Straight Talk About Standardized Tests
For the average civilian who doesn’t spend hours obsessing over the details of education reform, it may seem odd or even hypocritical for teachers to complain about big Common Core tests like the PARCC or SBA or [Your State's Name Here] Big Standardized Test. After all, we've been giving students standardized tests forever, and classroom teachers have been giving tests even longer than that.
But there are fundamental differences between the tests I give my students and the tests mandated by the federal government.
Who Scores The Test?
It’s a big, important test, so it’s probably scored by trained professionals, right?
No. I’ve learned that these tests are scored by seasonal, minimum wage workers in temporary test-scoring sweatshops. The emphasis is on speed—the kind of throughput that a factory might worry about.
Test companies are also searching for the “Even-Cheaper-Grail” of computer software that can score writing samples.
In my classroom, I score every test myself. I take whatever time is needed to dig in and understand what your child has done. More than that, I design my tests based on the best methods for determining if your student has acquired the knowledge and skill I tried to teach her; I have not designed it to be easily gradable by a person who doesn't even know what the test is about.
Who Passes The Test?
Every test involves a line drawn between success and failure. But with the Common Core
- See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/12/188458/straight-talk-about-standardized-tests#sthash.uwNeVMlf.dpuf