Kevin J. Glynn, a teacher who founded Lace to the Top (those ever-present green laces and green bracelets that are meant to remind us that children are more than a test score)*, sends an exciting report from his school district on Long Island. The powers that be have abolished test prep!
Kevin writes:
The message to teachers changed today in the South Country School District, and tomorrow the actions will follow. To the joy of students and their parents, there will be no test prep, at all, in any form. In its place will be collaboration, imagination, inspiration, and love for the students in all third grade classes. This is news because yesterday, the message to teachers was the same as in most other districts- prepare students with rigorous test prep.
South Country follows Lucy Calkin’s Units of Study. This amazing, differentiated reading and writing program allows students to apply strategies within their independent levels. The one downfall of the program is that it dedicates a unit of reading and writing to test prep. I have communicated with Lucy Calkins and the the test prep unit exists to appeal to the districts that value and have requested a “test prep unit”.
Yesterday, South Country School District gave teachers complete autonomy to replace the reading and writing test prep unit. The reading test prep unit was replaced with a study of genres absent of thoughtless multiple choice questions and built around questions that would encourage deeper level thinking & meaningful conversations. The writing test prep unit was replaced with blog responses to literature. Again, absent of the typical canned test prep and replaced by 21st century technology partnered with higher order questions.
This is a step toward fully recognizing our kids are more than scores on ill-conceived tests that inhibit instruction and are designed to fail everyone in the school house and community. In the words of South Country Assistant Superintendent Evers, “Test prep is a lie!” Test prep neglects great teachers who know and love their kids and wastes talent, money, and our children’s only time they get as elementary school students. Test prep does nothing of what it claims to do and in fact impedes the quest for quality education.
Until now, the focus has been on outputs. South Country’s Superintendent, Dr. Joseph Giani has committed to supporting quality inputs that are focused on meeting students’ needs. Test scores may not rise, but a love and foundation of learning has been secured.
This is Kevin’s explanation of “Lace to the Top”:
We did not put green laces in our shoes, green looms on our wrists, and green lanyards around our necks because we hoped we would win. We put them on as a bold and impossible to ignore reminder of why we will win. We will win for our children, our schools, our teachers, and our communities. When we win, students will know they mean more than a score, parents will know that their rights mean more than the Core, and teachers will be allowed to be more than a scripted module. Kings are falling, politicians are scrambling, and corporations are worrying.
Wear your green knowing that children will be happier and their education will be stronger because of your commitment to their future.
As one.
I don’t understand this line
“Again, absent of the typical canned test prep and replaced by 21st century technology partnered with higher order questions”.
Are the children writing meaningful essays on their computer based on genres that they have chosen?
Yes, they are. 3rd grade so it equates to blogging (both positing and responding) and culminating with an editorial- much like what we are doing right now 🙂
Canned Test Prep
Produced, packaged, marketed, distributed, scripted, and forced down the throats of every educator remotely associated with the CC$$$$$$$$$…
I just sent an email to the district office thanking the Superintendent and board for supporting the teachers’ initiative… a practice I intend to follow going forward whenever Diane tells us of a district that refuses to feed the testing beast… We can’t provide the money of the Gates Foundation but we can offer grassroots encouragement.
Thank you!!!!!
Best quote from the article.. “test prep is a lie”
Test prep is not teaching, test prep is not preparing students for college or careers, test prep is an attempt to game a system, albeit a terrible one.
I hope this spreads throughout the Island.
I wear my green laces everyday, with pride
Thank you!!! Been following you a while- you are truly what green laces are all about!!!
awesome
Amazing! Kevin, for us from off, can you share some info on the school district – like size, demographics, SES, etc.?
Approx 4,500 students. The district is literally divided by a railroad (poor – middle class). The district was remapped years ago to prevent segregation that would have otherwise occurred.
Demographics
White 46%
Black 24%
Asian 2%
Hispanic 26%
Students receiving free or reduced price lunches 39%
Limited English proficient students
Thanks. It seems really significant that this is happening in a sort of very typical district. Not urban or low income, not a high SES district. It just strikes me because these seem to be the forgotten districts in all the noise about reform, yet probably represent the vast majority of our population. Yet they, too, are hit by the reforms.
This is so encouraging.
I’m in Charleston, SC, a larger district, but with areas much like this. Where we are trying to build the walls against VAM and StudentsFirst and testing.
Love this!
Bravo South Country!!! I hope this philosophy spreads to all the grades, and continues to grow stronger with community and public support. Autonomy and decision making by teachers must be returned to schools. It is wonderful to see another administrator stepping forward with leadership and courage. Thank you Kevin for all your efforts on behalf of kids!
Thank you!!!
Reblogged this on tcrwpliteracycoach and commented:
This is my district…
Thx to the literacy coach that made this possible 🙂
Wonderful news I feel excited…
As a follow-up:
My third graders are preparing… for a Wax Museum.
In the two weeks leading up to the test we will have that Wax Museum, start a blogging unit (writing) and start a mystery unit (reading). In Science, they will learn about conservation. In Social Studies, they will learn about Kenya. They will have an Art Night and take part in a Science Fair. Math will be done in an order that makes sense and will not be crammed to meet the needs of a test.
I have been teaching for 7 years and I have never once experienced such an amazing March.
The focus is towards on the students and not the test. My laces are green.
I’m running out to by some Green Laces. Today! Thank you Neighbor.
See, computers don’t help. Neither do Smartphones! It misspelled Buy! “Old School pencil and paper!”
I wish that the NYC public school where I teach had an option like the South Country School district. Our principal started test prep in January. Test prep went from 8:00am to 9:20am and a second daily round from 1:30pm to 2:40pm. From 8-8:35 our school has a morning tutoring program that is supposed to have no more than 10 students per class, the principal opened it up to all students from grades 3-5. Classes were told if all students showup daily for morning test prep they will be given a pizza party. The administration also questioned children whose parents chose motto send them as to why they were not coming for morning help. On top of the test prep, many kids were pulled for AIS services which also incorporated test prep, resulting in kids missing art, music, and gym. In 24 years of teaching I have never experienced this overuse of test prep. The kids and teachers were burnt out long before the test even began. Science and Social Studies were thrown to the wayside, as per the administration only wanting extended ELA (Pearson Ready Gen) and Math instruction during the remainder of the school day.