Thursday, October 21, 2010

Standardized Tests: CRCT Mania

Standardized test and pencil
Does anyone else struggle with the CRCT mania in schools these days?  In Georgia it is crazy and I'm sure we Georgians are not alone.  Whatever happened to using those standardized test scores just to see where a school and student stand instead of instituting major repercussions for the student, teacher and school if the student doesn't pass the portions they need to?  That is a lot of pressure for a student. There has got to be another way to have accountability for teachers and schools.  The focus seems to be on passing this test instead of focusing on the reason kids are in school in the first place.  They are in school to learn.  The teachers do not have control over this and I wish the school boards would give flexibility back to the teachers.  I feel the same way when a  benchmark test is averaged into a student's grade.  A benchmark is supposed to show where a student is in the learning process.  I don't think the student should be rewarded or penalized for what they scored.  What if a student isn't a good test taker?  What if the student just had a bad day?  What if the student is an honor roll student and they didn't pass a portion of the test they needed to?  There are so many variables in CRCT testing that it just doesn't seem like a good barometer for measuring the success of a student, teacher, school or school system.  I won't even get into erasure marks!  No Child Left Behind needs a major overhaul.
http://standardized-test-and-pencil.jpg

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