EduBlog Insights

To continue the conversation on testing I just read this on ASCD Smart Brief which by the way is one of my favorites reads. You can subscribe here.

Education about more than test scores….

Hear! Hear! Xavier University adjunct professor Timothy Leonard says that under NLCB, curricula geared toward students from disadvantaged backgrounds are too focused on test scores. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Most teachers know that standards are negotiated every day between themselves and their students who will learn only what they choose to learn. The trick is to encourage them to learn far beyond what they originally intended. Turning that trick takes knowledge, persistence, ingenuity, patience, trust, active listening, toughness, kindness, humor, and a willingness to engage students in active learning. Teachers are doing this every day throughout our region, yet the only thing that seems to matter to politicians and bureaucrats are the scores.

and

Scores are important. But they must be viewed in the context of what teachers know about what is happening in their classrooms. Under the current regime, what is happening in the classroom, if viewed at all, is viewed in the context of the scores. This is nuts. It’s like a parent saying, “If you think the baby is cute, you should see the pictures” - except in this case all you see is a number.

and

The renewal of NCLB needs to shift its intense focus away from test scores to the care, support and encouragement of teachers. This means more money for salaries, staff development, and programs to make sure teachers develop the skills that research tells us it takes to engage students to choose to become knowledgeable in the arts and sciences as well as reading and mathematics, and to become responsible citizens.