President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored
By Anthony Cody.
Yesterday President Obama surprised us all by once again speaking out against standardized tests. In his speech, he spoke of the true role of education, to uplift and inspire. He said,
When I look back on the great teachers who shaped my life, what I remember isn’t the way they prepared me to take a standardized test. What I remember is the way they taught me to believe in myself, to be curious about the world, to take charge of my own learning so that I could reach my full potential. To inspire me. To open up a window into parts of the world that I had never thought of before. That’s what good teaching is. That’s what a great education is.
He offered three principles that tests ought to fulfill in order to be worthwhile.
First, our kids should only take tests that are worth taking. Tests that are high quality, aimed at good instruction, and make sure everybody’s on track.Second, tests shouldn’t occupy too much classroom time. Or crowd out teaching and learning. Tests should enhance teaching and learning.And third, tests should be just one source of information, used alongside classroom work, and surveys, and other factors, to give us an all around look at how our students and our schools are doing.
Sadly, there is very little connection between the inspirational view of education offered in his opening, the three principles he provides, and the policies his administration has created.
There has yet to be a standardized test that has proven itself to be “aimed at good instruction.” These tests President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored - Living in Dialogue:
