10 March 2006
Standardized Tests
I'm of the opinion that standardized tests are a waste of time. They don't test knowledge, they test the ability of the test taker to take tests. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're bad because I don't do well on them... quite the contrary. I am an excellent test taker.
Starting Monday, sophomores in WA state will begin to take the 'Washington Assessment of Student Learning' or WASL. What is special about this particular year is the fact the class of 2008 must pass the WASL in order to graduate from high school. Now I'm not against there being requirements for kids to graduate (like a senior essay), but to base it on the fact that they passed some standardized test? Really? How the hell is this helping our kids? The stupidity of it all is that instead of teaching our kids things that they might be able to ACTUALLY use in life, we have now gone to focusing the curriculum to teach them how to pass the WASL. Isn't that a bit like the tail wagging the dog?
Here is the information I found out about the WASL (while listening to the local NPR station) that really illustrates how completely flawed this methodology is: If the student doesn't pass the WASL, he/she can retake the test... UP TO FOUR TIMES!! I mean, even a blind monkey could pass this test if it got 5 tries at it! Oh, and it gets worse. If for some strange reason (frontal lobotomy) your child can't pass within 5 tries, they can use other methods for qualification. So if we really want our children to learn the things that would allow them to 'pass' the WASL, why are we giving them 5 tries and then telling them,"It's ok you were too stupid to pass the test, we'll let you make it up some other way"? Is it just me or is it completely asinine to have a 'requirement' that has so many loopholes that you don't REALLY have to pass to graduate?
Starting Monday, sophomores in WA state will begin to take the 'Washington Assessment of Student Learning' or WASL. What is special about this particular year is the fact the class of 2008 must pass the WASL in order to graduate from high school. Now I'm not against there being requirements for kids to graduate (like a senior essay), but to base it on the fact that they passed some standardized test? Really? How the hell is this helping our kids? The stupidity of it all is that instead of teaching our kids things that they might be able to ACTUALLY use in life, we have now gone to focusing the curriculum to teach them how to pass the WASL. Isn't that a bit like the tail wagging the dog?
Here is the information I found out about the WASL (while listening to the local NPR station) that really illustrates how completely flawed this methodology is: If the student doesn't pass the WASL, he/she can retake the test... UP TO FOUR TIMES!! I mean, even a blind monkey could pass this test if it got 5 tries at it! Oh, and it gets worse. If for some strange reason (frontal lobotomy) your child can't pass within 5 tries, they can use other methods for qualification. So if we really want our children to learn the things that would allow them to 'pass' the WASL, why are we giving them 5 tries and then telling them,"It's ok you were too stupid to pass the test, we'll let you make it up some other way"? Is it just me or is it completely asinine to have a 'requirement' that has so many loopholes that you don't REALLY have to pass to graduate?
Labels: gov't dumbness
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Does anyone ever read this little line at the bottom of the blog?
One of the values of testing is that a number of teachers do not teach the subject matter they have been instructed to teach. For example, I had individuals in my department who had to be exorted to teach U.S. History rather than sociology or psychology. Testing forces such teachers to hue the line and to teach the areas they are suppose to teach. As an ex department head I am aware that this is a major problem...it is no wonder that many kids don't understand English or history when a frustrated sociology teacher teaches a field unrelated to the proper subject matter.