Student or Machine?
By: Mrs. Nicole Matthews, with assistance from a primary source, her 7th grade ELA students
On any given school day, one could peer into a classroom and notice students vigorously attacking their educational obligations. Pencils are swiftly passing across papers in an attempt to complete assessments before time runs out. The tension intensifies, while the second hand of the clock ticks away. Numerous evaluations are resulting in limited authentic instruction, increased stress and anxiety, and a narrow-minded perspective of pupils. Creative instruction has been limited in curriculum to allow for test preparation. First and foremost, teachers are “teaching to the test” to assure that their students are prepared, but only gaining a snapshot of their real abilities, which has an adverse effect on everyone. The time spent administering tests takes away from direct and open-ended instruction. Teachers need to acquire the attention and tap into the unique interests of their students. At the middle school level, if enthusiasm is not generated amongst the student population, they will tune out and shut down. As noted by W. James Popham, “The most troubling items on standardized achievement tests assess what students have learned outside of school.”(Popham, W. James, www.ascd.org) Therefore, it is imperative to access knowledge throughout the day and to be engaged constantly, in order to perform optimally. In the school days of yesteryear, novices were involved in problem-based learning, which assessed them authentically based on a rubric with set criteria. They were to work collaboratively on cross-curricular tasks, incorporating technology, to enhance their learning and become successful members of society. Some might think that you can put students and their learning into a box with a “one size fits all” attitude, but that simply does not work in the reality of a classroom full of diverse and varying learning needs. The new culture of testing to motivate them to perform has led to unwarranted stress and anxiety. Additionally, students’ stress levels have increased because of such preparation as Link-It (design, test, analyze, and repeat), SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory), Quarterlies (16 per year), and quizzes and tests as both formative and summative data. The time that is dedicated to this data collection impact approximately 16% of the school year. This calculation does not include administration of the NJASK as a summative assessment, nor classwork. With the implementation of the Common Core across twenty-three states, one could only speculate that there will be further achievements to be reached in order to be found adequate in the eyes of the educational system. If the trend in education is to motivate students to study and do well on tests to compete on the global stage, it is curious as to why other countries do not seem to use the same philosophy as the United States. A clear example of this can be found across the pond in Finland. “Finland ranked at or near the top of the program for international student assessment ever since testing started in 2000. They ranked 6th in math, 2nd in science, and 3rd in reading when compared to 65 countries.” (Tung, Stephen, Stanford University) One could argue that the more you prepare for a test, the better you will do.
W. James Popham’s states,
“Unfortunately, both parents and educators often ascribe far too much precision and accuracy to
students’ scores on standardized achievement tests. Standardized achievement test scores should be
regarded as rough approximation of a student’s status with respect to the content domain
represented by the test.” (Popham, W. James, www.ascd.org)
It would be interesting to see how much stress or anxiety exists in Finland where they do generate strong scores. Subsequently, a culture has been created where students become ill from the high level of stress and anxiety. The pressure on the nervous system results in sickness and lack of sleep. If one attends school when they do not feel 100%, this can affect their test scores. The scores that the students receive do not necessarily represent their full capability if they are burdened or not working at full capacity. It has been noted that those enrolled in middle school should not have a high stress level because they are mostly concerned with “pleasurable activities, like playing video games or going on dates.” In today’s classrooms, youth are feeling torn between having social interactions and devoting their whole life to education. If students only worry about their grades, they are doomed to become stressed out and highly anxious. These standardized benchmark tests assess multiple skill sets, but ignore multiple intelligences, leaving students to feel that they are not sufficient and encourage their decline. Furthermore, pushing anyone beyond their maturity level causes them to be faced with challenges they are not yet prepared to handle. It is always a necessity to raise the bar so that students can reach their full potential, but at what cost? Jari Lavonen of Finland states, “Assessments are used as a tool for professional development and also to help teachers gauge student growth and never for accountability.” (Zhao, Emmeline, The Huffington Post) If feelings of stress and anxiety are present prior to an assessment; we must question if the results are truly accurate. The use of a portfolio to collect samples of growth would allow for open-ended results. The work product may be represented in various ways that would tap into the students’ strengths and talents. The school day centers on math and language arts to such a high level that hands-on learning, artistic ability, love of nature, and other forms of expression are not nurtured. With education continuing in this manner, in the near future it is plausible that US schools will consist of robots. Our nation will have adolescents who can spit out information on command, not because they have learned it, but because they have memorized it. This memorization does not lead to understanding as the test results would lead us to believe, but rather the ability to regurgitate information. Students are already experts at repeating information, but the scores are not proving that true:
“We know that the typical multiple choice and short answer tests aren’t the only way or necessarily
the best way… The overarching reason that student’s scores on these tests do not provide an accurate
index of educational effectiveness is that any inference about educational quality made on the basis of
student standardized achievement test performances is apt to be invalid.” (Popham, W. James,
www.ascd.org)
One might argue that American society is built upon knowledge, and therefore, large amounts of testing are a necessity. One could pose the idea that a summative, standardized test, only show the surface knowledge gained during that school year and actually inhibits the true potential of students. But, what is the true goal of education, knowledge or grades? “Standardized tests have been part of the American education system since the mid-1800s.” (Shatzky, Joel, The Huffington Post) Just because something has been done the same way for over 200 years does not make it the only way. The phrase that most often stops progress dead in its tracks is: we have always done it this way. It is time to reform education towards its actualized goal: learning for its own sake.
In conclusion, these standardized assessments lead to restricted learning, increased student apprehension, and unfair tracking of student abilities. The quest for knowledge leads to wisdom and should not be stifled during one’s journey to obtain a higher level of understanding. Some may feel that tests motivate students to learn, but it is our business as the driving force behind the future generation to create the type of environment we want so that all may flourish. Middle school students are at a very impressionable time in their development and it is the duty of educators to lead them on a journey of inquiry and meaningful engagement. Instead of students playing “beat the clock” just to keep up with rigorous testing, classrooms need to foster discovery. Our “new school” educational reform is really rooted in old school ideals: knowledge being powerful enough to have students transform into the next generation that thrives instead of dies.
Citations
Popham, W. James "Membership."Educational Leadership: Using Standards and Assessments: Why Standardized Tests
Don't Measure Educational Quality. www.ascd.org, Mar. 1999. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
Shatzky, Joel. "Educating for Democracy: A Modest Proposal for Standardized Tests."The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 02 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Tung, Stephen. "News."Stanford University. Stanford News Service, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
Zhao, Emmeline. "Standardized Testing A Foreign Concept In Finland With World's Top Students."The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.