Sunday, November 6, 2011
Standardized Testing
I have thought quite a bit about that article Bonnie read to us last week during class. In my Intro to Special Ed class we share news articles in the beginning of every class and I decided to share that article. I told my teacher that even though the middle school Ms. Reif teaches at is "failing" by NCLB standards she still will continue to only teach to the test for 45 minutes a year. My Special Ed teacher says, "You know what she will soon be called right... Ex Teacher." I sat there silently as he moved on to call on another student to continue with our news sharing, but I thought about what he said for the rest of class. Although I do not believe that this teacher will be fired from her job of 25 years because she does not teach to the test, but as new teachers we may be put into that position. We may have a script for teaching. As a future English teacher I look forward to choosing certain books that I want to teach and the manner in which I teach them. Unfortunately I am starting to wonder if teachers have completely lost freedom within the curriculum. Is there anyone out there that thinks this prescriptive method of teaching is beneficial for the students? Why am I taking all of these methods classes in college if I will be told by my future boss exactly what and how I need to teach anyway?
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Wow! That's amazing that your professor said that. I sincerely hope teaching does not become a matter of reciting off of a piece of paper. It reminds me of Orwell's 1984 with TV screens teaching students.
ReplyDeleteYikes! What a grim thing for your teacher to say. If that's what teaching becomes I'm out. Where is the individual in a script? If everyone was taught the same thing life would be boring and we would start creating the Standard Human Being. Isn't that terrifying? Why are we so concerned with making everyone the same? Strength comes from a diverse pool of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if we should be quite so alarmist as to say that because schools might require more than 45 minutes of test prep we are being forced to go from a script. While I myself would desire to not be forced to do any more test prep than that, I'm not going to dip out or go insubordinate if I'm required to do more. Better we compromise and do some more test prep so that we can really teach during the rest of the time than that we surrender our positions to hacks who would just as soon have a script. Think of test prep like the 5 paragraph essay-you might despise doing it, but you force yourself to because you know it will help put you in a place to do what you really want to do.
ReplyDelete-kevin
I'm reading an article right now that advocates standardized curriculum and prefab lesson plans. I don't agree with a vast majority of the author's argument but the he makes at least one point I could stand behind. He argues that we lack consistency in education as a country and I agree. However, I am not convinced that a prescribed lesson plan would do more good than harm.
ReplyDeleteHe claims that a limited, standardized curriculum may level the playing field, citing more effective education systems in other countries that have very strict regulations about what is taught and how. If nothing else, he argues, a more standard curriculum would help us keep track of students and pinpoint problems in our schools.
I wonder if the NCLB and other movements that result in more teacher regulation are responding to this same problem. We obviously don't have balanced outcomes in this country, access to resources determines how well a school educates its students. I wonder if NCLB and other initiatives are regarded as a quick fix.
Like I said, I don't agree with this article. I would much rather find a solution that moves everyone forward. As a teacher, I also can't imagine being pigeonholed into a prescribed lesson plan if for no other reason than my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher would be virtually ignored. I do, however, understand why these types of programs might be considered "solutions".
P.S. "ex-teacher", what a lovely thing to say about a colleague...
What I'm surprised about is the fact that your professor didn't even allow a couple minutes of discussion about the article. Obviously our class talked about it for over an hour...he or she really didn't think it was at all worthy of talking about? That just seems ludicrous to me. I'm sure many people in your class shared your opinion.
ReplyDeleteThis scares the living hell out of me, to be honest. How are we supposed to know how to teach and what to teach while actually trying to get our students engaged?
ReplyDeleteWow! This is definitely something we should all think carefully before taking a stand on the issue. In your position (during your Intro. to Special Ed class), I'd have felt so mad for not even having and opportunity to question him. I totally agree with you when you questioned the very purpose of taking Methods courses if everything has been written already.
ReplyDeleteEven though I have never studied in the continental U.S. until now, I know the feeling of being "standardized," both as a student and as a teacher. I agree with Kevin in stating that taking an alarmist position is not what we need as teachers. In fact, I've found that the more independent, innovative and creative I can be as a teacher, the better principals and supervisors consider me. When you teach, you are on your own, and your students will think of you not as their "standardized" teacher, but simply as their teacher.
If we want our students to succeed in both these tests and in we want them to learn, somehow, we will find the way to combine both things. I'm not saying this is what I particularly want, but as you said, new teachers do not have many options.
-Luis