In response to a post about a new “reform” law in Connecticut that mandates standardized testing for kindergarten, first and second grades, a reader comments:
I have seen my students in first and second grade put their heads down on their tests and sob uncontrollably while taking district-wide assessments. I can only imagine what standardized tests will do to them. I keep wondering if I have the stamina to ride out this insanity for another 10-12 years before I can retire.
Hello, Governor Malloy, are you listening? Commissioner Pryor, are you listening? Think of how you will be viewed by future generations. Think of what you are doing to little children. Do you want the teachers of these children to teach to the test?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
In the scheme of seeing both the forest and the trees, surely there’s a way we educators at the grassroots level can devise, document, and deploy a high-level solution those in political power can’t refute is better than their topdown, and inhumane strategies. There has to be some framework or conceptual model provides victory over the tyranny of the “or” through the genius of the “and”. It’s not teach to the test OR teach authentically. But, to teach authentically AND assess authentically.
It seems to me the two-prong “humanist” criticism from Diane is about disingenuous assessment measures towards students, and disingenuous accountability measures towards teachers.
Again, Diane advocates for kids against institutionalization, and does so in her legendary fashion. Please keep it up and we will too!
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That’s a deal.
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Eric,
What does it mean to “teach authentically” and “assess authentically”?
Thanks,
Duane
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If and when a lawsuit is filed on behalf of these children, maybe then this nonsense will stop. But only if parents start to become involved and take charge- will it end. Educate them on the costs of testing, possible psychological damage, waste of time, and the fact that tests at that age yield very little information that is of use. Implementing testing regimes, building data warehouses to store that information, possible sharing with who knows whom or breeches-yeah-maybe that’s what parents need to know. Mayne then this nonsense will cease. Child abuse? Sure looks like it to me. But what do I know? I’m just a teacher caught up in this nonsensical madness.
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According to the national Opt Out web page, the ACLU is very interested in collecting material related to this.
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I have heard of 2d grade students pulling out all their eyelashes and chewing on shirt collars when the academic pressure is unrelenting.
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Common core assessments of preschoolers are coming as well.
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The abuse of young children has been going on for a long time in regard to methods of instruction and assessment. Four and five year olds taking the MAP, Terra Nova, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, etc. etc. etc. Young children being pulled out of class by total strangers for placement in Direct Instruction. Removal of toys and recess from kindergarten classrooms. Scripted curriculums used to teacher proof instruction.
When I once suggested this might be child abuse, I was severely reprimanded for my outrageous rhetoric. I retired the year I had one little girl who enrolled a month into the school year run into my arms in tears after taking the MAP on her first day of school. If all this isn’t child abuse, I don’t know what is.
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It is the same scene here in Ohio. Testing little ones to the hilt and watching my teaching hours drift away. I believe some of our little ones identified as “at risk” and “in need of intervention” are simply young and not developmentally ready for what it takes to sit through the whole testing regime.
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FIRE DUNCAN! Hire Ravitch!
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If an activity is so frustrating that it causes children to put their heads down and cry when they have tried, what do you think a responsible teacher should do? It doesn’t matter to me if the activity is an mandated assessment and how important it is … the activity will cease.
Have you read the psychological study, “Would you electrocute a stranger?”
http://www.unc.edu/~Peter/General_Publications/Hitler.pdf
Human beings are capable of spreading kindness and inflicting pain.
It is a personal decision.
Which will you choose when it comes to our students?
These are not small matters.
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Here’s the correct link.
http://www.unc.edu/~pmeyer/General_Publications/Hitler.pdf
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Middle School Teacher
too late..pre-k is already being assessed with performance tasks.
In NYC we can choose one ELA and one Math bundle. that’s what the DOE calls units-bundles. I’m not quite sure why.
In my district we were encouraged to use the five senses for the ELA and Math
Each bundle provides performance tasks for both.
We had to do a 6 week unit on the five senses. Do you know how much wasted time that was teaching the 5 senses over 30 days?
The performance tasks in ELA required children to draw a picture of themselves using one or more of the 5 senses. The math required telling a story using manipulatives and asking children addition and subtraction question.
If one is really interested you may find the bundles on the DOE website in the office of early childhood section.
Back to the assessment. After the children drew their pictures, each child had to conference with the teacher and tell the teacher what he/she had drawn and what sense had been used.
With the math we were supposed to have 4 children at a time but that really didn’t work out because some of them called out the answers. So one child at a time and the child was to give the response and articulate how she/he came to that answer.
Aside from many students getting very, very stressed, I am sure by now those of you who are teachers can calculate the number of hours it took to administer these tasks and then score them using a DOE created rubric for each.
This all had to copied for our files and originals sent to some suits somewhere in the universe.
I never heard back from anyone. Somewhere there are hundreds of sets of performance tasks bundles sitting in a room. I’m not sure what use they were to the suits. If you calculate the number of pre-k classes in the NYC DOE and multiply the performance tasks x2 (we had to do 2 in the fall and 2 in the spring..2 each of ELA and 2 each of Math) you can imagine that the DOE either has a lot of empty space or they took a storage unit somewhere in Manhattan to house all these useless papers.
In pre-k we have 18 children in all day and some schools have 18 and 18 in half day programs.
The administration of these tasks took hours over several weeks. Think of all the instructional time that was lost. When I started the assessment process I made private notes on how each child was going to do. I didn’t miss one.
I won’t even tell you how bored my kids were by the end of this bundle. And they didn’t really learn anymore than when I taught the 5 senses in one week.
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Duane, I don’t want to speak for Eric but when I speak of authentic teaching and assessments I mean that we provide opportunities for children to engage in an activity and through observation and conversation we assess what they know. By the way, not what they know. We always want to work from strength.
As an example: a student is making cookies with playdough. The teacher sits down next to her and starts making cookies also. The teacher might ask “how many cookies do you have?” and make a notation how far the child can count. Then the teacher might say, “May I have two cookies?” and note if the child gives the teacher the correct number and then say, “Thank you. I love these cookies. How many more do you have now that I have eaten two?” Besides having a relaxed conversation which encourages language, the teacher is able to assess in a relaxed atmosphere what the child knows about numeracy and even subtraction.
The child is not stressed. The teacher is not stressed and the assessment is much more valid.
Eric, please correct me if your understanding is different
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Anne,
Thanks for the explanation! And it points out the difference between assessment and testing. Many mistake testing for assessing, big difference to me. Kind of like the difference between “standards” and curriculum.
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