ForgetMeKnots
Posts: 95
Joined: 6/14/2010
Status: offline
|
~FR~
1-
Testing for measurement isn’t a bad idea, but testing isn’t just to show what someone knows…it should be used to address deficiencies so that a person knows and understands everything that is necessary. Standardized test results aren’t shared with schools or teachers until the end of the school year, or even the next school year, making it impossible for teachers to address any deficiency. Moreover, I am getting ready to go into almost nine weeks of testing, where students will be tested and our schools will be on alternative schedules rather than in the classroom learning. The MCAT and LSAT are 5-6 hour tests and a middle school student will take a 2 hour writing test, a similarly timed reading test, a similarly timed math test, a Science FCAT (yes, still FCAT) in addition to an End of Course Exam (30% of their grade, if I recall) in Civics, Algebra or Geometry.
2-
The “Writing” test that students took this week in many states isn’t just a test on writing ability. They are given a task to write an essay based on articles given to them. If a student has a reading deficiency then they are starting at a loss to begin with. Additionally many of these tests are taken on computers. This is fine for students in homes and districts that have daily or hourly access to computers, but many students do not have access to these tools on a regular basis. This was not just a writing test…it is also a reading and typing test. Furthermore, teachers and parents are not permitted to see the information on the test, there is little oversight on the types of questions and if the questions are worded incorrectly, or if the answer isn’t really there, then students will assume that they don’t know the answer, not that the test is wrong.
I, personally, feel that it is wrong (and cruel!) to have a student with a reading problem sit through this test that his/her teachers KNOW they can’t pass just so we can give them a score that shows they’re not on level. We’re sitting children down to write essays that require reading levels that *they don’t have* and telling them to fill up blank pages with an essay they can’t write. We’re making them sit there in silence for two hours while they just think about what they can’t do. How is that anything but torture for that child?
3-
The technology didn’t work. Surprisingly (or not) when all of the 10th graders in a state attempt to access the internet at the same time, things don’t work. So, we have students that have to sit silently for hours while the IT professionals try to work out what happened. At my school one student was so stressed by this delay that they threw up in the floor while waiting. The room had to be cleared and sanitized before they could start. The delay was more significant in other places – some still haven’t taken the test—creating a situation where some students had to take the test and others have (presumably, despite the gag orders given to students and teachers) a chance to think about the test and the question they will answer beforehand.
4-
According to the test makers in my state, this delay is *no big deal* because we have a two week testing period, isn’t that great!! Except that we need that time to prepare for other tests that are coming down the road later this year. For the last few weeks I’ve hit writing pretty hard in my classroom, neglecting elements of literature. This is problematic for me because I have a reading test to prepare them for that will be here in a few months. Those test makers don’t realize (or don’t care) that every test window effects the whole school. We must have an alternate schedule because some classrooms are set up as testing computer labs. We have silent halls and no locker times, creating chaos in the classrooms because half of the students bring what is needed and the other half left their things in their lockers –oops—and can’t go retrieve them. This creates a need for an alternative lesson, which isn’t a big deal **IF** it can be planned for…but with these nifty two week testing windows, how can someone create two weeks of alternative lessons hoping we don’t need them?
5-
The PARCC test has a 37% pass rate for boys in Utah, which is where it was field tested. Does that mean that most of Utah is deficient? Or does that mean the test isn't valid?
Florida says that it doesn’t matter what students really score, the grades will be the same as last year. (I know I read this somewhere, but I can’t find the article right now.) Basically because the state doesn’t want this test to flop any more than it already has, the same number of students will score a 5 this year as last year, no matter what.
No one can get the information correct, in fact what I have seen is that the FSA ELA Writing Test is still shown as a 90 minute test, when in fact it was a 120 minute test.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/03/03/mom-why-my-kids-wont-be-taking-the-new-florida-standards-assessment-test/
I am all for holding teachers accountable for the learning that goes on in their classroom. I've also never had a problem with "teaching to the test" because in the past, the skills I've taught for the test were valid. However, Common Core and the new Florida Standards that are based on Common Core do not take into account that these new standards have been rolled out in one year. In one year a 6th grade student is supposed to be able to do what a 10th grade student used to do. It makes for incredibly stressful classrooms because there is only so much a person can absorb at a time. Not only is it full of new criteria, but it's also in a new format. No longer is there only one right answer--now there are several, and a student needs to pick them all to get full credit. Question 12 may relate to the answer from question 10 and 11, so if one part is wrong, then potentially they're all wrong.
If they want to have a test like this, then fine. But it can't be multiple choice and it can't be graded by a computer. But, no one wants to pay for that.
In regard to not hearing anyone complain – I would hesitate to put my real name on anything that decried Common Core or the LAFS for fear of what my administration would say. Teachers aren’t supposed to have opinions--- out of the many, many articles on Common Core, you’re not going to see an overwhelming discussion from CURRENT teachers because there is a fear of backlash. If you complain about it then you’re the problem, not the system.
The reason that there are 9th graders with 4th grade reading level is because statistically if they’re held back then they have a higher risk of dropping out altogether. The idea is that if they’re in school, in remedial reading classes then at least they’re learning something.
I wrote all of this out before I realized how this thread was going. Oh well.
_____________________________
~Formerly KneelforAnne~
BDSM is what two people at the moment decide it should be...
--CatdeMedici
Member of the Subbie Mafia
Pimpette
Member of MoGa's IN crowd
|
RE: Students Revolt over Common Core Testing - 
Profile
RE: Students Revolt over Common Core Testing - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread