into emotional wrecks as a result of standardized testing.
As I have said many times before – and wonderfully echoed by my fellow panelists last night – the issue is not the standardized tests, per se. Rather, the effects on students and teachers come from the use of the tests. The ramifications of not reaching the (arbitrary) bar set by the state. These tests, according to the state’s own publication (read it here), should not be used to make student-based decisions regarding retention or promotion. Moreover, there is no research to link test scores to teacher performance. Yet, those are the two issues that create the most distress. Yet, as you will see when you click the link for the state publication, the test was considered “valid”. It is a travesty!
We must do better. Quite literally, our children depend on it!
Read a summary of the forum here.
Dr. Berney administrator
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