Testing Kindergartners and a Rise in Childhood Disabilities: Is There A Connection?
Why are children, no matter rich or poor, showing up with more disabilities—especially ADHD? Here is USA Today telling about the report in Pediatrics. Could it be because they are being pushed harder than ever before, with less, if any, recess or breaks? Perhaps they’re tired of school, or all that Common Core stuff is boring to them. Maybe, someone should ask them! And how about testing?
How ironic. I no sooner finish reading the above article, and the next thing I notice is the State of Florida is going to test kindergartners with 7 out of 15 tests including P.E. The senator talking about this said something about how you don’t care about children if you don’t test them.
I believe in testing too, but a little goes a long way. And testing very young children is always questionable. Usually, the best testing involves nothing more that sitting back and watching.
Let me use Florida as an example, although every state is probably guilty of the same thing.
I discovered the “Florida Department of Education’s Office of Early Learning Kindergarten Assessment’s History and Legislative Authority.” It struck me as interesting how kindergarten assessment has gotten increasingly more complex Testing Kindergartners and a Rise in Childhood Disabilities: Is There A Connection?: