Iowa officials are very proud of a school that increased test scores of low-income kids. One reason, officials say, was that the school eliminated morning recess.
This teacher says the tradeoff is a bad deal. Was it to make time for more instruction or more test prep?
Chris Liebig engaged in a Twitter debate with State Commissioner Jason Glass.
Chris writes:
“You can be the judge of whether the discussion is going anywhere. But it seems clear that Glass must have a different definition of test prep than I have. Mine would be: single-mindedly pursuing higher test scores at the expense of other values that are cumulatively more important. One such value is providing a humane school experience. Another is preserving a child’s enjoyment of learning. Another is not teaching authoritarian values. Another is giving enough attention to subjects that aren’t tested or don’t lend themselves to testing.”
Another question: Would Jason Glass want this for his own children?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Would Jason Glass want this for his own children?”
That is always the litmus test revealing the corporate reform hypocrisy.
Exactly what I was about to post!
Funny, isn’t it, how they always seem to send their kids to a different type of school.
Perfect. The “reformy” crowd loves to mandate Ed policy for other people’s children.
What good are high “literacy scores” if the child does not become literate. They can call words all day, pick out theme, main characters, plot, etc. by rote. But if they don’t learn to enjoy reading and if they don’t consider reading an integral part of their lives, or if they don’t have experiences, including recess that they can relate to what they are reading, are they truly literate?
Excellent comment! Nothing is more sad to me than students who carefully accumulate good grades without any real interest in actually learning anything.
Kids need to move. It’s a fundamental of basic developmental brain research. To eliminate AM recess is beyond comprehension.
These Iowans are sacrificing the HEALTH of these children in order in order to keep their jobs using flawed data from a flawed playing field.
Life is not about a Test Score .I know of 22 teachers that are applying to the Private Schools where a well-rounded bountiful education is still in place for the sake of the Body and Mind!
Recently happened at our school in NC. Whole school intervention to raise reading scores across all grade levels. My child reads well above grade level and sees this as a punishment for all her hard work. To make matters worse she’s in kindergarten. I could go on all day about the social development benefits linked to recess, especially with kindergarteners. Sad!
Another is teaching kids not to do something just because rich bullies and their employees threaten you.
Considering the state of childhood obesity in the country, shouldn’t we consider the benefits of physical exercise just as important as sitting at a desk? Exercise brings more blood to the brain and is even one of the main ways to slow down Dementia. A healthy brain is a better learner.
Research indicates that the kinesthetic element is critical in early learning. Children must move. If the school doesn’t provide time to do that (recess), the children will make their own time during instruction. And from another perspective, state labor laws mandate breaks for workers. Do children deserve less?
Fox 35 reports on a testing opt-out movement in Orlando.
http://bit.ly/11tBDhv
my current school has canceled electives for our students in order to use that time for more test prep. this means i do not have a planning period nor do my students have art, pe, library, or computer lab time. it’s creating burnout among the teachers and the students. we are all getting aggrivated.
I’m surprised anyone still had a.m. recess. we haven’t seen that in eons. Our kids still have a half hour after lunch, for which I am very grateful: I dare to think what they would be like in the afternoon without it!
I can just imagine the staff meeting that will very likely take place. The teachers will be asked how they can incorporate so many minutes of movement (whatever was lost recess minutes) into instruction. I am fine with incorporating movement throughout the school day, but it should be in addition to and not a replacement of recess and PE. I brought up the staff meeting because we teachers were told that the school was 40 minutes shy of the legally required total of weekly PE minutes. We could easily make up the difference with just a mere 8 minutes a day. Some suggested combining the movement with academics, so no time would be wasted and just getting the wiggles out.
We cannot control the scheduling of the state mastery tests but we did offer a “pump it up” exercise voluntary exercise class at my school. The kids loved it. The teachers said it made a positive difference and parents were enthusiastic about this opportunity for fun, exercise and to lessen the stress on test days