Testing Action Plan is Step in Right Direction

My sons' individual state test scores arrived in the mail last week. I found them in still sealed envelopes under a bunch of junk mail this morning. I didn't even know to look for them until a parent friend of mine at a dinner party Friday night mentioned receiving scores for her sons.

Conveying her frustration with all the test prep in our public schools, my friend said all the test prep seems to be hurting her sons more than helping them. I wished I had more positive news to share with her, but earlier in the week conversations I had with educators and parents from around the country reinforced her view point. Too bad the news release about the Testing Action Plan wasn't made public until the next day. Multiple friends who know me and my stance on the issue shared links to various press releases while I was out and about with my young athlete all day.

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Convo #1: an educator shared his work in a school where kids have been "ability grouped" into high, medium, and low groups. Decisions about which group a child would be placed for all subjects in were determined based on 1 source of data (a mathematics placement test). As they reviewed their state assessment data and considered gaps, they noticed disadvantaged students and students of color were predominately grouped into the low groups and were being taught by the newest teachers at the school.

Convo #2: another educator told me her school reviewed state assessment data and decided (because of her state's emphasis on "novice reduction") that teachers must not worry themselves with the students who are already scoring proficient on state tests (kids like my sons and my friend's sons) because they will be fine. Therefore, they should "teach to the low kids" to ensure those kids can score proficient on state tests next time. Not only should they cater to the kids who struggle, they should do more test prep and become a skill and drill factory, taking away any sort of imagination, creativity, or personalized approaches to instruction.

Convo #3: a parent told me her elementary aged child is provided only literacy and mathematics instruction with limited opportunities to create and explore science, social studies, art, and music. He's offered daily worksheets, a fifteen minute recess once per day, and physical education only once per week.

Convo #4: a family member told me she worries most that all the test prep causes her children to hate school and to be disengaged. That's been a concern of my own for years now. I've seen in it in my sons over the years, and some years are better than others.

Lest this post be all doom and gloom, I'll mention the update on standardized testing we saw this weekend from President Obama and the United States Department of Education who released (after I heard all the above convos) a testing action plan. In it they articulate what should be happening and say "No one set out to create situations where students spend too much time taking standardized tests or where tests are redundant or fail to provide useful information."

I believe the testing action plan is a step in the right direction. The thing is--we have to change the way hold schools are held accountable, too, because as the system stands right now, schools feel compelled to jump hoops and play a game that raises their overall ranking in the state and nation. We must change the overall system of public education in America.

Students And Teachers Are More Than A Score

As the leaves turn beautiful hues associated with fall and students around Kentucky take some time to rest and relax with their families, test scores in our state are being released to the public.  Each year around this time I write yet another blog post about my hopes and fears or about stopping test prep approaches to teaching, or I write something encouraging everyone to change the conversation. As long as we continue emphasizing the almighty test score, there will be public demand for news related to scores and rankings.

Since the Kentucky scores were released at midnight, I awoke to my Twitter and Facebook feeds full of commentary from colleagues, friends, and news reporters. Of interest to me was this tweet by education reporter Toni Konz.

I appreciated her taking the time to reply to my suggestion that we share bright spots and stories from schools about more than test scores.

Her reply saying she likes to write those stories when she's allowed has me thinking that we have work to do as a community. If we keep demanding the ranking and we keep making decisions about where we buy our homes or send our children to school based on test scores, we are doing nothing to change the conversation, and we perpetuate the cycle of rankings based on standardized test scores.

Thankfully, I also had educator friends post today on Facebook with statements such as "let's remember the full picture" or "this is my least favorite day of the year...let's remember students and teachers are more than a test score..." I couldn't agree more and wished for a million likes on these posts.

We can do better. We can provide students more authentic learning opportunities like those we see in the film Most Likely to Succeed. We can do this. We must do this. Our children depend upon us!

Let's Change the Test Scores Conversation

State test scores were released to the public today in Kentucky, and I can already hear rumblings. Our scores dropped, we didn't meet our goals, what are we going to do? More test prep! NO. Please. NO. We have schools full of unengaged and bored children and teens who don't even want to attend school. More skill and drill and continuous test prep will surely make them dread school even more. Plus, really, has it worked for you thus far? Have constant test prep, worksheets, overloads of boring homework improved learning and test scores. Doubtful that it has.

In the two hours since the scores have been released publicly, I have had at least a half-dozen friends who are educators contact me, I guess because they know I generally speak out about test scores, test prep, and my desire for a new way of thinking about test scores. I've blogged about it numerous times, and each time I say the same general thing in a different way.

Let's change the conversation
This morning, instead of thinking about the examples where we don't have it right, let's look again at some hopeful examples of teachers, schools, and systems who are focusing on engaged student learning based on the interests of students and based on the needs of the whole child.

Take Eminence High School for example, they do not focus on test prep at their school. Instead, they focus on engaging students and connecting them with their community. Read about this class that has plans to change the world using Project Based Learning.

In this post "I remember that worksheet said no student ever!" we also have the story of Shelly, a teacher in Woodford County, Kentucky. Shelly engages her students by empowering them. "Students are empowered as they become experts who communicate and share their ideas with an audience.  They are inventors and artists creating products for the future and dreaming of endless possibilities."

There's also Andrea, an elementary teacher who engages her students by having them explore historical artifacts. You see, it is possible to teach the required standards and meet the demands of the state assessments in interesting and engaging ways.

In Danville schools, a whole system is pushing back on the test prep ways and moving beyond dependence on traditional tests as they explore more performance based assessments for students to demonstrate learning.

Tricia Shelton and Patrick Goff, two Kentucky science teachers, are challenging each other and collaborating to ensure more collaborative and engaged science learning. Patrick shares his reflections on interactive learning including problem based learning on his blog.

Another one of my favorite Kentucky stories is a group of teachers in Louisville who teach a food literacy class. Here's another fine example of learning that doesn't involve test prep, and the teachers are finding great results.

My challenge to everyone today and throughout the year is for us to continuing sharing these bright spots. Instead of focusing on test prep and all the negatives associated with test score release, let's share positive examples that move well beyond skill and drill. Let's share examples of students engaged in genuine learning, examples of kids who want to go to school because they know they will enjoy it, examples of teachers doing what they do best--getting students excited about learning.

I know there are many many more. Will you join me in changing the conversation? Please post links to positive examples below in the comments. Thanks!

Why Are the Reading and Writing Scores So Much Better?

Educators often feel like Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, especially at this time of year when state test scores are being released.  As it is each year at this time, it's my hope that we will remember what's important in our profession.

Walking through the hallway with my principal one afternoon several years ago after our state test scores were released, my principal asked me "Why are the reading and writing scores so much better?  What is your department doing?" 

As an educator who has long been an opponent of the "teach to the test" approach to teaching and learning, I was, honestly, not incredibly happy to hear this question asked of me.  My reply-- "we taught our hearts out."  She probed for more information--"surely you had a technique or strategy that helped the scores be better?" 

Perhaps we did, but that strategy was not test prep! Our department utilized Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to plan instruction, study student work, and make adjustments to our approach so we could keep teenagers engaged and interested in learning.  We had a system of grade level teams and each team focused on the needs and interests of the students on those teams.  We also had many young and new teachers who kept all of us on our toes and learning new and relevant strategies.  A nice balance of classic and contemporary print and non-print texts were key; we typically paired texts. Text based discussions were integral to helping students write better.  When we taught writing, we focused on real audiences and specific instructional strategies we knew would help our students think more and write better.

We taught the standards and we used the formative assessment process to make adjustments, but we always focused on issues, ideas and humanity in the informational texts, literature, music and film that our students enjoyed.

In Kentucky today, educators, parents, community members, and members of the media are discussing the release of state test scores.  For the second time, students in our state were assessed over the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics.  It is my deep hope that if administrators ask teachers today what they did to impact test scores (shudder at this question--but know it's a reality), teachers will feel confident in saying "we taught our hearts out."  And that the test prep we all hate so much will not be a stronger focus in schools where the test results are not what people want them to be.  Because, didn't we all get into this profession to impact lives, to have discussions about issues, ideas, the world and humanity?

Here Come the Test Scores--My Hopes and Fears

In my state people are awaiting the public release of standardized test scores this week; students in Kentucky were the first to be tested over the Common Core State Standards last spring. Officials across the state have been warning the public of the potential results because the tests were new, not comparable to previous tests, and based on much more rigorous college and career ready standards.

If you’ve been reading my blog since its creation ten months ago, you likely remember my previous posts on the topic of standardized testing. If you haven’t been reading, you can read those posts here, here, and here.

I have a fear, a fear that the shock of the test results will move people to even more drastic measures and more harmful test preparation as the primary means of teaching students during the school day. We have much to lose if educators resort to more test prep and skill/drill approaches to instruction. We risk higher drop out rates because we are likely to find students disengaged, uninterested, and fed-up with school. We risk the loss of effective arts programs, healthy habits of mind, and understandings of success. In short, we risk the opportunity to prepare students for the life which awaits them beyond K-12 schooling. Sure that’s the intention of the CCR skills—to prepare students for life beyond high school—but the CCR skills leave out creativity and innovation, for the most part.

Being a generally optimistic individual, I also have hope—hope that we will remember the importance of creativity, collaboration, and innovation this week when the standardized test scores for students in Kentucky are released. I hope we facilitate learning opportunities and provide personalized learning based on students’ interests and passions. I hope we continue to promote the arts embedded into problem solving and project based learning. I hope that we will encourage creativity, not squash it.

 

 

Ironically, I presented at an assessment conference this week and upon my return home, my 9 year old reminded me that book character dress up day at his elementary school was the next day.   We had discussed this event previously, so I knew he was interested in dressing up like Hiccup in How to Train a Dragon.  However, at 7:00 pm the night before the event, we needed a burst of creativity to make his plan a reality.  The whole family contributed to this creative endeavor.   My older son offered his advice for making the horns from aluminum foil, while my husband searched for an old black tee shirt we could cut up for a tunic.  When it was all said and done, the whole family felt a sense of togetherness and a sense of accomplishment—collaboration and creativity!  Keep it coming.