What Every Parent Should Know About Standardized Testing
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What Every Parent Should Know About Standardized Testing
My daughter is in pre-K. She was given a test the week before pre-K started. As part of the test, the teacher asked her to write her name. My daughter didn't know how to hold a pencil, much less write her name. Needless to say, she failed the test. The district would argue that this wasn't a test per se, but rather a "benchmark," a means by which the teacher could identify what students' strengths and weaknesses were. But what 4-year-old enters pre-K knowing how to write his or her name? Isn't that what 1st grade used to be for?
Parents that can afford to send their kids to academically-oriented preschool will have "the upper hand," they'll have the edge over the other kids. Their kids will have been given "a head start." Those parents that cannot do this themselves or that cannot afford to pay someone to do it for them will be regarded as deficient if not negligent. Low-income parents are already sufficiently vilified in our society. Now they are being cudgeled even further.
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One thing I always tried to tell parents when I was a homeroom teacher is that a standardized exam is like a single snapshot in time. Standardized tests can only ever show a small portion of what a child is capable of. But, this is a hard thing to internalize in today's climate of excessive testing. It's also a hard truth to communicate to worried children.
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Our child's school is test crazy! My first grader has been in testing for the past 2 weeks, where some days are practice tests, and some are real. That's a lot of stress for a 6 year old!I feel like the whole school year has been leading up to these standardized tests. Sure, she is learning good things along the way, but I'd much rather she have more time for drama, art, and music!
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Emily, I wish that I'd had a better understanding of this earlier. My older son, now in 5th grade, has had no problems being tested every year in Oregon. But the time/energy spent on "filling in the bubbles" has taken away from the basics. As well, the tests cause the kids a lot of stress. At our public school, students and their families learn about the tests several months prior and are reminded quite often about upcoming tests. Several parents have told me that their kids have run the stress gamut from losing sleep to throwing up over the thought of these tests. And what exactly do they get us? Very little, it seems. Thanks for the information.
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