If You Can Read, You Can Learn

Assessment, evaluation, labeling, intervention, testing, all have my head spinning. Of course we need to know what kids are learning, right? We want to know if they understood the lesson, right?  A lesson that we teach because it is on the state test, right? I sometimes wonder if we have lost the path on testing and assessment. It feels like we are wandering in the woods trying to figure out who is learning what so we can evaluate the teacher in order to measure effectiveness of teaching and learning.

I am married to a teacher. Matt teaches eighth grade social studies. A subject that has no state standards in Minnesota.  He has been asked to map the common core curriculum for global studies to get into compliance by 2014.  He will need to abandon the curriculum he has loved and is passionate about for one that sparks no flame for him at this point. The best teachers I know are passionate about what they teach.

I teach parents in an early childhood setting. We have no required testing for a state standard, yet. We "test" for learning, behavior, and physical struggles that may get in the way of a child's academic success. I am a very big proponent of early intervention. I have seen our "tests" bring promise to the educational lives of many children.

If I were a policy maker, I would be adamant about testing for reading fluency and comprehension through high school. If you can read, you can learn. What you learn should be driven more by what you are passionate about than what is embedded in our curriculum mapping. I struggle to rally behind standardized tests when I know so many teachers who have accepted that they will not teach from the fire in their belly but by the dictates of a test.

My only global experience in schools was in China this summer.  I was astounded to visit with several middle school students who were already extremely pressured about testing for high school. In China, the high school you choose greatly affects your future. For children in China, it is all about the national test. Each high school student takes it. It determines your college placement, your future profession, and most notably, your families honor. Talk about pressure! Children often times leave their families to live in dorms in high school that resemble factory housing. They suffer greatly, especially in the winter. They do not see their families for months at a time. Children spend up to 20 hours a day immersed in study. It is no wonder that the suicide rate for teens in China has skyrocketed. Remember, all this stress is compounded by the fact that everything rides on the success of ONE child per family in most cases.

I am not sure what the answer is to testing. I am much more concerned about a child's hopes, dreams, and home life than I am about how well they test. I suppose it is one of the reasons that I love my work so much. No academic testing for parents or preschoolers......yet!