Assessment Versus Testing

In my college courses from day one, I have been hammered with the idea that the best way to evaluate student learning - that is, if they are actually learning, progressing, and understanding, is by verifying that they are actually able to use that new knowledge and understanding in practical, creative and innovative ways. Then, ironically, these same colleges gave us a multiple choice test to be sure we got that.  LOL!  Seriously though, in the last 2 years of my undergraduate studies and during my current 2 years of graduate studies, the bulk of my grades - almost exclusively - have been based on projects (often collaborative) and papers, not tests.

Now I'm not saying that teachers in K-12 schools don't know this, or don't use this knowledge of what is best for children, not at all! But what I am saying is the increased focus on making sure students pass standardized tests if forcing the hand of many teachers, schools and districts.  With only so many hours in a day and their very jobs on the line, guiding 25-30 kids through a multidisciplinary integrated and comprehensive unit that culminates in collaborative final projects is not going to be a viable option.  There just isn't time.

Further, many of the unit, mid-term and final tests that we all love and remember well from our own school days... and used to use to verify what we just taught are being eliminated because with the state testing, and the preparation for the state testing, and the beta-testing of the state tests, schools/districts/teachers had to decide just how much of their year is spent testing their kids - many sadly felt compelled to to give the state tests priority over their own.

And just what do these tests tell us?  I'm not going to say - see what you can find out on your own.  See if the 45-90 minutes of pure torture is worth the "pay-out".  Decide for yourself if a previously enthusiastic and inquisitive kid decides they are stupid and now hates school now because they took a test that measured (purposely) things they didn't know - ask yourself if that is worth whatever results come out.  And speaking of test results, who gets them?  And what are they used for?

There are so many great ways to check to see if the kids "get" what you are trying to teach them and these are ways that are far more accurate, ways that build the spirit of that beautiful soul, not crush it.  Ways that don't limit the use of all that new knowledge and understanding to a simple answer on a ridiculous test. But these are not "efficient" ways.  These are not ways that are easily data-mined and converted to graphs and charts.  There is a degree of art and nuance to both the teaching process as well as the evaluation/assessment process and when done 'right', they are one in the same. 

#evaluatethat

Jeanne 

Today's musings were brought to you by the following video:

http://youtu.be/-1rJXTtDBPA

Common Core - Should It Stay Or Should It Go - You Decide.

Nobody reads my posts so this should be quick...

Ok, just kidding, but today, we are lucky if anyone reads past 2 or 3 sentences. They just don't have time. And I get that - but If you have a child/grandchild/niece/nephew currently in a public school, I ask that you take some time out to read this all the way through. I know it's a lot, but some topics are simply too complex to be covered in a meme.

Trouble is brewing and your kids are being caught right in the middle of it.

There has been a lot of buzz lately in education circles and now on the news about the "Common Core" and how it must go. And how some parents are having their kids "Opt out" of the testing. And there seems to be a great deal of confusion - the buzz words being bantered about don't really give the whole picture and are being used to mislead and create fear.

The issue is not simple and there are a lot of factors to consider to make informed choices for your child's education. So, what IS the Common Core? Let me break it down to the many components that make up Common Core:

First:
learning standards - Learning standards are a set of agreed upon knowledge, skills and understandings that schools set for their students to achieve by specified bench marks (i.e. grade levels) And we've had learning standards for generations and generations. By 1st grade, you know this, by 8th grade, you know that and so on. Standards are nothing new.

Common Core State Standards - These are a set of core, or foundational standards that have been selected and agreed upon by all participating states in the United States. Now, who selected them within the states, and whether or not those individuals or organizations were the most qualified to do so, or how much politics played a part is certainly up for debate, but I'm not discussing that here, just explaining what they are.

Next:
content - Content is the specific information and knowledge. i.e. all the "subject matter"; which is different from, but integrally related to skills. For instance, knowing what a noun is - that's content; using a noun properly in a sentence - that's a skill. Knowing facts and details surrounding the Civil Rights Movement, that's content; writing a grammatically correct, well-organized and informative essay comparing Martin Luther King and Malcolm X that refers to primary sources to support the writer's ideas -that's a boat-load of skill) Some content - especially in Social Studies is (and should be) different depending on what region you live in. Kids in NY for instance learn a lot about the Erie Canal & Great Lakes, whereas students in Louisiana might focus on the Mississippi & the Gulf of Mexico. Further, students in Mendon might focus more about the ponds and students in Webster might focus more about the bay. Other content should be universal - our Constitution, Bill of Rights, formal English grammar, scientific method and mathematics.

curriculum - Curriculum is all the suggested units, lessons, assessments and resources built around a set of standards and selected content. In the past, this was set by individual districts & schools, guided by the states, and teachers were able to use their masters level education and skill to create/adapt their own lessons - as long as they helped the students achieve the standards. Ever since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation, this has been changing, and growing more complicated with the Race To The Top (RTT) fed. legislation, because school funding is based in part on how students do on standardized tests. Unfortunately, this has stifled many teachers/school into "teaching to the test" or only teaching the content and skills that the think will be on the tests and ignoring other content.

Common Core Curriculum - The Common Core Curriculum is a more general curriculum, combining chosen content and now national set of Common Core standards (that have a small percentage of approved state-specific adaptations). Major publishing companies were contracted to develop and publish for sale, "engaging, rigorous" units, lessons, educational resources, workbooks, teacher-guides and most "importantly", high-stakes standardized tests. Based on pressure from the Federal government on the States, many school districts have now "strongly encouraged" (read: mandated) teachers to use these scripted lessons word-for-word, and if you search the internet, you will find that these lessons were hastily published and many errors and even some age-inappropriate content have been found. Sad, really. Frustrating as hell to teachers. And lets not forget, the high-stakes tests are based upon this curriculum. (Click here to view New York State's version)

So:
The biggest and most destructive problems with The Common Core State Standards are not necessarily the standards themselves but rather the 'canned' curriculum and the high-stakes testing, and how they are being implemented across the country and in our state.

Here are some things to consider:

The major publishing companies stand to make (are making/continue to make) tons of money by being pretty-much the sole suppliers of these resources to our schools. Are the schools mandated to purchase and use these specific books and lessons? Not exactly, but the states have contracted with these SAME companies to develop the high-stakes Common Core tests... and these tests are based on the curriculum - kind of a conflict of interest, don't you think? And a rock and a hard place for teachers that want to be innovative?

Politicians stand to gain a lot of political sway (read: huge financial contributions to coffers) if they support legislation that gives these very powerful corporations and foundations influence over education policy.

The schools stand to loose a good deal of state and federal funding if they refuse to take part in the testing and the implementation. (Legally (i.e. constitutionally) the federal government cannot tell states how to run their schools, however, based on funding determined by the NCLB and RTT, districts are stuck adopting the 'suggested policies' or loosing funding.)

My personal feelings are that the ideas initially proposed before all this mess are sound: that our students needed to have 21st century skills so our country could compete in the global economy. Skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, research, higher-level math and scientific understandings, and our "Teach-to-the-test" educational program over the last several decades is NOT going to get us there.

If one reads the bulk of the Common Core standards themselves, all by themselves, and we for a moment, ignore the arbitrary benchmarks of exactly when each child is supposed to reach that standard, I think most would see that the bulk of these standards are reasonable. For instance, here is a literacy standard: "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language." Who could argue that our students don't need to know how to do that?

So my concern is that the growing movement against "Common Core" is lumping all this stuff together - the standards, the content, the curriculum, and the proverbial baby is being tossed with the proverbial bathwater. Also, there is a growing movement to wrest power away from teachers, teachers' unions, school boards and districts; including a concerted effort to bash teachers and turn public opinion against them. All of which is allowing private corporations and politicians to make policy and funding choices for your kid's school.

If you have a school-age kid, ask your kid's teachers what they think, ask them what you can do to help them get out from under this mess. The politicians and publishing companies have snowed us long enough, and intended or not, they are putting a wedge between parents and teachers, unions and schools; and the students - YOUR CHILDREN - are caught right in the middle.

Talk to your kids' teachers, talk to other parents. HELP the teachers to have the freedom to do what they are trained to do, what they are CALLED to do: TEACH.

And if you are so inclined, pass this along to others.

Peace,
Jeanne