In this diary I'd like to describe some of my own experiences with the world of high-stakes standardized testing. Those of us who teach in public schools in Texas have been dealing with changes in education (thanks in no small part to our former governor) that have now spread across the U.S. The demand for "accountability" in the Texas model is transforming public education along the lines of business, where the bottom line is not profit margin, but the scores students achieve on standardized tests, and the percentage of students reaching certain numerical goals. Students are now tracked closely throughout the year, with repeated "benchmark" tests, their scores put on spreadsheets like the prices of commodities.
I teach at an elementary school in suburban Dallas, where we have nearly 80% of students on free and reduced school meals, and receive significant Title I funds from the federal government. Our school can be seen as "successful" in terms of standardized test scores, consistently achieving a high percentage of students passing the TAKS tests.
On paper, things look great. And that is pretty much the whole point of these tests--to look good on paper. If you can slap a number on it, you can say whether the job was well done or not, whether the student is reaching his/her expectations, as set by the state. Whether the state's expectations align with those of the teacher, the student's parents, or the student's themselves is pretty much irrevelant. When it comes down to the bottom line, it's all about the numbers. Did they pass the test or not? What percentage of the students passed the test in your classroom, at your grade level, at your school, at your district?
At our school (and others that I have heard about), our principal keeps a spreadsheet of every TAKS-taking grade teacher's class (TAKS begins in third grade--but its influence leaks down into the lower grades as well). Each student's scores on the regular benchmark tests are tracked closely throughout the year, to see if their scores keep rising, how far they are from passing the test.
A handful of times throughout the year, we have grade-level meetings with the principal to discuss the situation of our students. The students who are falling far below "expectations" are often referred for testing for Special Education services, and/or after-school tutoring, additional tutoring with volunteers as test time draws closer, and even personal motivational chats with the principal. All in hopes of getting them over the magic number line of whatever score they need to pass.
Students who are high achievers on the benchmark tests (those who will safely pass), are given little discussion, other than we don't have to"worry" about them. It is the low-scoring students who don't qualify for Special Education, and the "bubble" students who get most of the attention in these meetings, and these are the students who the teachers feel most of the pressure to push over the magic number line, by any means available.
You can probably imagine what this means for everyday teaching in the classroom. Worksheet after worksheet patterned after those they'll be seeing on the tests. Test-taking skills and strategies pushed on the kids throughout the year. Seminars and staff development all geared to methods on getting the kids to pass the tests. Drill and kill, drill and kill, drill and kill.
It takes a enormous amount of creativity, energy and courage to teach against the test-taking tide. Those of us who worry about our students learning to love ideas and expressing themselves, who want them to be creative and critical thinkers and globally-aware are put into an extremely difficult position. Of course, these are not things that you can quantify easily, or perhaps not at all, so they have fallen by the wayside. What matters are the test scores, and the rest doesn't seem to matter, or is gravy at best.
The legions of teachers who leave after only a few years, and the veteran teachers who retire as soon as they can afford to--these are numbers which don't factor into the equation.
At my school, the teachers (and the students) look forward to the testing being over, because then the numbering is done, and as we say, "we can really teach."