testing

#ThanksJohnOliver

Long but very worthwhile piece about standardized testing and the role big $ corporation plays in it.

Our family has opted out of testing. My daughter did not take the standardized tests last year as a junior, and my son attends a private school that does not do testing. I will continue to voice my opposition to these tests even though my kids are done with them.

Teaching History for the Quiz Show

Fantastic article in The Atlantic, “High School History Doesn’t have to be Boring” by David Cutler questioning why teachers are still (and why they ever) taught history as a class to memorize a series of events. I wish my kids had this guy for a teacher!

Great quote:

But as we go farther into the 21st century, with changes almost too numerous to fathom, I find it mindboggling that any teacher would still treat history class as boring preparation for a quiz show.

 

This is a great way to look at teaching history:

  • Teachers are foolish to expect students to remember anything for long that has little to no direct relevance in their daily lives.
  • Teachers need to do a much better job of connecting history to today, and placing a greater emphasis on how young people could learn from past mistakes.
  • Teachers should assess students on what they can do with what they know, rather than how much they know at any given time.

My daughter’s experience with AP History was horrific — they had to read pages and pages of dense text “to prepare them for college” – what bullshit – and take pages and pages of multiple choice tests with questions that were basic fact memorization. I hear they are doing a little more Document Based Questions in the 11th grade AP US History, but still tons and tons of multiple choice questions.

I’m much happier with her “regular” history class. Few tests, many more projects and less rote memorization. According to everyone, it doesn’t have the rigor. But who cares — we could argue the “rigor” aspect, and it’s not just shoving Google-able facts down their throats.

A Better Experience

Thankfully, we’ve had a better experience (so far, at least) than Lisa McElroy’s family (see Standardized testing: I opted my kids out. The schools freaked out. Now I know why..) in opting out. There are many differences, including state (we’re in Minnesota), grade (my daughter is in 11th) and tests (only math at 11th grade.)

As much frustration as I have with my daughter’s school, they were very accommodating with this request. I expect I’m not the first — they knew exactly what to do, and did not give me any grief. In Lisa’s post, the principals and others came after them to encourage them to test. I’ve had none of that, thankfully.

In Minnesota, it is legal for a parent’s to opt out of the test. In my case, it’ll show up on my daughter’s transcript a “parent refusal.” OK, that part is totally annoying and irritating, but better than putting her through the test.

I know testing is crucial to teacher evaluation, and as Lisa points out, who’d ever want to penalize the teachers? In my daughter’s case, I’m not sure how it impacts teachers. At 11th grade, just for math – I’m not sure what it does. In addition, her test score is not likely to be stellar. She hates math and does not test well. Maybe that’s why they aren’t giving me any resistance!

When I first discussed this with my daughter, she was not excited about opting out of the test. However, before we made the final decision, we had a long talk with her. She’s quite supportive of the idea now. I just hope they don’t try to give her the test, but if they do, she’s well armed with the fact that her parents opted her out.

Lisa’s post is an excellent reminder that the schools and district aren’t the ones making the testing decisions, at least for the statewide tests. It’s coming from the legislature. I will write our legislators and tell them of our decision and why. Will post that letter later!