High-Stakes Testing

In last week’s article I asked for feedback and input on the educational issues that have, and as of yet have not, been addressed during this campaign. I appreciate all the feedback I’ve gotten and I continue to encourage you to let me know what other educational issues you are concerned about. Call, write, or email me for straight answers (my number and address are in the previous article). I firmly believe that the parents and taxpayers of Choctaw County need to know where each candidate stands. Simply saying, “ I love kids,” “we must put students first,” and “the children are our future” is not enough. We need to elect a superintendent that has the courage to identify problems in our schools and has the expertise to fix them.

The feedback I’ve gotten so far makes it clear that people are concerned about the high-stakes testing our kids are subjected to as part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation that comes out of Washington. As I said in a previous article, the premise behind the testing is reasonable: since the federal government provides local school districts with federal tax dollars, the federal government tries to hold local schools accountable. Simply put, the feds require us to test our kids to prove we’re using all that money to provide the public with effective schools.

The problem is that our concern with test scores has come to define how we do school. We have become so obsessed with improving test scores that most of what we do revolves around that end. In effect, the test that was intended to measure how we are doing has become what we are doing. That’s crazy! Testing cannot improve student achievement anymore than weighing a hog more frequently will fatten him up better.

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is America’s best means for evaluating education across the nation. The NAEP tests students from all over the country so we can get a national report card. Their data for 2002-2005 showed that reading scores for fourth graders were unchanged and actually went down markedly for eighth graders despite all these tests. Worse yet, the testing required by the NCLB legislation has led states to construct charades of window dressing to make unsuccessful schools look successful. The legislation allows states to set their own standard for success. A Rand Corporation study showed that there is a huge gap between state test scores and NAEP scores. In other words, states are making their tests easier so the scores will make it look like their schools are doing better than they really are.

For instance, the Rand study showed that our 50 states reported that fourth graders required to take subject area tests passed at a rate of 21% in the lowest state and 90% in the highest state. When you look at the NAEP’s unbiased national scores, however, the lowest state’s fourth graders passed at a 10% rate and the highest state’s kids passed at a 43% rate. The gap between state reported scores and NAEP scores was highest in Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi. Unfortunately, Mississippi’s gap was the largest at about 68%.

No Child Left Behind is here and we have to deal with it, but our strategy of making improved test scores the highest priority is misguided at best. That strategy misses the point. The goal is not to improve test scores. The goal is to improve education. When that occurs, test scores will go up. Instructional techniques that accompany high-stakes, one size fits all testing programs undermine rather than improve the quality of education.

So what do we do? We improve instruction. We use instructional strategies that have been proven to work elsewhere: instructional strategies that motivate children and make their studies relevant. We do what successful schools are already doing. We concentrate on curriculum integration, problem-based learning, classroom projects, and other student-centered learning strategies.

In next week’s article I will explain how to do that and give specific examples of these proven instructional strategies. Fixing our schools is not easy. It takes more than saying, “ I love kids,” “we must put students first,” and “the children are our future.” Fixing our schools requires taking specific action to improve instruction. If you’re supporting other candidates ask them exactly how they intend to fix our schools. If they can’t give you specific, workable answers, find another candidate.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak